Susan Alison's Blog, page 14
September 22, 2011
My good friend from BridalDesignsWeddingJewellery.co.uk is having a Twitter party to celebrate the launch of #CanineDesigns - see fab pics below...
This is what she says about Canine Designs and the idea behind it:
So many people want their beloved canines to share their Big Day that I decided these doggy guests were deserving of a wedding finery line of their own, so after a lot of research and bribing models with chewy bones I am proud to announce the launch of Canine Designs on the 23rd September 2011.
To celebrate the occasion we are throwing a party with a difference...no dodgy nightclubs with sticky floors or a corner of the village hall on Table-Tennis-for-the-Under-Fives night. No, this party is taking place on Twitter! All you have to do is enter the hashtag #caninedesigns and you will have free entry to the event of the year. Wear your best party frock or your comfiest pyjamas and don't forget to bring your dog along - after all, they are the stars of this soiree. There will be fantastic giveaways and competitions throughout the event with prizes for your dog and for you so be there on time so you don't miss anything - none of that 'fashionably late' malarkey at this party!
The event will take place on the 23rd of September from 1pm to 3pm. I look forward to seeing you there!
Here's a sneak preview of what Canine Designs is all about:
The first model I would like to introduce to you is the famous Rosie wearing her super smart collar and bow tie (she lost the toss up with Misty, the other model, who was going to have to pretend to be male!)
If you want to complete the outfit we also have in stock hand made cuffs with contrasting satin covered buttons.
On the dog-walk now is the stunning Misty modelling for us the pretty flower corsage that is available in five different colours. Robbie Williams had his eight dogs as bridesmaids wearing flowers on their collars on his wedding day. What a great human!
For a touch of sparkle and luxury, you won't find better than these beautiful handmade satin cuff bracelets, available in white or black and adorned with a choice of three different embellishments.
Of course, many couples want their faithful hounds to be more heavily involved in the wedding ceremony than just posing about the place looking beautiful, so we have a special line in 'Something Blue' collar charms.
And, for that Very Special Job that no one else can do with such style and panache, we have the ring bearer's cushion for your dog to safely deliver the wedding rings to you. At least you know he won't do the 'oh-so-hilarious' I've forgotten the rings joke that a best man would do!
See you at the #CanineDesigns twitter party - 1-3pm Friday 23rd September! Yay!
The Canine Designs logo was painted by artist and author Susan Alison.
A quick word in here from Monty and Rosie, the Border Collies who look after this blog:
"Arf - Monty - whaddya reckon to that then? We can be Best Dogs now."
"Ulp. Rosie - you always say we're the best dogs anyway."
"Oh, yeah. So I do. Well - we are!"
"Yeah. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"
See you at the #CanineDesigns twitter party 1-3pm Friday 23rd September!!!
So many people want their beloved canines to share their Big Day that I decided these doggy guests were deserving of a wedding finery line of their own, so after a lot of research and bribing models with chewy bones I am proud to announce the launch of Canine Designs on the 23rd September 2011.
To celebrate the occasion we are throwing a party with a difference...no dodgy nightclubs with sticky floors or a corner of the village hall on Table-Tennis-for-the-Under-Fives night. No, this party is taking place on Twitter! All you have to do is enter the hashtag #caninedesigns and you will have free entry to the event of the year. Wear your best party frock or your comfiest pyjamas and don't forget to bring your dog along - after all, they are the stars of this soiree. There will be fantastic giveaways and competitions throughout the event with prizes for your dog and for you so be there on time so you don't miss anything - none of that 'fashionably late' malarkey at this party!
The event will take place on the 23rd of September from 1pm to 3pm. I look forward to seeing you there!
Here's a sneak preview of what Canine Designs is all about:
The first model I would like to introduce to you is the famous Rosie wearing her super smart collar and bow tie (she lost the toss up with Misty, the other model, who was going to have to pretend to be male!)
If you want to complete the outfit we also have in stock hand made cuffs with contrasting satin covered buttons.
On the dog-walk now is the stunning Misty modelling for us the pretty flower corsage that is available in five different colours. Robbie Williams had his eight dogs as bridesmaids wearing flowers on their collars on his wedding day. What a great human!
For a touch of sparkle and luxury, you won't find better than these beautiful handmade satin cuff bracelets, available in white or black and adorned with a choice of three different embellishments.
Of course, many couples want their faithful hounds to be more heavily involved in the wedding ceremony than just posing about the place looking beautiful, so we have a special line in 'Something Blue' collar charms.
And, for that Very Special Job that no one else can do with such style and panache, we have the ring bearer's cushion for your dog to safely deliver the wedding rings to you. At least you know he won't do the 'oh-so-hilarious' I've forgotten the rings joke that a best man would do!
See you at the #CanineDesigns twitter party - 1-3pm Friday 23rd September! Yay!
The Canine Designs logo was painted by artist and author Susan Alison.
A quick word in here from Monty and Rosie, the Border Collies who look after this blog:
"Arf - Monty - whaddya reckon to that then? We can be Best Dogs now."
"Ulp. Rosie - you always say we're the best dogs anyway."
"Oh, yeah. So I do. Well - we are!"
"Yeah. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"
See you at the #CanineDesigns twitter party 1-3pm Friday 23rd September!!!
September 14, 2011
September 12, 2011
September 4, 2011
Wanna hug? We have Border Collie hugs, Whippet hugs, Corgi hugs and Cat hugs. Come & get your hug here!
This is the 'You're so fab' hug.
The comfy hug
The 'I can always rely on you' hug
And the: 'I will always love you' hug. (and the 'I will always worry about you' hug, too)
August 19, 2011
August 15, 2011
August 7, 2011
The Judy Adamson - Susan Alison interview - artist to artist
Last month, wonderful artist, Judy Adamson, 'interviewed' me for her blog (And actually posted the result too – what a fab hostess she is!)
I am reproducing that post here in roughly the same format. ('roughly' because I can't pass a piece of writing without tweaking it…) (my own writing, that is – I wouldn't tweak someone else's…)
Susan Alison, watercolour artist and author (who lives under the paw)
Links on the www if you wish to see more of Susan's work:Follow her on her Border Collies, Monty and Rosie's blog - for regular artwork updates
Click here for her eBay store
Click here for her Etsy store
Click here for her store on craftsUprint for designer cards to download and make up.
Judy asked Susan:
When did you begin painting?
I took up painting as a serious endeavour twenty years ago when I needed to earn a living from home. I lived in the Forest of Dean at the time, so it was no hardship studying all those trees and expanses of water and trying to get them down on paper. It was incredibly naive to think I could earn a living from it just like that though! And, I couldn't - but I gave it a pretty good go, and my first painting sold from an exhibition in Monmouth Museum (ie a 'proper' venue) so I was pretty chuffed about that. I painted that particular picture twenty-three times before I was happy with it, and it is still engraved on my mind...
Most of my paintings back then were landscapes - I still paint some vistas but nowadays there'll be a dog in them eg 'Good Morning, Morning' in which a Border Collie says hello to a new day.
My circumstances changed and I stopped painting, taking it up again five years ago when I decided that surely there was a way through the internet to make it work.
The most valuable thing I've learned from my current experience is that you simply can't tell upfront what is going to sell.
This means that, if you have to sell your work in order to keep doing it, your most important characteristic is persistence. I paint to sell. It's my job. All kinds of artists succeed and all kinds fail, and I fancy the main difference between the two is persistence - the presence or the absence of it. You just have to keep pounding away at the keyboard if you wish to succeed online.
Did you go to Art College or have any formal art training?
My art training has been a do-it-yourself learning curve.
I've had no formal art training. I believe there are some things (for me) that are better learnt on the job, and painting is one of them. I could spend a long time learning about how to do it instead of just doing it. Not only that, but I learn something new from every painting I do, so the training goes on for ever, although I've never again painted a picture twenty-three times...
What is the most valuable thing you've learned about painting and who taught you that?
The most valuable thing I've learned about painting is to fight the fear that comes with a nice, new, clean, expensive piece of watercolour paper - just splash the paint on, and then resist the urge to fiddle with it. I learnt this from Edward Seago (see below). I also used very big brushes when I started out, which gave me lots more confidence.
What is your favourite medium and why?
My favourite medium is watercolour. It doesn't smell; it's quick to apply, quick to dry; easy to wash out of your hair and off the furniture. What I really love about it, though, is its translucence. Some very skilled oil painters can get close to that effect by painting it, but watercolour owns that effect and doesn't have to put it on. Its very nature is translucence and it only gives it up if one insists on messing with it.
Who is your favourite artist/illustrator etc? Have you been particularly influenced/inspired by any other artists? When I started out I was fascinated by people like Whistler, Sargent and Edward Seago because of the luminous quality of their work. I don't look so much now because I don't want to be influenced by anyone else and I don't want to subconsciously pick up other people's ideas. Mind you, I do sometimes watch the changing parade of cards on the front of GCU and marvel at the varieties of artistic expression. There will always be something new. That's how I feel, too - no matter how long I live I'll never live long enough to paint all my ideas. My inspiration comes to me now from my surroundings, wherever I am, in everyday life, but especially from nature and animals, particularly dogs. They can find joy where no one else can.
Where do you sell your paintings?
I sell my original paintings, mainly ACEOs, (Art Cards, Editions and Originals, sometimes called Artist Trading Cards or ATCs), but bigger sizes too, on eBay, along with prints, greeting cards, coasters and books.My eBay store is here.
There is also a SusanAlisonArt store on Etsy
but my images can also be found on several print-on-demand websites:
click here for my Greeting Card Universe store
and here for my Zazzle store
here for SusanAlisonArt on Cafepress
and click here for craftsUprint designer cards to download and make up.
Which came first - writing or painting?
Writing came first, but then I felt compelled to illustrate what I'd written, so it's a close run thing. My very first book was called 'The Cat' and was illustrated in wax crayons. This cat had many more than the usual nine lives and firmly believed that raspberry ripple icecream cured seasickness. I still paint cats now, so maybe the original one was a foretelling of what was to come...
These days, my cats are into so much more than just icecream though, whether they're stalking harebells...
...or line dancing to soothe 'their achy breaky hearts'.
I would love to write and illustrate my own children's books but so far I haven't managed to fit that ambition into my life.
The closest I've got to that is writing my own grown-up book and doing the cover art for that:
White Lies and Custard Creams is a romantic comedy with a dash of mystery - and, yes - there's a dog in it... (Well, there was bound to be...)
It's on Amazon for Kindle for $1.59 here
And it's on Amazon for Kindle for 97p here
Which is your best-selling/favourite greeting card?
I'm quite fond of my whippet and greyhound painting of an egg and spoon race which has made a successful greeting card and print.
Although my cool surfing Labrador dudes comes a very close second...
People seem to appreciate my less frivolous paintings too:'Forget me not' ,
'Wistful'
and 'To Sleep, Perchance to Dream'.
What is your next project or your plans and hopes for the future?
I have my second romantic comedy novel, 'Out from under the Tiger', finished but for a final polish, and I have to paint the cover art. That will be uploaded to Kindle before Christmas and I want to upload a new book every year from now on.
The painting of pictures will go on as usual. I really need to get more organised about using the images though, so maybe 'getting organised' should be my main ambition for the forseeable future...
In the meantime, everyone's support is much appreciated.
I have a dog and cat artwork blog: click here for regular artwork updates and I'm on Twitter @bordercollies for more chat than links, or @SusanAlisonArt for more links than chat.
There is also a Facebook fan page here - it would be fab if you 'liked' it!
I love to hear from people and there is nothing more encouraging than when I get a response from someone telling me how cheered they are to see my pictures.
You keep me going and I thank you very much!
August 3, 2011
Whippets and greyhounds - cocktail waitress - orange seller - gardener and doing a Picasso
Pam - I have put "whippet in hammock with rabbit waiter offering her a cocktail" on my to-paint list. In the meantime, the closest I've already got a whippet to a cocktail is this cocktail waitress - she's pretty chuffed with how it's going because she's saving her tips up for a new sofa.
Davina - herewith 'Nell Whippet, orange seller':
Buddy - thair is, of cors, nuffink rong wiv der whippy jus bein der whippy wiv der big appy whippy grwin... and here he is...
Rose - you were right - I couldn't get him to stand still long enough to paint him - in fact, he snatched the brush out of my hand and proceeded to do his Picasso act...
Davina - herewith 'Nell Whippet, orange seller':
Buddy - thair is, of cors, nuffink rong wiv der whippy jus bein der whippy wiv der big appy whippy grwin... and here he is...
Rose - you were right - I couldn't get him to stand still long enough to paint him - in fact, he snatched the brush out of my hand and proceeded to do his Picasso act...
August 1, 2011
This Welsh Corgi dog had an affinity with water...
He had an affinity with water
...but while his pals were all jumping into puddles, splashing about and then leaping into the back of their hoomuns' cars, he was out there with his spanners and other plumber-type-tools, thinking how much he was going to increase his call-out rate this time...
This is a miniature painting (ACEO or ATC) for auction on eBay here
click here for my eBay store
click here for my Etsy store
Follow me on Twitter @bordercollies or @SusanAlisonArt for artwork sales links, and/or follow me on this blog - - for regular artwork updates
There is also a Facebook fan page here - it would be fab if you 'liked' it!
