Day 7 of the 30 in 30 - Twin Barks sign 2

Happy Labor day! (to those of us who live in the U.S...)  Hope you are enjoying the day and perhaps picnicking with friends and family...

Today's post is the 2nd sign I was commissioned to paint for a cottage in Mt. Gretna, PA.  As I said yesterday, this was such a fun commission to do, as I love to paint dogs and landscapes, plus there is something about painting text that I also enjoy!  So, wow, all three of those elements went into creating these signs, making it a completely satisfying project.  The second sign feature 2 different poses for the dogs, plus different scenery.  My client asked for a landscape that had fall colors in it, as Mt. Gretna is particularly beautiful in the fall.  I am posting another before picture today as well, purely for your viewing pleasure.  I had to strip the original paint off of the signs and restore some areas of the wood as the signs are quite old and had some damage.  After wood puttying, applying a wood hardener and painting on 2-3 coats of primer and gesso, they were finally ready to paint!  Hope you enjoyed this installment of the 30 in 30.... See you tomorrow!

Twin Barks Sign 2, oil on wood, 5" x 23", private collection

Close up of Bouvier

Signs after stripping original finish and restoring the wood

Day 6 - Twin Barks Commission

I am so thankful and humbled that people come to me sometimes, and request that I paint them a custom painting... Getting to know the client, and working together to come up with the perfect painting is a challenge that often results in me learning about something or some place that I never knew about before!  I was recently commissioned by a gentleman from Washington DC to paint signs for his summer cottage in Mt. Gretna that bears the name "Twin Barks".  In his youth he had two dogs, a Standard black poodle and a Bouvier des flandres and they always greeted visitors, both barking... hence the name Twin Barks... He had the original signs (both quite old) that he wanted restored and painted with a more artistic flair.  With his input and through several editing renditions using different backgrounds and dog poses, I designed 2 unique signs for him. They were finally completely dry after 3 final coats of exterior polyurethane and I delivered them earlier this morning! Below is the before and after pics of one of the signs. Stay tuned to see the second sign in another of my 30 in 30 posts!  Thanks for looking!

Twin Barks, sign 1, oil on wood, 5" x 23", private collection