Here is a sneak peek at a statue I am finishing up for boxer rescue fundraising. Gotta say I am smitten with how it is coming out and really looking forward to seeing people’s reactions to it. I think our rescue fundraising in 2021 will get off to a great start!
Can’t go without mentioning this ceramic figure came to us along with several other boxer figurines donated by a follower of our work, Cara. All she asked for in return is that one of the figures go to her favorite boxer rescue, Boxer Luv based out of Arizona (a rescue I know because of my bestie Lorie who introduced me their work years ago).
So they will be raffling this off through their page sometime in late January-early February. I’ll post details as well on my page and social media. He stands about 6 inches tall. Hand painted in fluid drip swirls of gloss black, pinks, reds, aquas, and metallics. He’s holding a rhinestone heart in his paw. One of one that will not be duplicated. And I keep saying ‘he’ but for those that get particular, its looking very Ken doll down there so it could easily pass either way.
Stay tuned for info on how to win this one of a kind piece of boxer artwork all while supporting rescue boxers!
The Gummi Bear Dragons. Edition of 3. Surprise drop in the shop today.
People ask all the time how I come up with my different dragons. And most of the time it’s honestly just by accident or because I’m putting off doing actual commissions work. This was definitely the latter. I should have been plugging away on custom Valentine’s Cards orders but I needed a break from dogs after the weekend. So during the Intern’s nap I got going on these and couldn’t stop till they were all finished. With all the scheduled drops in the shop this month I figure just throwing these guys out there would be fun.
So in 2020 I offered up custom valentines day cards for order, and boy, that escalated quickly! They sold out in a couple days and I was up to my eyeballs in tiny watercolor paintings on heart shaped cardstock. And this was in the middle of having the Intern not sleeping through the night. So I got overwhelmed pretty quickly, buckled down and finished the last one saying Never again….
But then Covid happened…and is still happening….
So since we can’t do things the same way we did back in early 2020, I thought people might appreicate the option again of a custom card to send a loved one.
The way to purchase a custom card is through our etsy shop. There are four different styles of cards to choose from. You can order multiples through our package offers. You can get them done in authentic style (aka looks like the picture you send me) or rainbow style (colorful rainbow splash). And I can either send the card back to you to deliver or ship it to the recipient to receive by the holiday.
Right now the cutoff date is February 4th. But if I hit my limit before then I may have to cutoff sooner. So far orders have been at a slow and steady pace that I have been able to keep up. I expect after people see whether they snag one of the custom boxes the orders will start to pick up.
Any questions, feel free to reach out. Best way is messaging through social media or the etsy shop.
The Love Pitties will end up being an edition of 4 uniquely painted customized Danger Dogs (Tenacious Toys). Each a variant marbled paint swirl, iridescent heart eyes with rhinestone collars and glass heart.
They will be in the Etsy shop January 15th at 8am PST. Which is the same day we open up the custom box orders so keep that in mind if you’re interested in both.
Each figure us signed and numbered with its own gift box. At $85 each.
I came across this piece a week ago. It debuted at my very first Five Points show in 2017. I had already packed up my inventory for the show with a couple days to spare. Rather than sit around and be nervous, I got to work on what would eventually become ‘Honey’. Finishing the day before I was scheduled to leave for NYC. I posted a picture and immediately got a message from someone saying they would be at the show. And they wanted to buy it.
To be honest, that happens quite a bit. What is rare, is someone actually following through. That’s how I met my now good friend Jimi. Because he sent a friend who attended Five Points to come purchase Honey for him. Telling me it was his first designer toy purchase. And it was a piece of art compared to his Funko collection. And even years later when he stopped collecting toys and starting selling some pieces off, he still has Honey displayed prominently in his home.
So why am I telling you about Jimi lol well I was looking back in my feed for Five Points stuff because I heard another person who had purchased my work from that show had recently passed away. I am not sure exactly how and it doesn’t matter. I just know that hearing the news sucked. And I only ever saw her at Five Points shows.
Lindsey was a kind soul. She saw a piece of mine on Instagram and made an effort to stop by my booth. I am not a big artist. I certainly wasn’t then. Most people zoom past my booth on their way to other booths. But Lindsey came up and talked me for a while. Commenting on my work and asking about my dog aka Management. She was a genuinely good person. She made me feel like I was a famous artist in just a ten minute conversation. And after that first time she continued to follow me on social media and send me messages about my pieces. Even sharing my work in other toy groups trying to get people to notice me. Hearing she had passed away and so young, it was just a bummer. The world needs more Lindseys in it.
But this all got me thinking on the kind of work that I want to be creating. As much as I love doing the customs and painting up dragons etc, I miss having just a resin body and wood block in my hand and coming up with characters from scratch. I miss working with wire and trying to challenge myself with each piece to top the piece before. I want to leave behind more pieces like Honey that people can’t bear to part with.
My goal in 2021 is to get back to the art in art toy. And to experiment more with my creations. Too often I find myself leaning towards the what will sell/help me pay my bills and away from the work that truly feeds my soul. I don’t want the only good thing I do as an artist to be that I donate to rescues.
A break in the weather yesterday along with an opportunity for a babysitter allowed me to get going on a few more Love Pitties for the end of this month.
First round of paint swirls have been applied. And these guys are getting there rhinestone collars and heart eyes/nose detailing finished up today.
Still not sure on an exact release date but the goal is to have them ready and gift boxed in time for Valentine’s day. It will be a total of four Love Pitties. (The two in the video with a bit more blue and gold are for a different round of Pitties coming out closer to Designer Con. I definitely recommend you keep tabs on our Dcon updates if you are a Pittie lover. I have three pitbull related releases planned for the booth this year).
Releasing an edition of 4 Purple Lollipop Dragons this Friday in the Etsy shop at 8am PST. They are a marbled black, purple, copper and aqua with translucent purple lollipops and flames blowing from the mouth. Each one unique in coloring. Size wise they are a little over two inches tall. And they come in cute packaging ready to give as a gift or simply enjoy yourself.
I always enjoy painting these guys up but I am really digging this color combo on this edition. Which is odd because I’ve never been super keen on purple.
Stay tuned for a new version of pink lollipop dragons coming down the line (thinking maybe a Designer Con exclusive).
Getting a few Love Pitties ready to come out later this month in anticipation of Valentine’s day. Not sure how many but each will be uniquely painted with a red heart and come in custom packaging.
As soon as I saw this photo from a client of her recently passed boxer dog, I knew immediately what I wanted to do to memorialize him…
The warmth of that photo…the love that just radiates….could only be captured in a matchbook painting.
Took me two whole days to complete. And credit to artist Michael Dubina. He paints a lot of matchbooks and always intertwines the matchsticks. That was absolutely perfect to symbolize the forever love between Boris and his owner. And I would be remiss to not mention his work inspiring me.
Ok, so with 2021 I am going to try and post upcoming news monthly so people know what to expect. Especially in terms of our boxer fundraising stuff. So here we go with January…
Custom 5×7 watercolor commissions have opened starting now till January 4th or until the spots have all filled, with options of authentic or rainbow style and w/ or w/o a matte. You can find the link in the Etsy shop to purchase.
Some abstract watercolors ranging in size will be appearing in the shop as well over the next couple weeks. If you follow our facebook or instagram you’ll be notified each time a new art piece makes its way in.
On January 15th at 8AM PST, custom box orders will open. There will only be 4 spots available in each size. And only one style of box. You can find the link in the Etsy shop that morning. Feel free to ask questions prior to the date because these will sell out fast. I rarely do these anymore outside of rescue fundraising because of the time consuming nature and health issues involved. Prices range from $35 -$125
On January 22nd at 8am PST, we will open 10 spots for custom 6×9 wood wall art ‘Love’ portraits. We teamed up with 2ndhandboxerssigns again to come up with a Valentines day themed custom. So $10 from every sale will be donated to Wigglin Home Boxer Rescue since that is her rescue of choice 🙂 I highly recommend checking out her Etsy shop for really beautiful, classy signage for dog lovers. And part of every sale goes back to rescue. She has a Valentines day item available as well.
We are doing the custom Valentines day cards again like we did last year. Orders can be placed in the Etsy shop starting January 15th and closing either when I hit the magic number or around February 4th. There will also be a limited number of ‘Kiss’ covered boxer and pittie dog watercolors available in the shop that day.
Our next big boxer fundraiser will be closer to Valentines day. I am painting up a 6 inch ceramic boxer statue that will be covered in kiss marks and holding a heart in his paw. That will be done like our usual raffles and not sure which rescue we will be supporting with that one. Most of the rescues that contacted me didn’t specify a certain time so I’m trying to look at immediate needs.
If you are with a rescue and looking to get on our calendar, please contact me asap. I can’t guarantee anything as spots are filling up and there is only so much I can do until I am Bill Gates rich. And if I haven’t worked with you ever, there is a certain amount of vetting I need to do as we have had some scam artists con us out of free artwork in the past.
