If ya don’t put yourself out there, you stay where you are, and that simply is not an option for me. ~BZTAT
Life is an Adventure!
BZTAT
Thought for the Day–Putting Yourself Out There
What's on BZTAT's Easel? Oscar the Borzoi!
I completed this pet portrait of a borzoi breed dog named Oscar a few weeks ago, and wanted to share it with you.
Oscar was a magnificent animal who, sadly, went to the Rainbow Bridge 2 years ago. His owner, whom I met on Twitter, asked me to paint his portrait to help keep his memory alive.
I have never seen a borzoi in real life. What an amazing breed! Here are some photos that Oscar’s owner sent for me to paint from.
I began as I always do, by painting the background black and blocking in colors for the basic shapes. I use a process of building up color by painting many layers of varied colors on top of each other, always leaving some trace of the underneath layers.
At this point, I started having some difficulties dealing with the background. The angle and strong horizontal direction of the face posed some challenges for me.
I played with some different ideas for the background, but nothing really seemed to work right for me.
Finally, I decided to add a window in the back to give some opposing lines to the horizontal direction of the face.
The completed painting was sent to Oscar’s owner in the Kansas City area. her tweet about receiving he Oscar pet portrait told me that she was very happy with the painting!
Painting an animal who has passed away is a deeply moving process. All pet portraits are endearing to me, but when the animal has passed, I engage in the process with special reverence. I know that the painting has personal meaning for my patron, and I want to ensure that it meets a unique need for them.
I thank my friend for allowing me to be a part of this dear memory with her.
Interested in a custom pet portrait of your animal? Details can be found here.
Life is an Adventure!
BZTAT
BZTAT Artwork: Paint-a-Thon Fundraiser
Thanks to my loyal fans on Twitter, I am a finalist in the Shorty Awards!
“Hollywood has the Oscars. Broadway has the Tonys. Now Twitter has the…Shorty Awards.” ~The New York Times
The Shorty Awards Ceremony where the winners will be announced will be held in New York City on March 3, 2010. In order to raise money for the trip, I will be holding a special fund raising event.
On Thursday, February 18, 2010, I will engage in an exclusive “Paint-A-Thon”, painting animal themed artworks non-stop from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm at Second April Galerie in Canton, OH.
All works created in that 12 hours will be auctioned off in a silent auction to raise money for my trip to attend the Shorty Awards Ceremony, which will be held in New York City on March 3, 2010. Interested individuals can bid on the artwork either on location at Second April Galerie or online via Twitter.
Bidding on BZTAT artworks will begin at 7:00 pm EDT and conclude around 9:00 pm EDT on Thursday, February 18. I will have assistants tweeting photos of the works on Twitter as I create them and also after they are completed. Follow #bztatptg on Twitter to get the latest updates.
If you would like to submit a bid on Twitter, please send a tweet with your bid amount and #bztatptg written in the tweet. Your profile must be visible in Tweetgrid for us to receive the bid. All bids must be in $5.00 increments. A 10-minute warning will be tweeted to announce the conclusion of the auction 10 minutes before bidding stops.
It is recommended that interested Twitterers follow the action on Tweetgrid to get real time updates. (We are not responsible for any technical difficulties that may occur as a result of Twitter or associated application interruptions.)
Bids will also be taken on site at Second April Galerie. Winning bidders will purchase the work by contributing to the Chip-In widget located on the left sidebar on this blog. Any shipping costs will be the responsibility of the winning bidder ($15.00 in Continental USA, varies for other locations).
Even if you do not wish to bid on the artwork, I hope that you will still participate and help re-tweet the action! Non-deductible contributions to the Shorty Awards Trip can also be made through the Chip-In widget located on the left sidebar of this blog. Any size contribution is welcome!
The Shorty Awards honor the best people and organizations on Twitter. These unique awards are for the Twitter community, by the Twitter community. Online voting is public and democratic, culminating in an awards ceremony that recognizes the winners in 26 official categories as well as those in brand new crowd-sourced ones.
I am a finalist in the ART category. This is quite an honor, considering the millions of people using Twitter around the globe and the many artists who use the micro-blogging site to promote their artwork. I am very thankful to those who nominated me and voted me into the finals!
I look forward to seeing you either on Twitter or at Second April Galerie on This coming Thursday!
Date: Thursday, February 18, 2010
Time: Paint-A-Thon by Artist BZTAT: 9:00 AM—9:00 PM; Silent Auction: 7:00 PM—9:00 PM
Where: Second April Galerie, Canton, OH; Twitterverse
Contact: 330.451.0924 or secondapril at sbcglobal.net for information about Second April Galerie.