Does a Painting Say 'Ding' When it's Done?

I've been painting this straight (kind of realistic) and have let this artwork sit for a couple of days.

My Mom and Dad's dog is in the background, with our Penelope dog in the foreground. The treat has not yet been visually revealed to them yet the scent has their complete attention.

These two are mature lady dachshunds who excel in the doggie-art of sleeping, cuddling and eating.  Now the promise of food is all there is.

Now I'm back at it, painting away on The Treat. Here is the work in progress:

The Treat (Work in Progress) by Laura Hoffman

This will evolve, this is just how the painting looks right now.

My ever present question remains: When do you know this is done? When to stop "dipping the brush?"

Here is the sketch:

Clean Pencil Sketch for The Treat by Laura Hoffman

OK, back to it....

Dust Bunnies Sweeping up Awards

Dust Bunnies, a painting for the Idioms Project just swept up a second award at the OC Fair. This was a nice surprise. The fair is happening now through August 11.

2013 OC Fair - Laura Hoffman and Dust Bunnies

Run - don't walk - to the OC Fair and treat yourself to the usual indulgent food (chocolate covered bacon! Deep friend avocados and more!) and feast your eyes on award winning photography and fine arts.

Congratulations to all my students who placed and won awards!! The photo exhibit this year is worth the trip to the Fair. And please stop by and say hello to the Dust Bunnies.

More art is coming....

My New Postcard!!

I am very excited!

I just received my printed postcards for the upcoming summer Society of Childrens Books Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) conference. Sometimes, I get nervous when sending artwork out for print.

This time, I am pleasantly surprised - these look great! I used Overnight Prints.

Dust Bunnies is part of the Idiom Series. I have plenty of these guys under my bed and in corners and do my best to capture them before they multiply.

Dust Bunnies has won several awards, including a Certificate of Merit from the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles (SILA West) and an Honorable Mention for the 2013 OC Fair Visual Arts. I will be back at the OC Fair for Judge's Night this Thursday, July 25.

Frisbee Dog

Frisbee Dog by Laura Hoffman

 

 

I was going through my portfolio and found this beginning of an "Action" painting and decided to rework it today. Check out the Easter Egg in the frisbee - I was having fun. 

Just realized just about all of my portfolio pieces have animals in them. My love of animals - especially dogs and cats - is spilling over into my work. Being the youngest of three kids, I didn't have the chance to grow up around little children - instead, we always had dogs (dachshunds, can you tell?) and some feral cats as pets, and would draw wiener dogs and cats all over everything. Think I will never outgrow this habit.

Figuring out if this is finished enough to release into the wild.

New sketch: The Treat

The Treat  Sketch by Laura Hoffman:  July 17, 2013

Here is a new sketch - hot off the pencil today.
I'm going to paint it with all this energy emanating from the hand. It's all about that magic moment in time when the goodie is offered by their human.

This is Penelope and her aunt Ginger - two older lady dachshunds who are shamelessly motivated by treats.