I may not be the most dedicated blogger.....but I have been painting!  

Stay tuned for more.......

It's almost March!

While 2016 seemed to go on forever, 2017 is zipping right along.  The pets and myself have been doing well, watching turkeys out the back window, playing in the snow and of course painting! 

I've added three recent portraits to my pet's tab.  All my pet portraits are a unique creative experience with their own pleasures and challenges. recently I have been thinking about taking a step back and returning to the practices of abstract painting & mixed media....with a liberal number of pet portraits in the mix.  

Burdy and Jelly in a quiet moment.

Both my pets are rescues, as were those before them.  I believe in speaking for those who have no voice.  This voice speaks for wild animals that are so horribly impacted by the legal use of leg-hold traps. This voice speaks against lawmakers threatening to eliminate the Endangered Species Act. I always believe in acting locally as well as globally and so my local action is to donate 15% of any pet portrait commissioned in 2017 to Almost Home Rescue and Rehab Dog Sanctuary .  Globally I will continue to persist in any way that I can to be a voice for all species. 

Welcome 2016!

Well, you can see how well my 2015 Resolution to Blog worked!  No more resolutions....I'll blog when I'm good & ready!

2015 saw me take a 6 month hiatus from painting, due to cataracts dulling my vision.  I had them removed in December and am preparing to paint again with a vengeance!

Burdy has grown to be a big healthy house cat and for her first birthday she got a new friend, Rescue Dog Jelly Roll from Florida! It took a couple months for them to acclimate, but now we're one big happy family!

Wishing everyone all that they wish for in 2016....and I hope you enjoy my art!

Time for another Resolution!

Since the inception of this Blog I've made a yearly resolution to do more blog posting!  Though I love to write I guess I'm just not a natural Blogger....or maybe it's just connecting with other aspects of life too much to find time to connect via this medium!  2014 has been a rough year...starting when I unexpectedly lost my poor cat Smeagle in January and continuing with sad news & loss from every direction.  Sorrow often slows down my creative process....and when you're writing about that creative process....well, you get the picture.  

One very bright spot that entered my life at the end of 2014 was Burdy (aka Burdock) a feral kitten I rescued in September!  Burdy's mom, Wampus (who was actually featured in a previous post) has been wintering in my garage for four years, and this year she came back early, with kittens!  After hearing of a kitten siting, I was taking apart the garage, when I spotted Wampus under my car!  I spoke to her and she ran for the field, with me behind her.  Rather than speeding away, she kept pausing and looking over her shoulder; she could have easily lost me.    She came to a stop behind a fallen tree and turned to look at me with a put upon air about her.  Prancing across that tree, without a care in the world, was Burdy. (At that moment called Pygmy Puff)   I was able to scoop her right up, and she responded with a nip and a quick escape.  It was growing dark, and I returned to the house with thoughts of the little gray puff.  It rained all night, and I couldn't stop thinking about her, so the morning found me back at the dead tree.  Wampus was nowhere to be seen and I caught a quick glimpse of a dark kitten who quickly scooted deeper in the bracken.  Burdy was hiding under a hummock of grass with her light blue grey hair squirting out in every direction!  This time I had gardening gloves, so I scooped her up again & popped her in a crate..  Unfortunately Squatch (long known as kitten #2) was much more evasive than Burdy and I could never get close to her, though I continued to try for several weeks...and still do if I see her.

I created a safe den for Burdy in a large dog crate, with litter, hiding spaces,food, water etc.  She didn't like me at first, but we began a daily interaction with toys. (Thanks #JacksonGalaxy!) After the first couple days, her world was in the center of the action....loud music, noisy tools, people coming & going.   In just over a week she was sleeping in my lap and purring!  Burdy was around 4 weeks old when she left the wild to live inside, which I read was the perfect age for a feral cat to acclimate and she's done great!  Her mom and sis still appear in the garage, where they have cat houses and food and water to get them through.  Sometimes I wonder if Wampus knew Burdy was a handful and so led me to her....I just know I spend a lot of time typing one fingered now, paint with a furry little helper and am leapt on with greeting every time I walk through the door!  

So now I have two resolutions, Though Wampus is very "street smart" around the foolishness of humans and has avoided the trap in the past; my first resolution is to spay "my" feral cat population through Trap, Neuter and Return.., AND my second is to make more posts to this blog!

Check out some of my work from 2014 on my pets page,  And even though it's February....a Happy Healthy Art filled, Pet filled New Year to all! 

 

 

 

Creativity!

The Creative juices have been flowing this Fall...it's just a matter of finding the time to keep up with them!  I don't know if it's my upcoming show at the Barre Opera House or all the inspirational music experiences this season, but color just seems more vibrant! If you check out the two new entries on my pet page you can see for yourself!  I am also excited to be exploring my newest medium of felting at a new level by creating my first Felt Painting!  A portrait of Mizar enjoying an ice cream cone, with the base material being an old shirt of my mom's....the only 100% wool I could easily come across!  Did you know most felt these days is made of recycled plastic instead of wool?  It's a fact.

Busy, busy!

Fall is officially upon us, and the mornings have been frosty!  I recently delivered this glowing portrait of Moxie to her loving family and freed up some time to work on pieces for my upcoming Exhibit at the Barre Opera House this November!  Maybe my work will be hanging when Mavis Staples performs there....wonder if she has any pets...either way, I can't wait to see that great lady belt it out!    As for freeing up time, I am also blogging at Cow Cab Tales and creating promotional material for Montpelier's new Capital Cab & Car Service (aka: Cow Cab, due to her unique design).  And I am very excited to announce that I will be part of a pop up art gallery October 4 from 4 - midnight during Montpelier's Art Walk.  The exhibit is designed to reflect on Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which happens every October.  This happening will include Art, Poetry, Music and performance art including a 10:30 performance by friend and fellow artist James Secor on the Chora!  Can't explain it....you'll just have to come and check it out!  This theme does not fall in my pet portrait genre, and I will be showing an older Mixed Media piece from my Emotional Boundaries series, which has never before been exhibited in Central VT.  The fog is now lifting on another crisp fall day and I wish anyone reading this a Happy Harvest Season!  Hope to see you at Montpelier Art Walk! 

Labor Day Weekend!

It has been a busy Summer!  I have been taking a brief hiatus from shows while I prepare to exhibit at the Barre Opera House this Fall and catch up on my portrait list!  I also discovered a fun new art this Spring: Needle Felting!  I have created critters with my sister and shared the fun craft with my friends in a cozy cottage on Wing's Neck, MA.  It's addicting!  And of course we had to tie dye to celebrate Battle of Bennington Day!  What could be more appropriate?

 

Between that...a couple music festivals...the July 3rd Parade...perusing Petfinder...camping at Lake Willoughby...work at the WCYSB and trying to get a few things done around here....I don't know where the time's gone!  I have shared this summer's portraits on my Pets page. 

It's almost Spring!

This is the kind of day we're having!  The First Day of Spring is tomorrow, but it's snowing like crazy!  It feels like every time I sign on, my previous post says "I can't believe it's been so long...." but I've been busy in 2013, so I'm not even going to say it!  Coordinating the MontPolar Frostival, searching for a new dog for Smeagle (who doesn't think he wants one), building a feral cat house for the Wampus Cat (Not a very involved project, but necessary for a below zero winter), working and painting whenever I get the chance!  No wonder I'm not a champion blogger!!  Enjoy the snow, enjoy the spring and enjoy the latest portraits I just posted to my pet page....

Visit the  Humane Society of Chittenden VT's FB page and check out the photo albums to learn more about feral Cat Houses.

What I did on my summer vacation....

I can't believe it's been such a long time since I posted to my site!  Don't think I haven't been busy however, painting pets, participating in several shows; two of my own and painting a mural at the Black Door Restaurant in Montpelier!  I've also become gainfully employed at the Youth Service Bureau, to whom I donated two pet portraits for a fund raising silent auction this Spring and doing my tasks at Montpelier Alive including coordinating this year's July 3rd parade!  (Yes Montpeculiar celebrates July 4th on the 3rd....)  Anyways, enough about me!  I am making a cold weather resolution to get back here more often!  Now I'll share a few of my latest works with you on my pet, news and mural pages! 

 

Here's Smee, who not only would like all of my time, he bites too!  Maybe it's because I'm yet to do his portrait!





Spring is right around the corner!

It's mid March but the days feel more like May!  One of Mother's Natures tricks, or is it just the "new normal" for weather in Vermont?  In any case, everywhere you look grass is rising from beneath the snow and people are running or walking with their very eager canine companions!  I have been so busy in the world of life, art and pet portraits that I find this blog sorely neglected, but I've made some updates for my faithful followers and hope to have many more paintings to post with new pet portraits in the works as well as the Spring growth of my Animal Icon series!  Happy Saint Patrick's Day to all, but don't share the green beer with your "best friend" unless he's well over the age of consent and a two footer! 

I'm enjoying the creative life in Central Vermont!

Find my artwork on Facebook!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Christine-Hartman-Art/288800047809829#!/pages/Christine-Hartman-Art/288800047809829

Preparing for a New Year....

Every year brings good and bad to all of us...and I have been fortunate to explore new places, meet new friends and learn new things in 2011!  There have been hard times for those close to me too, and the loss of my best friend Mizar left a hole in my heart that little Smee, the Norwegian Forest kitten, is slowly helping to heal.  2012 brings many promises of new adventures...and many more Pet Portraits to paint!!  And I have two shows beginning the New Year.  I am very pleased to have been accepted into Randolph's Chandler Gallery's theme show "The Chair" with a proposal for a 3D found object/mixed media piece, incorporating a pet portrait, that will appear in these pages soon!  Then in February I will be filling Montpelier's City Center with many of my works; old, new and in between!  So much to look forward to and still so much to accomplish in 2011!  For now I wish everyone a Healthy and Happy New Year and close with one more photo of Mizar, posing for a Christmas card in 2004, just five years old! 

Thank God for Dogs! 

It's the Holiday Season!

And as any time of year, a great reason to share pet portraits!  I am painting quite a few Christmas gifts this year, some commissioned and some for my own loved ones!  My current favorite however has to be this vision I recently painted of Mizar entitled "My Guardian Angel"!  Lexi is eagerly awaiting a stocking full of treats and Smeagle knows that there is a "made in Vermont" fresh catnip trout hiding around here somewhere!  Happy Holidaze to all of you!  Don't forget to treat your four footed friends to something special this season,  and keep those poisonous Poinsettas out of reach!


By the way, if you happen to be shopping in Montpelier, stop by Village Pizza for a snack and check out my pet portraits and acrylic paintings!  My exhibit there has been extended though December.

It's been awhile....

There has been quite a lot going on in my world and I've been just too busy to share!  Now that the cold weather is starting to drift in and my focus is moving from outdoor activities to indoor ones, I hope to wander back to this blog much more often!  My computer is right next to a radiator...

I am happy to announce my current exhibit at Village Pizza in good old Montpeculiar through the end of November.   I have posted a few photos of that event on my news page as well as two new pet portraits of our buddy Fritz!  As Wegman discovered, Weimaraners are great models!!

I would like to reflect briefly upon the current state of our country and it's affect on our canine companions!  Fortunately our beloved dogs are far above social movements, but being owned by the 99% can result in inferior dog foods, infrequent treats and fewer check-ups! I'm in total support of the demonstrations, but don't leave your four footed friend in a hot car or alone in a cramped apartment all day while you are fighting for justice!  To the dogs, if you are ready to get off the couch and ignore the nice biscuits and water that your owner left for you when he went out to change the world, lets start a movement for you too: OCCUPY THE AKC! I don't know exact statistics, but would bet that there are 99 percenters in the canine world too!  Why shouldn't a lab crossed with indeterminate other breeds get the same perks as a Poodle or a Pomeranian?  Just saying....

Life Goes On!

It's been a very busy summer, filled with camping, farming, collaborating on the July 3rd festival, lotsa fun music and of course painting and exhibiting.  Sadly the rain that fell on all this activity was the death of my beautiful Mizar.  I have lost pets before, but never had to make the decision to end the pain of someone I loved so much...My heart goes out to all those who have lived through this heartbreaking yet necessary experience. 

Check out my pet page for two new paintings!

Pretty soon I'm going to have to paint an ark!

I guess we all wonder when the rain is going to stop... but it can't stop us from being creative!  I am excited to be showing my artwork in two different venues in our capital city, check my News page for details!  I've just posted some of my latest portraits to my Pets page including two ferrets enjoying a spring day and a beagle mix with a big heart, Daisy.   Just for fun, the following is a list of top ten breeds according to the AKC, but I have to say that my favorite breed, like Daisy, is the all american loyal mutt!  In fact I think we should stop saying mutt or mixed breed or crossed breed and just call them the AMERICAN BREED! Most Americans are mutts on some level...Do you think it will catch on....?
AKC TOP 10 BREEDS OF 2010:  1) Labrador Retriever 
2) German Shepherd  3) Yorkshire Terrier  4) Beagle  5) Golden Retriever  6) Bull Dog  7) Boxer  8) Daschund 
9) Poodle  &  10) Shih Tzu 

New Pet Portraits Just Posted!

Visit my Pets Page to see the two new portraits I posted today, Pete, an adorable Jack Russel Terrier and Tigger, a grey tiger cat with an attitude!  I am just completing a painting of two happy goats that I photographed in the Mad River Valley and am reining in my use of color to paint a "serious" memorial portrait of Daisy, a beagle mix with a big heart.   Yesterday I attended Arts Advocacy Day events sponsored by the Vermont Arts Council.  The afternoon panel was based on using social media to market your art, so here I am today, blogging, trying to increase my footprint on the worldwide web!  Thanks to the Arts Council for all their services for Vermont artists and for a very interesting day.  Of course I'd rather being putting footprints in the snow with my best freind Mizar, but there will be plenty of opportunities to do that with the big storm forecasted for tomorrow!  I have several group exhibits in the works and hope to be posting more information to my News page soon, but for now will wish everyone a happy day...and give all your pets a big pat from me!

Blogging on a Blustery day...

It's a fabulous day to stay inside!  I just finished sending some information to the Montpelier Arts Collective for our new facebook page.  We hosted a Meet and Greet & Open Mic Monday 2/28 at the Unitarian Church and had a great turn out.  This organization could be the ticket to putting Montpelier on the map for visual arts to go with the fine reputation for musical events that it has been building over the last few years.  My mind is working overtime on ideas for this exciting new venture and I have to reign myself in to focus on my own...PET PORTRAITS! I recently finished a painting of a very cute Jack Russel Terrier that was donated to the VT Arts Council's auction to benefit the VT Food Bank. (the painting was donated, not the dog....)  I have a whole ark full of animals lined up on the drawing board, so stay tuned to my pet page for more portraits of people's wonderful and varied pets.  I hope my readers are all staying warm today and walking their dogs, monkeys, pot bellied pigs with care. Remember, road salt is very hard on your pet's sensitive paws, so give them a nice warm foot bath when you get home and they will thank you for it!   Enjoy!!

Welcome to my Blog!

Never thought I'd find myself blogging...but here it is!  Don't expect personal info or angst, this site is all about art and pet portraits!  Pet's are like family members and so many are dear to our hearts.  A pet portrait is a great gift, memorial or simply a reciprocation of all the unconditional love that they provide!  When I am not painting pets, I like to immerse myself in the adventure of creating mixed media and found object art!  Trash off the street can be incorporated into a piece of artwork that will some day grace a private collection!  Things that you always knew you could do something with, but never knew what, are fair game for this kind of artwork as well!  I hope you will wander through this blog as you would a gallery, and find pleasure in what you see here.

If you would like more information about pet portraits or Christine Hartman Art please contact:

christine@christinehartmanart.com