Sit. Stay. Smile. Photography & Art

Here are a few photos to get you into the Christmas spirit from my holiday pet portrait sessions I had a couple of weeks ago…Everybody had a great time getting their pictures taken and the dogs really loved the tree with the real dog bone ornaments…I think every dog that came through that day stole one off the tree…It was a great idea in my mind, but not so brilliant in reality! I also want to say thank you to Two Brother’s Dog Wash & the Virginia Beach SPCA for hosting these two events for me this year…you guys are awesome!

Hey everyone! Sorry to be MIA for the past week…Christmas has been full on around here and I have been working like a dog….pun intended. My Etsy store has been doing really well and thanks to all of you who are supporting me over there! I wanted to post a few pictures from a recent shoot of a sweet kitty named Toby. He was a big, curious guy and he loved the kitty toy I brought to the shoot. It was a lot of fun to photograph a cat for a change…you have to get into a totally different mind set and I enjoy the different approach.

I hope everyone is getting all of their shopping and baking done. I am finally going to be able to relax a little and enjoy the season a bit this week since things are winding down for me. I have to remind myself to do this every year. I get so bogged down in the creating and deadlines, that I forget to stop and enjoy whats going on around me. 

I had a great time photographing these two silly, lovable labs a week or so ago. Lily was the calmer of the two and Lumpy was the wild child….They decided to go swimming half way through the photoshoot which is always fun….nothing better than wet dogs! Here are a few favorite shots and I have also included a photo of the dog treats that we ordered for my client to give as Christmas presents…The website is called  A Dog’s Life  and they offer personalized dog treats and wine…check them out…they did a beautiful job on the printing!

Here are a few pieces of jewelry that I recently came up with…They are available in my Etsy shop and they are handcrafted in sterling silver and can be customized with different words and images.  The images are covered in a thick layer of doming resin to protect the print and each piece comes ready to wear with a 24″ chain.

The small glass pendants come with a silver plated bail and 18″ chain. They also come as magnets and I can customize them with your own photo as well…Email me if you have any questions!

Can you believe Thanksgiving is next week? Scary…Well to get you in the holiday shopping spirit, I have posted a few new things in my Etsy shop…There are lots of great little gift ideas for the dog lover in your life and remember, if you don’t see exactly what you are looking for….just ask me! I am accepting commissions for pet portraits up until Dec. 5th and I can also apply photos of your pet to any of the products I offer in my Etsy shop. Just email me your favorite pet picture and let me turn it into a magnet, glass pendant, etc…

I have also posted a new painting I just completed…It is of Lily,  the Harlequin Great Dane and she is woodburned and then painted with acrylic paint on Birch Plywood. The dimensions are 24″ x 24″ and you can purchase reproductions of this painting in my Etsy shop…

I hope everyone is having a great week and be sure to check back soon to see some new jewelry items that I will be adding to my store very soon…Many of you may not know this, but in my life before photography, I was a jewelry designer for 11 years and I had my own line of handcrafted art jewelry. Much of it was animal inspired, so I have decided to resurrect some old styles and create a few new ones to share with you all…

I spent this past Sunday photographing Taylor and her horse Hootie. I think horses are such amazing creatures….I wish I knew them better. I can tell you whats going on with a dog with just a glance. Horses, I am clueless. I only know that they have the most soulful eyes and they seem to be keenly aware of everything that is going on around them. I love to photograph horses and I hope to have more opportunities to do so in the upcoming year. In the meantime, here are a few of my favorite shots of the day.