Westminster Dog Show Hounds and Borzoi

We watch the Westminster Dog Show every year so we can get our Borzoi fix. We had a beautiful Borzoi named Tatiana when we lived in the midwest and we miss her very much. It’s a rare sight to see one in the DC neighborhood though we have come across one or two in the last thirteen years. I’ve jumped out of my car to stop and see the lovely creatures and talk to the owners. We’ve also gone to a few dog shows just to see the hound group. So last night we watched the hound group on Westminster. For whatever reason it seems the Borzoi is never talked up like other breeds. Of course we consider that quite insulting! Unfortunately our favorite didn’t win the group but at least was selected in the final bunch. That is one thing I really miss about living in the Midwest. That dog was just plain wonderful. 

National Borzoi Rescue Foundation

We had a Borzoi names Tatiana. She was simply delightful. It’s been over 13 years since we lost her. But I’ve been keeping up with Borzoi stuff from Instagram, dog shows, and following the National Borzoi Rescue Foundation on Facebook and their website. We applied for a rescue a few years back but we decided not to go ahead at the time. We worked with Carol Backers - who is retiring from her post after many years. I was asked to do a couple of custom portraits for her and was pleasantly surprised when those images were used on her Facebook retirement notice. In fact, one of the images is used on my business card. So thank you Carol for all the wonderful work you did for the most elegant breed of pooch out there. 

LITDigitalArt Trends

I used excel spreadsheets a LOT. I was a regional director of performance management operations in a large health care system in the Midwest and an infrastructure program specialist at the Library of Congress. Now I’ve been retired for three years and don’t even have excel on my laptop. Since I use my iPad for everything I have even less use for excel. But I always liked to see outcomes shown in a visual way with graphs and charts. I would hang the displays in my office to highlight progress - or not. And they always got attention. I started my on level be LITDigitalArt shops in 2013. It started with Etsy for commissioned pet portraits and ready made digitalart. Then it expanded to Fine Art America/Pixels, Zazzle, Redbubble, and Amazon Merch. I also have my own website that links everything together. So I decided to track the overall performance of my on line shops. Because I have to report the information for taxes, I decided to figure out my earnings, volumes, and dollars per piece over time from 2013-2018. Unfortunately I can’t create my graphs but it was interesting all the same to see the numbers. I’ve made adjustments to the price charged per custom portrait over time, opened ready made image shops where the percentage of take home is pennies, and used social media to the max to promote my work. I used to have a storefront to display my work but decided the printing and foam board costs far exceeded the benefit. A new iPad and printer also added to the initial expenses but now my operating expenses are essentially my time. It’s been an interesting process and it just goes to show that I like tracking things. I guess it’s in my blood. I’d still like to dump the data in to a spreadsheet! 

Canada Geese Everywhere

They are everywhere. In any direction there are flocks of Canadian geese. As is our usual routine on Saturday morning we take a ride along the GW Parkway along the Potomac River to McLean. We have breakfast at McLean Family Restaurant and then go for groceries at either the Safeway across the street or Harris Teeter in Tysons. All along the drive starting at the Washington Monument, Memorial Bridge, Kennedy Center, and Roosevelt Island the geese are feasting on the grass, floating in the river, or flying in unison overhead. When I worked in the Midwest there was a nest of Canadian geese on the grounds. We were told to stay well clear of it because these birds can be quite nasty. So I enjoy observing them from a distance. With the freezing temperatures we have had around here the geese must be disappointed. But for the moment there is plenty of sunshine and great scenery. Who can beat that? 

Whole Foods Flowers, Olives & Nectarines

We had to take a short walk this morning rather than the usual long walk because of a prior commitment. But we also needed to pick up a bunch of flowers. To that end we promenaded over to the Whole Foods that is located hardly two blocks away. It was rather cloudy and windy with a threat of rain. So we bundled up for the cold but soon realized we were overdressed. By the time we reached Whole Foods both of us were quite warm. The fresh nectarines were too hard to pass by. The flowers were right next to the nectarines and we found a nice bunch. We quickly passed through the store and landed at the olive bar - something that is very hard to resist. We thought about looking for something for dinner but decided we would make due with whatever we had at home. By this time we were really warm! The check out didn’t take long and we were happy to be home in short order. By then, the sun was out and all was right with the world. We usually dress right for the weather. I’m not sure what happened this morning. 

Zazzle German Shepherd Card

It’s always a nice surprise to receive an email notification that an item I created was sold. Even if the royalty is pennies it is so heartwarming to know that someone out there liked a digitalart work that I painted enough to buy it for themself or someone special. And so was the case when Zazzle contacted me last week to let me know that a card with my German Shepherd design was purchased from someone in Massachusetts. That image was sold last summer to someone from Finland! If you told me even five years ago that I would even be doing any of this I would have been shocked. But when the iPad came around in 2000, my love for painting was reignited. I found an app called Sketchbook Pro and the rest just followed. It essentially eliminated the need for watercolors and pastels and my studio travels with me. I started doing commissioned pet portraits and my on line shops are populated with the digital images. So thank you for noticing my work - I really appreciate it!

Tulip and Carnation Wall Vase - Round Two

I love to have flowers in the house. To that end we have a wall vase that we use for every season. When the flowers in the garden bloom I will use them - if they aren’t I’ll still use the twigs and leaves to add a bit of texture to the mix. A few weeks ago I got a combination of yellow carnations with matching tulips at the grocery store. Over the week or more that it lasted, I photographed the progress of the tulips. When they were spent the carnations were still looking good. So we replenished the wallvase with another bunch of tulips - but this time they were yellow. I also photographed the progress of that display. Now they are all done and unfortunately had to be thrown away. I did however keep a few of the greens and the dusty miller. It doesn’t look like anything special but it’s better than nothing. I’m just too lazy to see what’s outside in the garden today. There’s always something to pick from - even in winter.