Family Portrait...

The Walter family, from left to right: Tim, Isis, Meredith, Violette & Lee - with their custom family portrait. I had a lot of fun creating this for Lee who surprised Meredith with it, on her birthday. We included all the things they love including a favorite vacation spot, doggie beach, film, music and their beloved adopted pets and adorable daughter, Violette.
This is a ready to hang 20x20 Float Frame Print with a UV protective laminate surface. Let me know if you would like me to create a custom one for you!

Bear...My first Bernese Mountain Dog portrait:

Another sweet dog from the neighborhood...I think Bear may be the largest dog I have created a pet portrait of...definitely my first Bernese! Many more commissions to show you that I've been juggling over the last few months while also doing art fairs around the midwest and several new ones in the works, stay tuned...

Roscoe Village Street Banner Campaign...

At long last, the street banners I designed will soon be hanging throughout Roscoe Village. The Roscoe Village Chamber of Commerce recently rolled out the banner ad campaign to area businesses. I look forward to seeing them up around the neighborhood and sharing some photos with you!

Anne's Art in another Feature Film...!

"Dog Days"

"Betty & Barney"

I just signed a final film credit release for my prints "Dog Days" and "Betty & Barney" to be used on the set of Doggie Boogie, a feature film coming out sometime next winter. These prints will be hanging in the set apartment of character, Peter Wolfe, owner of
Doggie Boogie, a dog dancing school...hopefully we'll see them - that's not always the case.

My previous brushes with the silver screen:

The Break-Up - You never saw my art in this Vince Vaughn/Jennifer Aniston movie because they cut the
original ending...didn't see it in the dvd alternate ending either. (My entire art fair booth was in it, plus my friend Eva May and I were hired as extras...it was a very fun 2 days of shooting along with some other art fair pals and their work on the set at Buckingham Fountain in August of 2005.)

The Number 23 - My postcards and book mark were easy to spot in this Jim Carrey flick plus I got a little press and sold the painting that was on the postcard....

 

Trucks + Grain + Women

My trucks have finally found utility...I will have several on display at the Women In Grains Show...(a Coast to Coast Perspective) opening this Friday, July 16th at the Woolen Mills Gallery in Reedsburg, WI. This gallery is part of the Worm Farm Institute which is "dedicated to integrating culture and agriculture, an evolving laboratory of the arts and
ecology and fertile ground for creative work." The show was curated by fellow artist/friend and notorious CORN LADY, Cathi Bouzide and encompasses the work of 18 women from around the country...there will even be a limited edition Women in Grains Beer microbrewed by Cathi's husband Paul. Should be a fun filled and very interesting evening!

 
When invited to participate, I decided to use my trucks. My initial hope
was to actually plant grain in the beds of them, this required that I
work outside of my comfort level and build bigger rigs. It was
challenging but I learned a lot and had new ideas along the way. Time
and circumstances prevented my use of live plants so I opted to fill
them with grain: corn, oats, rice, rye, buffalo grass and black popcorn.
Most of which were brought to me from the farm of artist, Dan
Brinkmeier in Mount Carroll. Still wondering why I'm in a show called
Women in Grains? Read my statement below...

 

 

 

artist statement

Trucks started showing up in my work in 2007, shortly after moving to a new neighborhood not far from the Kennedy Expressway in Chicago. The sound of the trucks lull me to sleep at night and once the leaves fall, I see the trucks up there on that ribbon of elevated expressway every time I walk out my front door to walk the dogs.

I actually like the sound these trucks make and I have a fascination with their scale and design. Growing up in quiet small town Sparta, Wisconsin, the sounds of the highway lulled me to sleep at night and reminded me that there was a whole other world out there full of people traveling and venturing to other places. I also love road trips, so trucks are a part of my visual landscape which I associate with the freedom and vistas of the open road.

So how do these things tie in with ‘Women in Grains’? I feel a certain grain connection due to my experiences at the Fields Project Artist Residency in rural Oregon, Illinois, not only painting images of the farms and fields, but actually making one of my images into an 11 acre field sculpture. I also consume my fair share of grains and in the end, no matter what I just said: trucks carry grain.

Bailey...another Golden

 

Just finished Bailey...this was a Pet Portrait Gift Certificate redemption from the holidays.You are looking at the final digital painting that I created and sent to my printer who will create an 18x18 Laminated Float Back Pet Portrait Print. It should arrive next week at which time I will sign and ship to it's new home in Atlanta. Below you can see how I create the digital painting, on my magic tablet...the cintiq:

Willie's Wilderness Adventures...

 Finished up several commission Pet Portraits, recently...this one was near and dear to my heart. My brother commissioned this narrative scene painting for his wife's birthday last year...and they have been very patient! Willie was an awesome dog and is missed very much...this painting celebrates his life and love of the outdoors, asparagus, tennis balls and his favorite pass time, catching bees!

New Logo Designs...Thinking Cap Tutoring:

I just finished this fun logo project for Lisa Nava, P.h.D. She offers
psychotherapy for children,teens and adults as well as tutoring for kids
and teens, mostly with dyslexia. I think it is a wonderfully friendly
design for kids who might be more nervous about therapy/etc. The top
logo will be for tutoring business cards and branding materials, the bottom for therapy.

Let me know if you are in the market for a new Logo for your business...I promise a fun and painless process!