Not-So-Trivial-Pursuit!

I laughed out loud when this one showed up! Maybe my imagination is running totally wild here, but to me it looks like a worried little critter fleeing from a gang of other strange life forms. It was tagged "Pursuit", partly for that reason and partly because I think it came from Cassie's energetic pursuit of a fly that was buzzing around in that window. There's another one that I call "Gonna Get That Fly!" which will show up later. By the way, one of Cassie's nicknames is "Renfield".

Hard at Work

Original photo

Looks like Monet to me!

Cassie has been working overtime on the front storm door. It's a challenge to photograph that one - I have to put up a backdrop on the porch to block out all the stuff out there, in order for her strokes to show. Having to do that gives me the idea of using different materials for a little variety in the background. Anyway, here is one of her latest, along with the original so you can see the transformations. Name that painting!

Flower on Red

This little jewel was up in the corner of Cassie's favorite window in the living room. I almost missed it because the rest of the window was so "busy", probably the result of a few deer passing by outside.

There is a blue wing-back chair in front of that window. When Cassie is on red alert, she hits it so hard that it skids into the sill. Some of her best art is made then, because her nose is smashed right into the glass! Once I put nonskid pads under the chair legs, which proved to be a mistake because I saw her keep going when the chair didn't. She almost did a flip over the back of it, so the chair is now free to slide. Better a bumped sill than a broken dog.

Creature from the Green Lagoon

Don't ask me how Cassie did this one! It's sort of like a fish, and sort of like a snake. Maybe I should be more careful in the yard, if she indeed paints what she sees.

She does some of her best work at night. Before we go out for our bedtime "constitutional" I have to check the fenced area in the back for stray rabbits and reptiles and other critters that might have wandered in, so Cassie sits in her favorite chair in front of the living room window to see what's out there. Sometimes I hear her "critter" bark and will hear her hit the window, which usually means there'll be some interesting art to see in the morning. If she really wants out, she'll come to the dining room window and chew on the sill to get my attention. Over the years Cassie has worn her bottom incisors to nubs, chewing that sill. She just can't wait to get out there and bite toads and chase rabbits through the fence!

About "PiCassieO"

My Airedale Cassie had been painting the windows for years before I finally became aware of her talent. One sunny afternoon last year I was looking out one of her favorite "canvases" upstairs and was amazed at what she'd done with that big nose of hers! There were graceful spirals, swirls, and waves that were beautifully free and well-executed, all in response to whatever she saw outside. I finally figured out how to get the images on paper (good digital camera and Photoshop) and have been playing with "PiCassieO" works for some time now. Her "brushwork" is a real marvel: how does she make those lovely marks with her nose? It's always a treat to see what she'll do next! She paints with a joy and freedom that I envy. It is a privilege to be her interpreter.

The work above received the title "Cosmic Event" at first. Then I decided that "Cosmic Surfer" was more like it. Probably Cassie would call it "Panda's in the Yard Again!".