Snow and more snow and cold even colder

It just keeps snowing and snowing and last week it got colder and colder and colder. One morning when we awoke it was -20° and we needed to go out. Living in the city, with brick sidewalks that hold the cold and are covered with salt, make it very painful for Sophie. She would limp and hold up her paw. I would end up picking her up and carrying her to her favorite patch of grass, which is covered with two feet of snow. We finally stopped at the pet store down the block and walked home with new red boots.

At one point, I looked down and she only had on three boots—damn. We backtracked and there in a snow bank was the fourth boot. After this happened several times, the boots had to go back.

We're now using MUSHER'S wax just like the sled dogs in the Iditarod and it works great.

"MUSH, Sophie, MUSH"

Got the oils out...

Tulip and Lily

9 x 12

I got a pet portrait commission from a friend in California—Tulip and Lily these cute Boston Terriors. I decided to get the oils out for this one. I am not really thrilled with this so I may need to wipe it down and start over again. It isn't easy to do commissions. You never know what they may want, especially if you don't do them very often.

Tulip and Lily in progess.

Sophie

6 x6 oil on masonite

I hate waste paint so I used the extra to do a quick study of Sophie as she sat by the fire on a cold evening here in Maine.

Dayu

6 x 6 oil on masonite

With more leftover paint I did a portrait of a friend in Bali.

Still traveling and working...

I spend a fair amount of time at LaGuardia airport. It is the "one-stop" between Portland and DC. I do not sketch as much as I would like when I am drifting around airports. I wish I had more discipline, but I find I spend more time reading.

"All those vitamins aren't to keep death at bay, they're to keep deterioration at bay" (Jeanne Moreau)

I am consulting for a supplement company so I am uncovering the mysteries of vitamins. This is a new supplement that I am taking that is great and has all the benefits listed below.

A HIGH-DHA, purified, omega-3 oil called CALAMARINE--extracted from deep ocean squid--a pure, sustainable resource that’s virtually IMMUNE to overfishing. CALAMARINE is the ONLY way to get the HIGH levels of DHA your heart (and your whole body) is screaming for. A highly potent form of CoQ10 (called Hydro Q-Sorb).This new CoQ10 makes the old stuff look like a Model T. In clinical testing, Hydro Q-Sorb was eight times more absorbable than old-fashioned, powdered CoQ10. A form of L-carnitine that’s more bioavailable than any other formula available today. L-carnitine is nature’s “delivery system” that helps keep your heart cells active and healthy. One of the purest, all-natural vitamin E’s available anywhere. This powerhouse antioxidant keeps your arteries healthy at the cellular level. Essential folic acid and B vitamins designed to support lower homocysteine levels, healthy blood flow, and healthy arteries. They also help magnify your immunity, supercharge your energy levels, and more

You ought to try Omega Q Plus by Dr Stephan Sinatra. It's great!

Working and traveling a lot...sketching and painting not so much

A wonderful consulting job came my way around Christmas that I couldn't pass up. So since then, every week I am on plane to the Washington DC area where I spend 2 to 3 days on a creative rebranding project. I found Sophie sitting in my suitcase the first time I was packing for my new job, but when she found out that she would be going to the cottage on the beach in Cape Elizabeth she is now absolutely fine with my packing.

Winter travel in the east coast can be quite challenging. My flight to Portland was canceled last week because of snow. 18 inches in Portland so the airport was closed. I made it home a day later than planned. Such is life as a consultant.

I am working with a corporation that sells supplements through several catalogs. It is quite interesting to be learning more about the mysterious world of supplements.