"Storm Door September", & Other Dogs Making Art

Summer has been a slack time for us, artistically. The weather has been so strange that I think it's affecting the wildlife, and they're evidently hanging out somewhere else. Either that or the predator population (coyotes and hawks) is increasing and scaring the bunnies and deer off! Whatever it is, Cassie's main thrill these days is barking at my brother-in-law's old hound "Miss Red" when she moseys into the yard, so we don't have a lot of fresh "nose art" to work with. It has given me time to look back at former efforts (we've come a long way from Creature From the Green Lagoon, for sure!) and play with some of them. This one is a new color version of the first Storm Door. Never being one to write down steps, I'm not sure what filters were used in the first one, so I haven't figured out yet why the image is so obviously "pixelated" - got to work on that. The temptation to translate some of these images into paintings is growing, especially when the colors are so appealing. Then pixels will be no problem at all!

Now, about other dogs making art: I just read an article about a dog in Texas "making art" to sell for the humane society. It really disturbed me, because the dog wasn't a willing participant. His paws were dipped in paint and more or less used as "brushes" while he tried to get away, and his tail was also painted so he'd wag it against the canvas. That's certainly not the way we do things around here! There is no forcing or coaching or anything else, other than Cassie's uninhibited reaction to life, that starts every "PiCassieO". We wouldn't have it any other way!

Too many people think of "abstract" art as just a bunch of paint thrown randomly at a canvas and labeled "art". It can be done that way (by animals or humans) but it's not necessarily good art! Composition and color sense are prerequisites for any kind of art in order for it to work. There - enough pontificating for one day!

Driveway, July, #2

OK - this is version #2 of the last entry - another one of the new gradient palettes. Here's your chance to be an art critic - vote for the one you like best! Title suggestions are welcome, too - as long as they're G-rated!

BTW: Our July Sale is still on at Cafe Press. Lowest prices you'll ever see on PiCassieO items - also the widest selection of merchandise. If there's something you like, get it now (am discontinuing a bunch of designs!) Shop at www.CafePress.com/airedale_art

Driveway, July #1

Getting more colorful all the time, here! It's like opening a present, every time I try a different palette! This is a totally new look for "PiCassieO". There's another version coming up in the next post - vote for your favorite!

And don't forget - BIG Anniversary Sale at www.cafepress.com/airedale_art
You won't see these prices again! Still two weeks left - go shopping!

Milk Can, July

Wow - what looked like a total disaster turned out great! I accidentally erased ALL my custom gradients last week and had to start over, attempting to get 'em back by using previous prints for color sources. Never saw this one before - it came out totally different: wheeeeee...I love the colors! It's really good to start over, I'm sure - helps prevent redundancy. So, Milk Can, July heads off in a new direction. Eager to print this one!

Cassie is still hard at work on the glass, obviously. She had a dry spell for a few weeks, mainly because the wildlife has been a bit skimpy lately. Things are picking up, though: there are twin fawns out back, a couple of bunnies hanging out in the yard, and in spite of the hot dry weather, there was a box turtle on the path this morning. I saw it just before Cassie did and was able to grab it, but we struggled over it before I finally managed to toss it into the woods. That beats being bitten by an Airedale, I'm sure.

Just a reminder: our big July Anniversary Sale is happening at http://www.cafepress.com/airedale_art! Lowest prices you'll ever see on some really fun items with PiCassieO art all over them!

Milk Can #1 (Finally!)

After posting so many versions of Milk Can, I realized that there was no #1, so now there is. Taking a little artistic license here, I guess. Anyway, what's in a number? Mainly it's a way to distinguish one work from another, since I am totally running out of titles. There are still many different views of Cassie's marks against that milk can; sometimes the differences are very subtle, so it will be a challenge to make 'em all unique. Good thing it's still so much FUN!


We evidently have a healthy population of coyotes nearby this year. Cassie is being deprived of her entertainment at the windows, since there are very few bunnies around. Even the deer are elsewhere; to my disappointment there have been no fawns at all. If it weren't for my brother-in-law's old hound "Miss Red", the window painting might have stopped. Red has taken to following Gary as far as she can, hoping he'll put her in the truck for a ride. She usually makes it as far as our house, which sets Cassie off, and then pokes back home.


If all else fails, I could always photograph our skid marks on the road, as I struggle to keep Cassie from jumping snakes or picking a fight with Miss Red. Never a dull moment.

Singer and Door, February

You heard it right - "Singer", as in sewing machine. My dad bought an ancient treadle-powered Singer years ago, when my mom refused to let him play with her machine. His ambition was to make his own clothes; that project was quickly abandoned after making a couple of really bad neckties, so the old machine finally got a job as a porch table. It sits just outside the door (next to the previously mentioned milk can) and makes a great backdrop for Cassie's marks on the glass. If you look closely you can see the top and part of a treadle wheel. "PiCassieO" continues to evolve in unexpected ways! Just go back and look in the archives if you want proof.

Milk Can May #2 (I think!)

Help - I just can't stop! There's already a #3, plus the plain old Milk Can that was posted first. This one prints beautifully, as have the others. It's becoming more and more like painting, especially with the "hands-on" involvement that the stylus affords. I salute my new medium! Have to admit, this form of my art is not getting the reception that my earlier paintings did; I'm hoping (and do believe) that attitudes toward "computer art" are changing, and that pretty soon it will be accepted as just another medium of expression. Thoughts on that? or anything else? Let me hear from you!

Cassie is blissfully unaware that a haircut is impending. So far we've had three ticks between us, so the woolly one is going to get buzzed. If you aren't familiar with ticks, I want to move wherever you are! This wet, sticky weather is their favorite, and they're out for blood. Double ugh.

Milk Can #2

Sometimes my camera just won't focus on Cassie's marks, especially when they've been rubbed a little by her fuzzy head. In this instance it didn't focus on much of anything; you'll just have to take my word for it that there was a milk can in the background. I didn't posterize the photo; instead I just drew over the marks with the stylus and then applied a custom gradient (my current favorite) and this is what happened. The background, which was out of focus, got soft and luminous so the bold black marks seem to float on top. Very satisfying! Milk Can is going to be a loooong series, I think.

East Window With Boat

Whee - more fun! That's my sailboat at the bottom of this one; I'm really loving how the strokes, once enhanced with the stylus, merge so well with the background. Since I'm still out of ink (due to buying black instead of the tri-color cartridge) I can't proof it, so there may be more work to do.


Cassie's chief obsession at the moment is toads, which are super-abundant this year already. I am living proof that they don't give you warts - have handled hundreds of the warty things, and not one bump on my hands. In my first career, I was a pre-vet and zoology major, and did my parasitology research project with the help of six unfortunate toads. Since then as penance I've rescued them from my canine "Jaws of Death" at every opportunity. Should have started a tally sheet in April - I think this year is going to break the record. And yes, my neighbors (and family) think I'm totally nuts!

Milk Can (No Kidding!)

I'm like a kid in a candy store, here! That mark that Cassie made on the storm door is one of her best, so Ive been photographing it from every angle : against the walk, the porch rails and posts, and the old sewing machine (porch table, now) and milk can near the door, which is where this composition happened. Last week I developed a new gradient which worked great for Milk Can - I love the bright colors and the shapes that came out. It was so exciting that I couldn't wait to post it, but it needs a little more work with the stylus before I'll print it. So much fun!


Cassie is totally unimpressed - she still has toads and turtles on her mind, not art. She's also been enjoying doing duets with our new neighbor, Champion. It's OK except when they get to singing at midnight or early in the morning - then I'd like to gag both of 'em!

Pablo Had A Hand In This!

Pablo's Surprise really was unexpected: I was playing with the stylus again, and started with a really bad photo in which Cassie's marks were out of focus against a crepe myrtle in the yard. The leaf pattern was much too busy, so the intent was to draw over the marks, invert the image, and then erase what was left of the background. I intended to then fill the blank space with color. What I didn't realize was that my "eraser color" wasn't pure white, so when a gradient was applied, my eraser marks showed as random scribbles. It looked very "Picasso" to me; reminds me of the "Bullfighter" that appears in our "Daily Picasso" at the bottom of this column.


Be sure to check that feature today: my physical therapist would have her work cut out with the poor guy! Makes me hurt to look at him. Maybe that was the intention?

Storm Door April, #2

I liked #1 so much that I decided to play with it some more. This is the first alteration - a different gradient was applied, which totally changed the feel of the work. The printed version really glows!

Summer has replaced spring here with a vengeance. It's probably 90 out there at the moment; when it's that hot, Miss Cassie prefers snoozing in the AC to doing anything outdoors. Until evening, that is. I can't believe we have a yard full of toads already (minus 2 last night!). Since the dog is now 10, I seriously doubt she'll ever learn to leave 'em alone. It's going to be a looong season.

Fired Up!

Wow - have I ever had a productive spurt here! After I cleaned the windows and door last week, Cassie was taking her time getting back to business, but once the deer made a reappearance, there was art on the glass again! For this one (Storm Door April, #1), I decided to angle the shot so her marks would be visible against the porch support for contrast. Since the mark was "ghostly" again, the stylus was used first to capture the strokes, and then I posterized it and applied my favorite custom gradient. I love the colors, especially that yellow! Cassie gives it her seal of approval (give her enough Goldfish and she'll approve anything!). Got at least three more to post, so stay tuned!

Now for a warning for all you dog people out there: do NOT visit a site called "Laurel Canyon Animal Company." Supposedly they make CDs of music for animals and people, and had a video on YouTube of a dog named Eliza Dolittle tearing up plastic bags, which were photographed and processed in a similar manner as "PiCassieO" art (not nearly as good!). BUT- their email is bogus, and the links section is full of attack sites. My firewall got me out of there, thank goodness. Just passing the word along - I hate to see the bad guys get their kicks at the expense of others.

All Stirred Up!

Yeah, I know this looks a little different, with the signature and all, but "All Stirred Up" is one of those really versatile works that can be stretched and cut and otherwise altered to fit some fun stuff like mugs and dog bowls at our Cafe Press store (that's http://www.CafePress.com/airedale_art), so we really hope you like it!

The resolution is high, so you need to click on it to get the sharper image. Sorry about that. By the way, check out our "Picasso of the Day" at the bottom. And some folks think he couldn't draw...

Far Out!

Here we go again: sometimes I just keep going in for a closer and closer look, and then BOOM! - a surprise pops up! This little jewel is from one I posted two weeks ago. It has the appearance of "something" (a horned creature, maybe?), but is really a celebration of color and interesting shapes. I used it as a sketch for a square canvas that had been gathering dust in the corner, so we'll see what happens now.

Cassie has now reached the venerable age of 10, as of April 12th. She got a pink bunny (needs surgery already) and a green teddy (lost an eye yesterday), and the usual love and adoration. Who could resist a face like that?

(Photo courtesy of Lukas Johnson, www.zoto.com/site/#USR.photopoetry )

Going Green!

I am having 'way too much fun with my new toy! Green Strokes could also be Porch Spirits, since Cassie drew them on the storm door at the front. That porch is keeping the sun off the door and I'm so far unable to photograph her latest efforts - would hate to lose all that work, so I need to figure out a way to capture them.


As I worked on this one, I had to zoom in to see what was happening with the stylus, and discovered some really interesting abstracts hiding there. Figured this would happen at some point, that my dormant passion for using real, messy, wet paint would surface again, so I'm off to get physical with it.


Hey - don't forget our daily Picasso (down below)!

Sidewalk Spirits

Cassie did this one on the storm door; the strokes reminded me of ghostly figures, but after applying my usual filters the "ghosts" disappeared. My first experiment with the stylus (last post) turned out OK so I decided to have another go at it - what FUN!! The work is definitely changing (for the better?). There are hundreds of photos to recheck - no boredom here, for sure!

My partner is napping at the moment, recuperating from a weekend of deer-chasing, with a side order of bird watching! Buzzards drive her crazy - there was one wheeling low over the back yard yesterday, and Crackerdog was running and barking furiously, following the bird instead of watching where she was going! Fortunately she missed the fence posts and other obstacles - whew.

Back in Action!

Hot off the Wacom tablet! Cassie does so much "brushwork" that won't show up when I start filtering (not to mention claw marks and other refinements). I decided to try the stylus over a lightly filtered photo to capture the marks and scratches on this one, then filtered more, used one of my custom gradients, and finally used the stylus again to add color and more lines. It opens all sorts of new possibilities!

One of Cassie's favorite tricks, when she was a bit younger, was to bang on the window with her front paws for added emphasis. I expected the window to break on many occasions, but it never did. She has scratched the glass - guess there was grit under her claws that did it. Evidently from this photo, she can still do it when she gets sufficiently riled!

Cassie's Nose Garden, Updated!

After a few days of extreme winter, it's suddenly spring again; we're talkin' tee shirts and flowers here! Cassie's Nose Garden has been here before, but I like it so much I decided to revise it a little and post it in honor of the season. Now I see more that I'd like to change, so it'll probably be back again.

The deer have been running all over our property and Cassie has been working hard at her "window painting." Lots of new material there - but the light this time of year is not cooperative for photographing it. At some point I'm going to be forced to clean the glass so we can see out!

"Snowy Day"

Yeah, I know this doesn't look like snow, but this is what resulted when I photographed Cassie's marks against the snowy trees in the afternoon. We had a really wild ride this weekend, weather-wise, with torrential rains and a flood watch on Sunday, followed by falling temps and about 6 inches of wet, heavy snow that night. Of course Cassie, in her all-weather coat, enjoyed it immensely - especially when she was playing snow-plow. That's when she runs with her mouth open, scooping up snow as she goes! My previous Airedale Daisy liked that too, except after a few mouthfuls of the ice - cold flakes, she would always barf. Cassie's tum is evidently made of stronger stuff.