Black Eared Tile

"Black Ear"

6.5"x6.5" image transfer on ceramic tile
$35 plus $10 shipping in the US
Email:dogbri@q.com to purchase

So here's one of the first image transfer pieces my wife and I created. We did it using a laser decal of a drawing I had done. The image is transfered onto a glaze fired tile and then put back into the kiln for a third firing. This firing reaches 1745 degrees and burns the toner of the decal into the clay.

This piece can be hung on the wall or used as a trivet.

We'll be making more of these for sure because it a fun way for us to work together.
Bri-

Bellina Update

"Bellina in Clover"
(in progress)
5x7 acrylic on canvas
$150 plus $10 for shipping in the US
SOLD


So I just got back from the Best Friends of Baker Fund Raiser. What a fun event, and it was nice to see so many people out who care about the animals of this town. I was glad to be part of it.

Bellina is coming along nicely if I do say so myself. She looks more like she belongs in the Swiss Alps than on a cattle ranch in Baker County now.

I thought I would have finished up today, but I spent a large portion of the day working on graphics with my wife for some pottery. I'll have some more dog tiles and mugs to show and sell soon. So stay tuned for those. They should be out of the kiln tomorrow morning. YEAH!

Bri-

Bellina in Clover

"Bellina in Clover"
(in progress)
5x7 acrylic on canvas
$150 plus $10 for shipping in the US
SOLD

Bellina the Burmese Mountain Dog is seated in a beautiful field of clover. I'm just getting started on her and I see somethings that need a little changing already.

One of the things I like best is when I'm looking directly into the eyes of a dog. So much so that, I often mistakenly shift the angle of the photo I'm working from. When the photo is from above the dog is when it happens the most. Right now she looks more like a Border Collie than a Mountain Dog.

I know that's one of the reasons I love paint more than pencil, because I can erase with it in a way that allows me to keep the parts I'm happy with while doing away with those I don't like.

One of the reasons I do the coffee hounds, besides the fact they're so fun, is to improve my efficiency. They are more an exercise in gesture and form than realism. Something all artists struggle with, some more than others. I'm the kind that struggles with it.

More coffee hounds soon I promise.

Bri-

Dalmatian Tile

"Dalmatian"

6.5 x 6.5 ceramic tile
$35 plus $10 for shipping in the US
SOLD

This piece I created with my wife Corrine, who is a talented potter.

I wanted to do something that mainly used the spots of a dalmatian to suggest it's body posture. Because it lacked the proper spots on the front legs and tail, I had to use lines. I really liked the way this turned out. It will also be available at the Best Friends of Baker fund raiser on Friday night. Hope to see you there.

Bri-

Tigger and the Squeaky-Final

"Tigger and the Squeaky"

6x6 acrylic on canvas
$125 plus $5 for shipping in the US
SOLD

This is the finished piece that will be part of a fund raiser for Best Friends of Baker. Tigger is one of their adoptable dogs at the moment and the sale of this painting will help Best Friends to continue the great work they do on behalf of abandoned animals.

So if this painting is bought before Friday nights fund raising at $125 all that money will go to Best Friends. If you wait till Friday it could go for more than that at auction. No matter what the money will go to a great cause. Thanks.
Bri-

"Tigger and the Squeaky"

"Tigger and the Squeaky"
(in progress)
6x6 acrylic on canvas
$125 plus $5 for shipping in the US
Email:dogbri@q.com to purchase

100% of the sale price of this painting will go to Best Friends of Baker.
They're holding a fund raiser this Friday here in Baker City at Mad Matilda's from 5-7 PM

So if you buy it now you'll be helping to raise needed funds for their work on behalf of abandoned animals here in Baker County. Plus, if you wait till Friday you might spend more on it at auction. Just a thought.

Tigger is also available for adoption. Let me tell you he's a great little guy and loves to play fetch.

Bri-

CBGB's Bettini

"CBGB's Bettini"
(in progress)
18x24 acrylic on canvas
SOLD

I've started using the Open Acrylic made by Golden Paint. Just like everyone I've talked to about it has told me, it takes getting used too. Like every medium. I've been mixing it with their regular acrylic products so I'm not experiencing the full capabilities of it yet.

One thing I've found is that it turns out more glossy than I'm used too. Could cause a strange finished product if used unwisely.

Bri-

Ray of Hope

"Ray of Hope"

6x6 acrylic on canvas
$125 plus $5 shipping in the US
Email:dogbri@q.com to purchase

What a great day Tuesday was for America and the world.

On Nov. 5th it seemed to me like a new world already. For the first time in my life I ran out of gas. It's a long story as to how it happened, so here's how it ended up.

My wife and I didn't even have to wait for help. The moment our VW lost power I was able to pull to the bottom of an off ramp just outside Portland. A man who worked at an auto repair place pulled off behind us and gave us a lift to a gas station and then drove us back to the van. 15 minutes or less and we were back on the road to Baker.

I believe that if people are the change they wish to see in the world, there will be true meaning to the words President Obama speaks.

Now to this painting. Our dog Bettini, like many dogs, loves to lie in the sun no matter how small that ray of sunshine is. This is the view from our kitchen into my studio. Sometimes the sunlight is only on the door frame on the inside the studio, so she sits eyes closed against the wall, just so she can bask in the light.

Bri-

Kiely Coffee

"Kiely Coffee"

6x9 coffee and ink on paper
$25 unframed $5 for shipping in the US
SOLD

I've had the pleasure of painting Kiely before. She and her sister Ruby have been the subjects of some of my favorite paintings. You can see the painting of Ruby by picking up a copy of the Dec. issue of Oregon Home magazine. The image is missing from the on-line article unfortunately.


Bri-

Coffee Murphy

"Coffee Murphy"

6x9 coffee and ink on paper
$25 unframed $5 for shipping in the US
SOLD

While I worked on this I was listening to the book "Replay" by Ken Grimwood. The story of a man who dies of a heart attack and is then brought back to life as his 18 year old self, to do it over again. I'll say no more. I'm enjoying playing with the ideas presented in the book. What would you do if you had to do it again?

Bri-

Tribute to a Master

"Tribute to a Master"

6x6 acrylic on canvas
$125 plus $5 for shipping in the US
SOLD

This painting is a tribute to Andrew Wyeth, who died in his sleep at the age of 91, this past Friday.

I was always a fan of his work and was lucky enough to see a group show of the Wyeth family in Chicago in the mid 80's. N.C., Andrew, and Jamie's work was represented beautifully. It is such a treat to see work up close. To stand there and take in all the detail. It's just wonderful.

My friend Don Gray made a beautiful tribute as well on his blog. There is a wonderful story of his meeting with Mr. Wyeth. I highly recommend reading it.

For me this painting was an attempted to capture something of the same mood that Wyeth had in his painting "Master Bedroom". It was painted in 1965 of a dog in it's master's bed. It's done in very muted tones and has such a wonderful feeling of loyalty to it. My wife, who is depicted here with our dog Bettini, was born in 1965, so I think it's quite fitting to have included her.

Bri-

CBGB's Bettini

"CBGB's Bettini"

18x24 acrylic on canvas
SOLD


This is a painting of our dog Bettini in front of, the now closed, CBGB's in NYC.

I unfortunately never saw a concert there. In their smaller club next door I did see two shows though. I know that doesn't count. Can I still be cool?

Bri-

Hunting Coffee

"Hunting Coffee"

6x9 coffee and ink on paper
$25 unframed $5 for shipping in the US
SOLD

When I got the photo that this painting is based on, I wasn't sure it would work as a coffee hound. Black dogs are harder to capture when black and coffee are the only colors to choose from, but I think this turned out great.

Sometimes we'll surprise ourselves if we just take a chance on something we think is impossible. Maybe that's why I love the Ironman triathlon so much.

Bri-

Along for the Ride-Final

"Along for the Ride"

18x24 acrylic on canvas
SOLD

After putting in the hands yesterday afternoon, and sitting with it till this morning. I'm done with this painting of Lucy.

I love the way she looks so happy and comfortable in the basket. Like it was something she does everyday. The truth is I don't know if she's ever been in a bicycle basket or not. It makes a great picture and that's all that matters to me.

I'm going to miss seeing her on my easel everyday, now that she's going to be shipped down to Napa, CA. This painting was won in an auction that raised funds for Napa Humane, and I was very glad to work with them and the owner of Lucy to create this piece.

Bri-

AFTR Update

"Along for the Ride"

18x24 acrylic on canvas
SOLD

What's with those floating hands eh? Well, I'm working from photos that have no hands in them and I'm trying to get the proportions correct. The best way I've found to do that, is to sit with the image for a few hours or a day until the "almost right" position strikes me. This is painting, not photography right?

I may have my wife pose for me and get a photo reference. It's kind of cold outside, so I'm trying to do it all in the studio, where it's toasting warm.

Bri-

Bee Gul

"Coffee Hound 02"

9x6 coffee and ink on paper
$25 unframed $5 for shipping in the US
Email:dogbri@q.com to purchase

My wife told me the other day that she liked the older coffee hounds because the ink lines were thinner and seemed to be more detailed. So I'm trying to find a happy medium between the pen and the brush.

I personally like the brush more do to the freedom and speed. To do the black part of this beagle would have taken forever with a pen. With the brush it only took about a minute to fill in. I was using a small brush.

Bri-

AFTR Update

"Along for the Ride"

18x24 acrylic on canvas
SOLD

Slowly but surely this is shaping up.

In a earlier posting I mentioned I didn't plan to add anymore paint to the background. Well, today I did. I thought it needed little accents of a lighter tone to move Lucy forward.

I'm sure we'll see this painting finished this week.

Bri-

Too Much Coffee

"Too Much Coffee"

9x6 coffee and ink on paper
$25 unframed $5 for shipping in the US
Email:dogbri@q.com to purchase

This painting is based on a photo of our dog Bettini on a day when she was feeling very sick. We had put her outside with her pillow till she stopped throwing up.

She just sat there on the pillow looking into the house all sad. After about an hour she felt better and came back in. It was much easier to hose off the patio than it was to following her around the house, she's really quite when she pukes.

Oh, by the way, she hadn't gotten sick from coffee.

Bri-

Why Aren't We Swimming in Coffee?

"Why Aren't We Swimming in Coffee?"

9x6 coffee and ink on paper
$25 unframed $5 for shipping in the US
Email:dogbri@q.com to purchase

Zephyr is my swimming partner in the summer and in this picture he was waiting for us to break camp to go swimming. He looks bored in this picture because he was stuck in the camper van while we finished up breakfast.

Normally when we show up at a body of water he's beside himself with excitement. Thankfully
he had no idea we were going swimming, otherwise the drive to the lake would have been deadly. Either he would have jumped out a window or through the windshield to get there first.


Bri-

Coffee Eyes

"Coffee Eyes"

6x9 coffee and ink on paper
$25 unframed $5 for shipping in the US
Email:dogbri@q.com to purchase

If you look closely at the eyes of this little guy, you'll see that the eyes are of a darker brew than the rest of him. It's because I used the grounds from the bottom of the cup to get that darker color.

The other tones of the coffee are a little lighter than usual, french press coffee was used instead of a shot of espresso.
Bri-

AFTR Update

"Along for the Ride"

18x24 acrylic on canvas
SOLD

If you can't tell, I shortened Lucy's nose a little. I've also added more shading to her chest and paws. My wife keeps commenting, how much she likes the basket. I'm waiting to add the details/highlights to it, but I too like the basket.

It was another snowy day here in Baker City, but that just means fresh pow in the mountains.

Bri-

Waiting for Coffee

"Waiting for Coffee"

6x9 coffee and ink on paper
$25 unframed $5 for shipping in the US
Email:dogbri@q.com to purchase

While having coffee this morning at Mad Matilda's I noticed this greeting card they had on their rack of a rabbit. It was a white rabbit on a black background. I really liked the composition of that image and wanted to re-create an image like it. So this is the result.

This painting unfortunately smells more like ink, than it does coffee.

Bri-

AFTR Update

"Along for the Ride"

18x24 acrylic on canvas
SOLD

Happy New Year everyone. This year will be one of unbound creativity for me. I'm really looking forward to seeing and showing what I produce.

This painting of Lucy, is coming along great. I'm pleased with the look of the basket and was able to work more on her today than previously. I particularly like this painting right now, because it's cold outside, with lots of snow. It makes me feel like spring is just around the corner.

On the other hand, I'm glad it isn't, because I'm learning to skate ski. Lots of fun here in Baker City year round.

Bri-