As Time Goes By... Woof!

As mentioned in the last blog,  it's been 8 years since we started to promote the idea of artistic personalized items. Bronson Hill Arts was hand-painting wine glasses before it became a hot trend from Lolita (available everywhere!) and the others who followed.

But like all things in life, not all paths lead to where you need to go. Sometimes a sharp right turn is needed!

Along those lines, I was asked for personalized items that were more precious to so many people: Pet Portraits.

The Updated Look for Our Pet Portraits

Who doesn't love their pet? Requests came from friends and a piece or two was commissioned for depictions of their beloved companions. Of course, I had to use my own furbabies as models, too!

Baby & Buddy ©Bronson Hill Arts/BEDeuel

The paintings started a little on the cartoonish style, but has evolved to a more realistic look. We've all seen hyper-realistic pet portraits, which are beyond amazing! But, that isn't what we're aiming for here. We are aiming for whimsical with a touch of love attached!

Walking Beth's Dogs ©BHA/BEDeuel

Buddies On a Blanket  ©BHA/BEDeuel

Jamie & Eliot  ©Bronson Hill Arts/BEDeuel 

Next week, I'll share a few sweet stories that inspired some of Bronson Hill Arts' other pet portraits.

Any furbaby portraits we can make for you? Visit us here!

Let the Fun Begin!

A Lucy & Sweetie Pie Christmas
5x7 Watercolor on Strathmore 140#©BEDeuel Bronson Hill Arts 2014

The leftovers are in the refrigerators & care packages are dispersed among the family members. The cats are exhausted from all the activity this past week, between preparing the house & meal and all the people here to enjoy said meal! Thanksgiving was a quiet & fun day full of love and grace, too. We had a tremendous amount for which to be happy this year.

A lot of people are working today. Too many people are shopping for the "deals". Some of us are just trying to get our gears moving to carry us through the next few weeks. 

Yes, the latter would be me!

I've been off the grid the last few weeks for a few reasons. With something of routine again rising on the horizon, hopefully I'll be back fairly regularly. And, very much looking forward to all the beautiful holiday goodies being created.

I was fortunate enough to actually receive a couple of commissions for personalized pet portraits and have completed the one posted at the top of the page, A Lucy & Sweetie Pie Christmas. 

It was commissioned as a tribute from Stephanie of Crystal Allure Beaded Jewelry Designs to a couple of her fur babies. Sadly, she & her family lost Sweetie Pie, the kitty, this past year after a few years of his battling cancer. She will be using them as her seasonal cards, obviously. But I am very grateful for the opportunity to design this special tribute for her and her family, human and furry.

The next one in the works is for a friend looking for a Christmas gift for a friend of hers. I'll keep you posted on that one, too.

What are you planning to create this season? Anything special for holiday gifts? Commissioned or for friends and/or family? I'd love to hear from you!

Stop on by our Etsy page to see the listings for the Pet Portraits. We'll be running a special for Cyber Monday, as well as continuing our donation program with the Note Cards & Digital Pet Portraits.

Meanwhile, Baby & Buddy are setting the example of how to spend the rest of the weekend!

Digital Doodles

A couple of months ago, a friend showed me a photo of her dogs. The angle of the picture inspired an idea! The image was from the perspective of the dog walker, looking down at the dogs on several leads.

Here's the result, after an evening playing with a paint program on my tablet:

Walking Beth's Dogs
Digital
BEDeuel ©2014 Bronson Hill Arts

After printing and matting it for Beth, another friend asked for a portrait of her cats:

Chilling with Vicki's Cats
Digital
BEDeuel ©2014 Bronson Hill Arts

They are fun to do and, obviously, wonderfully personal for the pet parents!

So, of course, I had to do one of one of our pet kids:

Our Mickey
Digital
BEDeuel ©2014 Bronson Hill Arts

There are many more photos waiting to be done, I'm sure! And, so enjoyable to do!

Gardens, Gardens Everywhere!

                 

Back in March, I posted an inspiration piece called “String of Spring”. It was a first attempt at painting flowers and the result was mixed.



Original
String of Spring
6x18 Water Soluble
Pencil on 140#
Cold Pressed Paper
©2011 BEDeuel



But I call it an inspiration piece because, it inspired Stephanie of Crystal Allure Jewelry to special order a “String of Spring” to use in her own home. She wanted purple coneflowers with an eggshell background. Another idea to offer as a customized, art-for-fun item!

In developing the piece for her, I did a sketch that didn’t really translate well to watercolors. I kept it on the computer and, the other day I thought to use the computer’s Paint program to “colorize” it. And, I like the effect. It’s different than my other pieces, but I think that’s what I like about it.


Computer
Colorized Sketch
©2011 BEDeuel



I’m going to use it for a note card design to raise some funds for Hearthside Cats, a local, no-kill fostering program that provides so much for the community. Let me know if it appeals or not!

Oh, yes, and here’s the final piece designed for Stephanie:


String of Spring Coneflowers
6x18 Water Soluble Pencils
on 140# Cold Pressed Paper
©2011 BEDeuel


A customized “garden” for her wall!
********************************************************************************************
Speaking of spring:

As I’ve mentioned before, it was an extremely snowy winter which became an equally extremely rainy spring. Then when June came, the sun came out and the spring season lost her shyness.

When spring burst forth, all of our efforts were turned toward tending the lawn and gardens. And it started to look so beautiful. These pictures show how much so.
Then July came, all too quickly, and sucked every bit of beauty out of the glorious gardens. We watered as much as possible, but most of the annuals died and a lot of the perennials went brown and curly. It started to rain a little bit this last week or so, but the goal at this point is to salvage as much of the perennial gardens as we can so that they can regroup for next year.

And they will. They’ll rebound and bring all their loveliness along for the show. There will be two more seasons, each with their own offerings and pleasures, and, when spring is ready to re-emerge, we’ll be ready to welcome her again.

A New Twist!

Several weeks ago, I was showing a co-worker this blog. In scrolling through it, the Flights of Life Butterfly Note Cards  caught her attention.

Her daughter is getting married in October this year and her shower is in September. My co-worker had been searching for the “right” card for the invitations. Her daughter loves butterflies which hold a special meaning for her and her father. The moment brought the two ideas together for my co-worker.

She and her husband looked over the Flights of Life Collection and selected one particular design. Coincidentally, they picked my favorite design.

She gave me the wording she wanted as well as the font and color that fit the theme of the wedding. I worked up a sample and the result fit her conception perfectly! I think there was a tear involved, but that has to be credited to a mother's moment of sentiment.

Below is a modified image of the resulting invitation. The names and location have been altered for the privacy of the parties involved.


Bridal Shower Invitation Personalized on
A Flights of Life Collection Note Card
©2010 BEDeuel

It was a wonderful experience putting the two ideas together. I would love to do it again! And to top it all off, a donation was created to be sent to the Lungs for Life Foundation, for transplant awareness!


Sometimes it's difficult to find a new way to approach an existing situation. Other times that new idea is just given to you. Hopefully, we’re always open to the possibilities presented.