Anne Leuck Feldhaus Adventures & Art

Bid now on Art Auctions to Benefit a Place to Bark!

Last spring Jill Beninato of Sit, Stay, Smile Pet Photography invited me to be a part of a zine called Party Animals: it features the artwork of 21 different artists from across the country. The proceeds from the sale of this zine will directly benefit the animals at A Place To Bark animal rescue. All work was donated by the participating artists and the original pieces are up for auction right now and end late Monday night...the 20th! This is my piece up for auction HERE and it is actually the first painting that I created in my new Roscoe Village studio back in May:

This is all especially meaningful not only because animal adoption and rescue is near and dear to my heart but most of Bernie's dogs are rescued in Tennessee and she transports them here to Chicago to the Anti-Cruelty Society to find them homes. I had the pleasure of meeting Bernie last summer - her commitment and mission to rescuing animals is pretty awe inspiring.

So please check out these auctions, they end late Monday night depending on your time zone. Remember ALL proceeds go to benefit animal rescue sanctuary A Place To Bark. You can help buy purchasing the Party Animals book and/or bidding on the Art Auctions.

Below is a list of the artists who participated please visit their sites and their auction pieces.

Jill Beninato www.sitstaysmile.com
Bernie Berlin www.aplacetobark.blogspot.com
Suzi Blu www.suziblu.typepad.com
Rebecca Collins www.artpaw.com
Wendy Crumbley www.2dogstudio.com
Ingrid Dijkers www.ingriddijkers.com
Manon Doyle www.hoochiepoochiestudios.com
Sarah Fishburn www.sarahfishburn.com
Rice Freeman-Zachery www.voodooandzen.com
Heather LaHaise www.heatherlahaise.com
Melissa Langer www.pugnotes.com
Maija Lepore www.maigirlz.typepad.com
Anne Leuck Feldhaus www.annesart.com
Tamandra Michaels www.heartdogstudios.com
Kim Rae Nugent www.kimraenugent.com
Linda O' Neill www.abbycreekstudios.com
Nancy Schutt www.gooddogart.com
Jill Marie Shulse www.jillmarieshulse.blogspot.com
Kelly Snelling www.soulhumming.typepad.com
Carla Sonheim www.carlasonheim.com
Kathy Weller www.wellerwishes.com

You can get your copy of the zine here and remember, ALL of the proceeds go directly to helping the animals at A Place To Bark!

And I promise, Grand Opening Photos coming soon...it was a wonderful evening! :)

Video & Photos from Berks Humane Show...

Berks Humane Furry Friday Art Show & Walkathon Kickoff in Reading, PA featured my canine and feline works on August 14th. Scroll down to see some video of the show which will be up until September 9th:

CCR Dog Adoption Event at Anne's Studio 8/8/09

At long last...here are photos and hopefully some video from our Adoption Event with Chicago Canine Rescue on August 8th. It was fun afternoon, very hot and windy...but lots of puppy love. We had four very wonderful young dogs here: Kyle, Mickey, Shirley and Jill. None of them were adopted that afternoon but many people stopped and took cards for the shelter which is located just a few blocks away at 2227 W. Belmont in Chicago. To learn more about each dog click here. We also let people know that fostering was also an option, this takes a little bit of the edge off when people are unsure how it would go with their other pets, etc. That's how we started with Alice, and we had such a happy ending. I just heard today 8/18 that Kyle and Mickey are in foster homes and will mot likely be adopted!

Kyle, Shirley and Mickey with wonderful volunteers from CCR.

 
Jill, A coonhound mix.

Kyle a shepherd mix...

 
Suzy taking donations for CCR's upcoming Mutt Strut on September 12th.

 

 

Love Dogs & Art?

On Saturday from Noon-3pm I will be hosting a Pet Adoption Event for Chicago Canine Rescue in my Studio & Shop at 2040 W. Roscoe in Chicago. For added fun there will be a CCR Bean Bag Toss Game set up on the sidewalk outside the shop...dogs, games, cookies and lemonade...come on over and bring the kids! Also a portion of every sale during the Event will be donated to Chicago Canine Rescue.

Our dog Alice was saved by CCR back in 2004, her entire new born litter had been found in an alley next to a dumpster. We took her in as a foster at 12 weeks old and of course became 'foster failures' when we decided to adopt her. She has been such a joy and we know that she has helped to keep Izzy active and engaged in life after all these years.  So...if you have been thinking about adopting please come and see some pups and if you've been thinking of buying some art, do it on this day so a portion of your sale will benefit the dogs!

Stray Cat Strut

Coming up May 30th, Tree House Humane Society’s Stray Cat Strut  which helps educate the public about the plight of stray cats. The event also raises money for the rehabilitation, care and adoption of the cats housed at Tree House. Follow the links to register. I donated the logo design for this annual event which is celebrating it's 4th year.

Fear...

Fear is what has motivated me most of my life....I just realized the other day that I have finally made a shift in my thinking when I saw these words:

Fear Regret, Not Failure.

It was actually the fear of not facing fear and making a change that pushed me to take this new risk/opportunity/challenge and that translates to fear of regret. Life had gotten a little too predictable. I want to connect with and be more a part of the community bringing my love of art and people and pet advocacy all together. I've worked with many different rescue groups over the years but really at arms length, donating artwork for fundraisers and designing posters & t-shirts for events but not being present and interacting directly at the events. I want to use this space to make art and to publicly connect and help support these groups - hosting adoption events, etc. as well as share my art process and possibly even teach kids to do their own pet portraits. 

Border Collie Rescue T-Shirt Design #2

I recently completed t-shirt design #2 for Great Lakes Border Collie Rescue, they wanted me to incorporate agility images...looks like fun, something I should probaby get busy body Alice involved in. I'm working on a warmer hued version of this as well since reds, oranges and yellows seem to pop a bit more with the silk screen process which uses CMYK inks (cyan/magenta/yellow/black) vs. the RGB (red/green/blue)  color scheme seen on your computer screen and in my fine art print reproductions. I offer greatly reduced rates on illustration and design work for non-profits and rescue groups. Please feel free to contact me if you would like discuss a project for your group or to see a fee schedule.

My Personal Copy of the Dog's Rule Fatbook

Bid on a Dogs Rule Fatbook Now! Hurry, auction ends tomorrow, Thursday November 20th! All proceeds benefit A Place to Bark...

 

This one of a kind project was started by Jill Beninato of Sit Stay Smile Photography and includes work by the following artists:

Manon Doyle of Hoochie Poochie Studios , blog
Jill Beninato of Sit Stay Smile Photography, blog
Jamie Pflughoeft of Cowbelly Photography,
Leigh Jackson of Noisy Dog Studio, blog
Moira McLaughlin of Dream Dogs Art, blog
Melissa Langer of Pug Notes, blog
Linda O’Neill of Abby Creek Studios, blog
Rebecca Lansdowne of Art Paw, blog
Nicole Mlakar-Livingston of Nicole Mlakar-Livingston Photography, blog
Wendy Crumbley of 2 Dog Studio, blog
Bernie Berlin from A Place To Bark, blog
Anne Leuck Feldhaus of Anne Leuck Feldhaus Studio Ltd., blog
Kathy Weller Wellerwishes Pet Portraiture, blog

Dogs Rule Fat Book Auction!

Back in July I blogged about the pages I was creating for the Dogs Rule Fat Book. This project was a collaboration of 13 dog artists who each contributed an original work of art. 

We each received one of these treasures, all masterfully crafted & bound by Jill Beninato of Sit, Stay, Smile Pet Photography. Later this week I will share photos of my copy. 

But TODAY...the 14th Book is up for Auction on Ebay and available to YOU! All proceeds will benefit A Place to Bark, a rescue in Tennessee run by our fellow artist and tireless animal advocate Bernie Berlin. She saved and placed over 575 dogs in her first 2 years of operation and will add 400 to that number by the end of 2008. 

Watch the video below to learn more about A Place to Park and to see this incredible book:

Adopt a Pet this Weekend!

Friends of Chicago Animal Care & Control is hosting the 2nd Annual Adopt a Pet in the Park event on Sunday, September 14th in Lincoln Park. With all the bad weather and foreclosures this summer, pets need homes more now than ever before!

Cant make it? Visit PetFinder.com to see animals available for adoption in your area. Just type in your zip code and type of pet you are looking for!

Helping out the Border Collies...

I came up with this t-shirt design for Great Lakes Border Collie Rescue today...I hope they like it..I planned to go in a completely different direction but this is what my imagination served up this afternoon... I think it would be great on a shirt. I am so glad to be crossing some of these things off my 'to do' list...Now there are no more excuses for me to not go down and paint tomorrow! The danger of having the painting studio and office separate: I can't just get up and saunter over to the easel to paint on a whim like I used to...of course on the flip side when I'm down there painting it's completely uninterrupted, aside from silly Alice demanding some play time every now & then...and once in a great while Izzy checking in...my poor old girl is really slowing down.

Dogs Rule Art

This was the secret project I blogged about the other day...I was asked by Jill  Beninato of www.sitstaysmile.com to be part of a 'fat book' called 'Dogs Rule'. "Fat books" are small books of a certain size that contain pages created by a pre-determined group of artists. They are called fat books because the pages are often embellished with ephemera that make the final book fat when it is bound. Embellishment is optional... Since I was really stretched for time I couldn't take the risk of trying something new...instead I stuck with what I do best. That's Alice with my 14 pages...all original paintings on matte board, a lot of work but it was fun! There are 13 other amazing artists who will contribute, we each get a book filled with pages from one another and the 14th one will be auctioned off on ebay with the proceeds going to artist Bernie Berlin's charity A Place To Bark please visit her links to find out about the amazing work she is doing to save homeless pets, rehab them and find them homes (she is a remarkable human being and artist). Stay tuned for more info on the auction & finished books!

Canine Muses...

And you wonder why I paint dogs...this photo is a perfect example.

If you don't have one (or more)...I encourage you to adopt one as soon as possible. Not only will it make every day of your life that much sweeter but there are a tremendous number of homeless pets waiting in shelters at this very minute. Yesterday alone, Chicago Canine Rescue (Alice's Guardian Angels) received over 200 requests to take in destitute animals throughout the Midwest. Many are coming from the flood zone, animal hoarder situations, and from Tennessee where the HSUS seized over 700 animals from a puppy mill. They desperately need adopters and foster homes so they can help more dogs. Wherever you are there are animals waiting for homes and you can find them quickly at PetFinder.com. This little gal could be yours, she is waiting for you at Chicago Canine Rescue:
  

Using My Art to Help Our Furry Friends

Tree House Animal Foundation has their Annual Stray Cat Strut on Sunday, May 4th. I created the design for this Annual Fundraising Event. These folks know kitty cats and they do such good work to find homes and improve the lives of so many of Chicago's homeless felines and other animals too.

Chicago Animal Care & Control Will be using my banner design again for Be Kind To Animals Week, May 4-10, 2008. The banners will hang at Chicago's City Hall in the Loop.

Other Pet Welfare Events Going on this weekend:
Bark in the Park the Chicago Anti-Cruelty Society's 5k Walk & Fundraiser.

Last weekend the  Humane Society of Berks County held their annual Art for Arf's Sake charity art auction. I donated this Smiling Black Dog Mounted Print:

Logo Sketches

I'm working with Executive Director Melanie Sobel to create a new logo for the Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission. Melanie made some wonderful changes in her years at Chicago Animal Care & Control, implementing progressive programs that helped change their mission,philosophy and culture. Animal placement increased by nearly 150%, and animal euthanasia decreased by nearly 20%. She is hoping to bring some of these programs to MADACC. She is very dedicated and I'm honored to be working with her again on this project that we hope will give a more friendly and warm image to this institution which down the road we hope will adopt out it's strays.These were my initial designs...too whimsical and busy for a logo so I went back to the 'drawing board'. Stay tuned to see which direction we went.

Art Sharks at the Shedd...

I just received my invite to the cocktail portion of Friday night's Art Sharks Fundraising event at the Shedd Aquarium. This is a thank you for donating my painting "More Frisbee Focused Pups". The premise of the event is a clever concept ... complete with 10 second induced feeding frenzy. Names are drawn from a hat every 10 seconds... those called dart over to their preferred piece of art and tag it.  Tickets are $600 for two guests and one piece of art, $450 for one guest and one piece of art or $3000 for a table of ten and five pieces of art. Quite a nice return for the price of admission and a lot of fun. Check out the Program of available art.

Petey...Alice's 2nd cousin once removed?

I subscribe to the Chicago Canine Rescue Newsletter, today's jarring statistic: Only 16% of owned dogs are adopted from animal shelters! I just can't get my mind around that number, it makes me very sad.

This adorable guy, Petey, is available for fostering. He looks so much like Alice did at that age, breaks my heart. Izzy, our senior who we think turns 14 sometime this year (98 in dog years) has about all she can take with Alice careening around the house. The vet we adopted her from estimated her age at 9-12 months in November of 1995. So in the mean time, I'll just try to spread the word about all these sweet pups looking for homes. This is Alice the night she was brought to our home for fostering, she was about 3 months old...you can't get cuties like this from breeders.

Adopt A Pet In The Park...

I donated the design of this Ad for Chicago Animal Care & Control's upcoming pet adoption event in Lincoln Park on October 14th. The full design has a lot more text etc. I made this one for postcards and another for possible t-shirt printing. Watch for it in an upcoming issue of the Chicago Reader. I hope it brings lots of people out for the event so more of Chicago's homeless pets find good homes.

Chi-Town Kitty

Here she is...my donated pieces for the Treehouse Animal Foundation's Annual Cats on Parade: Day / Night / Half & Half:
 

Chicago on the Feline

Ever the procrastinator...I started painting the fiberglass cat for the Treehouse Animal Foundation Cats On Parade event today. Did some serious sketching last night and decided to paint the city on the cat...as I was working I decided to go for a half day half night effect. I'm pretty happy with it...post varnish pictures tomorrow before delivery.
 

Before the lights went out!

Just before we lost power from the crazy storm that passed through Chicago on Thursday of last week I got to read the article 'One Honkin' Big Picture' that Bill Hageman of the Chicago Tribune posted on his "Unleashed" Blog. I'm not very good at interviews and didn't look online for tips until AFTER I spoke with him...(genius huh?, now I know for next time!)

We also got a very exciting call from The Ellen Show a week ago, but have not heard back since so I won't get my hopes up too high...but it would be so great to get any kind of exposure on her show! She is a wonderful animal advocate...

Rock the Cats-Bah!

I just finished designing this invitation for the Paws L.A. "Pet Art 9" Pet Art Auction Event...their theme: "Rock the Cats-bah". The event is in November and raises money for programs to keep financially or physically debilitated people and their animal companions together, a wonderful cause and so important for both the pets and their guardians. (And yes, I've had the Clash's
"Rock the Casbah" running through my head for the last 3 days!)

Plaster Cat

The other day, Ollie from Treehouse Animal Foundation delivered a plaster cat for me to paint for their fundraiser coming up in the fall. This one is much more realistic than last year's larger than life feline. I'm not sure how I'm going to paint it... the other one was all flowers, I called it "Botani-cat". Alice was a bit more curious about this kitty than Izzy, she loves cats and misses Oliver, we all do - it'll be a year on Monday since he left us.               

11 Acres

It can't get much bigger than this...What a week I've had here in rural Illinois at the Fields Project. I will detail more about how we created this field sculpture in a later post, but let me just say this was a community effort, a lot of hard work, 2 full days in the hot sun in the field gridding out this design with flags then mowing the design. I was one of 3 women and a student who did designs, I'll show the others when I have photos and more time to post. I'm running back out to the country to paint, only a day and a half left before our art fair on Sunday and then back to the city...with the most amazing memories and greater appreciation for the land, the farmer, this special community around Oregon, Illinois and art making!

"This 11 acre field sculpture, by Chicago artist Anne Leuck Feldhaus, was created to encourage people to adopt from their local animal shelters and rescue groups."

View my Flickr Photo Journal of the making of this sculpture!

Be Kind To Animals...

I just biked down to City Hall to see the banners I designed for Chicago Animal Care & Control for Be Kind To Animals Week. It's always a wonder to me that a digital file that I never saw larger than 10 inches on my screen can hang over my head, 8 feet tall. Every time, I breathe a sigh of relief that it worked! I also donated banner designs for Be Kind to Animals week back in 2005 they featured Alice. Not that you need to be reminded, but be kind to your 4 legged friends and if you are ready to add to your household please adopt ... there are hundreds of cats and dogs waiting for homes in Chicago today. As I left City Hall I saw this beautiful mosaic mural across the street at 120 N LaSalle. It is called "Flight of Daedalus and Icarus" by Roger Brown, It's 27 feet high and 54 feet wide and of course all original. There are hidden gems like this all over  Chicago. I count  myself lucky to have spotted this one today.