Yet Another Rock Completed

It's funny how I can be completely not in the mood to paint... and dread it, but once I get going I actually really enjoy it. It is incredibly relaxing. I love letting my artistic side come out. 

So my Mother-in-law asked me to do a rock for her friend. Her friend just lost a very cherished family member of 13 years... their dog Shelby. I am always hesitant to try to paint rocks to look like a specific pet.. simply because I am not that good. I get frustrated because they never turn out looking like the pet they are suppose to look like. It was a good challenge, and I still think it doesn't look as much like the actual dog as I may have wanted it to, but this rock turned out pretty good. 

So this is what it started out as.... and for some reason I always think the spot in front of the microwave is the best place to take pictures. I know it is pretty tacky but in this case I had rinsed the rock off in the sink and this was the closest empty counter space. This rock is big and pretty dang heavy so I tried not to  move it more than I had to. 

This is the finished product. I always have to paint a rock and then step back for a couple of days without seeing it. That way when I see it again I can look at it with fresh eyes and then decide what needs to be changed and how to proceed from there. In this case... I spent the entire two days thinking about it and the changes I wanted to make while I was at work. So then after the two days of not seeing it I had a decent idea of what to work on and was able to get things done to my liking.

 There is a lot of blank space more on the back side of the rock. So when It was just sitting there it looked bland. So that meant I had to make a dog bed and put it in a basket. They always seem to look better kind of in their own little setting. I didn't have any cute baskets on hand but did have this round one. It wasn't my favorite thing to use but it was the perfect size and seemed to work ok. So I sewed a quick little dog bed... stuffed it and put it all together.  This is the finished product...

 Anyways it was a fun project. I was very glad to paint this for this family knowing they had just gone through their beloved dog dying. I heard they really love it so that makes me happy to hear. Glad it went to a good home and will be treasured.

Other than the rock... lots going on with my mustang restoration. If anyone cares to read about that, click here. Very exciting stuff going on. In a few months this car will be totally put together and ready to go to the Tuacahn Car show. I can't wait!