The Artist's Eyes by Jenn Lee

Johns boss’ Fred and Carol are a sweet couple. They are what I see as a storybook couple…starting out as a young struggling husband and wife that decide to build their own business out of their garage, sinking everything they have into it till they grow it into a strong business in multiple locations all the while keeping their relationship together.

Fred and Carol are avid dog lovers. When I met them they had two big Old English Labradors, Rocky and Bullwinkle. These two dogs were just a couple of big teddy bears. Last year I was saddened to hear from them that they had to put Rocky to sleep, then to add to misfortune, Bullwinkle soon followed. Fred and Carol loved these dogs like their children. Bullwinkle would follow Fred everywhere, even when he would go out traversing the back acres of their property.

John asked me to paint a portrait of Bullwinkle for them for Christmas. I was excited to do this and got to work immediately. The finished product of Bullwinkle has him set amongst shrubbery like he would when he was alive.

My good friends Jason and Christy of Webfoo and PetResearch.net have the biggest hearts when it comes to animals of every kind. Their love for animals is shown not only by their support of animal shelters & services but shown in the knowledge every one of their dogs were rescues. When I first met their dogs, I learned the story behind each addition to their family. It brought tears to my eyes to hear the sad stories. One was near death on the roadside, another tortured by mean people, another owned by a breeding farm and mistreated/uncared for. These dogs were very lucky to have been given a second chance at life…the happiest life a dog could wish for, with these two wonderful people.

Recently I did a portrait of one of their dogs that had passed away…Rudy. I didn’t have the pleasure of meeting Rudy, but given the extremely unique personalities in each of their dogs, I can’t imagine Rudy didn’t have an equally fantastic personality of his own. He can be seen on my blog here. When Christy saw Rudy’s finished portrait, she had tears in her eyes. She had felt I had captured him perfectly. The feeling of satisfaction was priceless! After Rudy, they then asked me to paint their other dogs portraits, to which I was honored to fulfill.

Each portrait is painted on canvas’ of 100% recycled paper materials, 11×14 in size (standard frame) and painted with ECO friendly paints. I’d like to introduce you to…Hardy, Lois Lane, Buddy and Blue!

Today marks day one of back to school for my two youngest children. I have to admit it is a welcome day. Though I enjoyed the quality time I was able to spend with my children, as I know you work from home parents out there can agree with me, it is difficult to get much done when you have children home with you!

How do you get back into the proper mindset after three months of juggling family with home business? Refresh that mentality with a few tips. Schedules, time management, plans of attack. How so? Try these little tasks to get you back into the swing of things….

Build your routine: For me, I know I get up and get the kids off to school first and foremost. Then I get to sit down and enjoy my cup of coffee, check emails and decide what I might want to blog about that day. Once that is done, I get to work on project A, B or C. I know the kiddos will be returning home from school at a specific time of the day, so getting projects worked on that require my full energy, motivation, concentration and creative mojo are the tasks I want to work on during the time they are away at school. Once they are home, I can work on tasks that don’t require so much of my attention.

Getting that routine built will enable your mind to kick into work mode easier after you get used to that schedule. After three months of summer vacation, it may take a few days to get your brain into gear.  I know I have several projects that have been patiently waiting for my summer vacation to end! In the upcoming days, please feel free to come back and check up on the blog, I should have a few new pet portraits to share!

Until then….welcome back to work fellow work from home parents…I hope you had a very nice summer and cheers! here’s to getting back to work! …..from the Artist’s Eyes.

Pet Portrait of Rudy - The Artist's Eyes by Jenn Lee

I had the pleasure of working on another pet portrait this week. I chose to start offering my pet portraits because our pets become a part of our family. I feel these portraits immortalize our beloved family members whether they are still with us, or once they are gone.

All of my art whether portraits, wall art or sculpture are created out of ECO friendly materials. I have focused solely on conservation in my own use of materials. These pet portraits are created on handmade canvases created out of all recycled paper products. They are as strong as a store bought canvas, as well as as thick. I also custom size these canvases to fit standard frame sizes available at most framing stores.

This particular portrait was of a wonderful dog named Rudy. Rudy was a beloved pet that passed away several years ago.

The biggest pleasure I get is when I complete a project such as this and see the expression from the client. That is when I know I captured the essence of their loved one. With that being said, here is Rudy! He’s one handsome doggie!

Portrait Painting

Scrappy is a spunky, adorable pup recently adopted by Kentucky couple Charlie & Christina, through the Kentucky Humane Society.

It warms my heart to see families adopt homeless pets. So many pets are rescued each day it is overwhelming.

I was commissioned by one of their good friends Beth, to paint a portrait of  Scrappy for Christina’s birthday. The 11×14 painting was created on a 100% recycled paper canvas I created, as well as the paints used being non toxic acrylics. I have added it to my Pet Portfolio page…feel free to take a peek!

It was an honor to be asked to do this portrait, as well a joy to know the recipient loved it! Happy birthday Christina!