I was honored to have my work featured and be interviewed by Chicago Canine Concierge...a wonderful Chicago area Pet Service Referral Business that is also very active in supporting pet adoption and animal welfare causes. You can read the full interview here.
And I know...I've been a horrible blogger, I had grand plans for catching up in January and look at the date! Hopefully February will be that 'catch up' month!
Are you on Facebook? I just surpassed the 1000 "Like" landmark for my Anne Leuck Feldhaus Studio Business page - I do realize this fluctuates daily so you might visit and find it back at 995 again! In any case, I am so grateful for all the 'likes' and comments and interactions and feedback about my work. I'm much better about updating there than on my website or here on the blog - just due to the ease of it. I'm sure I will be posting more specials once I get settled in my new more private work studio so if you would like to "LIKE" me...well, I'd like that! ; )
The Western Springs / Sun Times blog featured my "Canines N'Blooms" hand painted bird bath in their publicity for the final Charity Auction Event for HCS Family Services, held last weekend. I hope mine found a good home and brought in some good money for this wonderful organization. Follow this link to see all the other artists' creations.
I was honored to have my work published in the September/October 2011 issue of Poet & Writers Magazine to accompany an editorial piece on the Literature of 9/11 by Kevin Nance. I painted this piece on 9/11/02, it was a very emotional experience to paint, even a year later...I had done a lot of work in my sketch book around the time of 9/11/01 but it took a year for this painting to emerge from my consciousness. Still leaves me with a heavy heart.
At this year's Fields Project Art Fair I had a lovely lady and her daughter come to my display and excitedly share with me that my dog field sculpture (done in 2007) shows up on the MapQuest satellite map! This is pretty amazing because we mowed that field in one day and the photo was obviously taken early in the day since the negative space around the dog and the flowers was not mowed yet. You can't see us, by we are down there on the tractor...we stayed out there until it was done, in spite of the fact that Jennifer, the farmer was pregnant at the time...women farmers rock! ; ) See below for the finished project:
Here is a great little article about the Fields Project in the Ogle County News as well as interview excerpts from participating artists...very grateful, as always, for a little press! Thanks to reporter, Chris Johnson for interviewing me.
Steve Dale, syndicated pet expert shares photos by Dallas Yanez from Saturday's Stray Cat Strut Event, an annual walk to raise money for Tree House Humane Society. I donated the design they've used for the last few years on the shirts and posters.
A little behind here, as usual: back in May I attended the awards Ceremony and Grand Opening of the "In Bloom" exhibit benefiting HCS Family Services at Oak Brook Center...I won a Merit Award which was a nice honor. The had a lovely reception and ribbon cutting ceremony followed by a walking tour and then an evening reception which I had to forego, to pack up for my Iowa Art Fair. It was a great afternoon.
I liked this frog a lot...
Another favorite piece, "Garden Song" sponsored by Sharpie.The bee outfit seemed fitting for this event...
Fred DeAsis with his bench: "Our Green Earth"...we met at the event and he was kind enough to take photos of me with my piece...thanks again, Fred!
With artist,Carla Bank, and her painted frog: "Firebelly Ozzie"...turns out she owns one of my pieces!These were the top 3 award winners. You'll have to check them all out if you find yourself in Oak brook...they will be on display through August and auctioned off in September. I'd love to do another project like this...aside from the headaches of moving it around, etc. it was totally worth the effort.
....I was excited to get some press after the Marion Art Fair last weekend inEastern Iowa Life. It felt great to get my tent out and do my first outdoor show of the season, the weather ended up cooperating and we had a good turn out crowd wise. Also enjoyed getting out on the road, so easy to get caught up in urban life, the open road stretching out before me is always a welcome sight.
new collectors!
...."A Woman and Her Dog"...
I did some power painting prior to the show including lots of new mini art blocks:
do you like my new 'skelly's" ...inpsired by my most recent pet portrait commission of medi & tula! Just $32 each!
Iowa has the most beautiful rest stops of any state I've seen, they all seem to incorporate original art work into their design and on the grounds...this one 30+ miles west of Davenport.
Check out our fun feature from ABC Channel 7's 190 North Television Show! It turned out great thanks to the wonderful interviews with my customers and their pets (Cris & Kaaren & Tango and Sarah & Bear), and all the great folks and camera crew at 190 North, thank you Janet & Holly!! Sadly, Bear, the sweet Bernese Mountain Dog in the segment passed away a few weeks ago...so honored to have created his portrait and that he's also immortalized on film. He was beloved by everyone in the neighborhood.
Please contact me if you are ready to order a Pet Portrait!
The other wonderful part of this feature, it aired the night before my 44th birthday...a lovely gift!
This little cutie is Jack, he came to the studio back in January with Susan who brought her dog Tuesday's portrait in to be featured in the 190 North tv shoot which will air this Sunday!
I also got to meet Barkley whose portrait I did back in December, his owner Tom brought his piece in to be featured as well.
We did part of the shoot at Tango's house in Bucktown: Unfortunately I don't have any other photos from the day of the shoot...but it was great fun! I'm nervous but very excited to see how it all turned out...tune in to 190 North at 10:35pm on Sunday on ABC Channel 7 in Chicago!
At long last, the street banners I designed will soon be hanging throughout Roscoe Village. The Roscoe Village Chamber of Commerce recently rolled out the banner ad campaign to area businesses. I look forward to seeing them up around the neighborhood and sharing some photos with you!
"Dog Days"
"Betty & Barney"
I just signed a final film credit release for my prints "Dog Days" and "Betty & Barney" to be used on the set of Doggie Boogie, a feature film coming out sometime next winter. These prints will be hanging in the set apartment of character, Peter Wolfe, owner of
Doggie Boogie, a dog dancing school...hopefully we'll see them - that's not always the case.
My previous brushes with the silver screen:
The Break-Up - You never saw my art in this Vince Vaughn/Jennifer Aniston movie because they cut the original ending...didn't see it in the dvd alternate ending either. (My entire art fair booth was in it, plus my friend Eva May and I were hired as extras...it was a very fun 2 days of shooting along with some other art fair pals and their work on the set at Buckingham Fountain in August of 2005.)
The Number 23 - My postcards and book mark were easy to spot in this Jim Carrey flick plus I got a little press and sold the painting that was on the postcard....
I'm very excited to have my Painting, 'Black Frisbee Flyer', featured in
the Summer 2010 issue of Niche Magazine and on their website. Niche is a trade publication for
independent Retailers, they found my work via the Artful Home website.
I've already received a call from a gallery in New Orleans interested in
a wholesale order (big smile). Would love to do more wholesale...gotta
move more of these paintings out into the world!
Here is a peek at the recent Neighborhood Direct Coupon Book cover that I designed...they went out to 10,000 residents in the area.The image is an extended version (horizontally) of the street banner designs I created for Roscoe Village...stay tuned to see them as they are hoisted to the street poles of the neighborhood later this summer and fall!
If you mention it, I will honor this coupon for 20% off any original painting or print in my studio through the expiration date of July 30th!
A client recently mailed me this press clipping from February's Chicago Social Magazine of a couple posing with the painting I donated to the Shedd Aquarium Art Sharks Fundraiser last year. It's always exciting seeing my work in print (even when they don't give me credit)...will have to track down this couple for my mailing list!
I was excited to have my Teal Night Scape painting included in this wonderful Etsy Treasury of Water Towers put together by jeweler Rone Prinz. I find them whimsical in spite of their industrial, utilitarian design. I used to paint a lot more of them but they are disappearing from Chicago's skyline. Another reason I love to visit New York city, they are everywhere...delightful urban dinosaurs.
As promised last week, here is a link to our House Tour on the Apartment Therapy Blog which went live on Monday. Thanks to Jason Loper now a Contributing Editor as well as fabulous Designer. Here's a peek at a few things that didn't make the House Tour...still lots of painting to do upstairs and art to hang:
The Hand Drawn Map Association (HDMA) is an ongoing archive of user submitted maps and other interesting diagrams created by hand. I found out about HDMA on their Facebook Fan Page...it's a great concept and site. I submitted the map below that I made for my Mom and Bill a few years back...it depicts their favorite walking trail in McMullen Park located in rural Warrens, Wisconsin. It's now #211 in the HDMA archives. They now have monthly map making contests ...do you have you would like to submit?
I found this wonderful artist on their site, Dahlia Elsayed. Her map is #173. It says she created this map to represent the month of August. She tells
us that the map represents pretty much everything that was going on in
her life at the time. Check out her other amazing map related art on her site: www.dahliaelsayed.com. I love the abstract yet humorous nature of this!
I was interviewed by Agnes Jasinski of Chicagoland Tails last fall and am honored to be featured in an article she wrote that appears in the December/January Issue of the Magazine titled: "Pet Artist Uses Work To Promote Adoption and Rescue Groups", I have included it below. Our (tentative) first adoption event at the studio for 2010 will be on February 13th with Chicago Canine Rescue ...stay tuned. If you know of a group that would be interested in having an event here, please send them my way!
Pet artist uses work to promote adoption and rescue groups
By Agnes Jasinski
Anne Leuck Feldhaus was still working a corporate job when she adopted Izzy, the beloved canine who sparked her creative spirit and got her to leave her job and pursue art full-time. Around the time Izzy came into her life, she began doing dog images, paintings, and promotional art for shows put on by rescue groups. Her images were “very funny bright, colorful dog paintings,” she says, that started out as a hobby but became a calling and a way for her to promote pet adoption.
“The first dog images came from her, along with the whole awareness of how serious the problem was,” Feldhaus says about her passion for adoption and Izzy’s influence. “I went to a lot of different places to meet dogs and to find the right one, and had two cats at the time from Anti-Cruelty. … That process really opened my eyes.”
Feldhaus has now been donating art for fundraisers to rescue groups like the Treehouse Animal Foundation and Young at Heart Pet Rescue for the last 14 years. Her work with the rescues has been pro bono, but she also does paintings of people’s pets. Her artwork has been hung up in lobbies, sold to raise money for local rescues, and used on T-shirts and posters to promote shelter events.
Earlier this spring, Feldhaus also opened a storefront studio in Roscoe Village at 2040 W. Roscoe, where she hopes to not only have a presence in the neighborhood as an artist, but to also invite local rescue groups to hold adoption events there. The first event was held Aug. 8 with Chicago Canine Rescue. A portion of any sales at any of the adoption events will go toward the rescue that day. The next event will be held Dec. 12, with pets brought in from Young at Heart Pet Rescue.
“My goal and mission are to give back to our dogs and cats all the unconditional love and devotion they provide us by spreading the word about animal adoption through my art and designs,” Feldhaus says. “Also I truly believe that our pets make us better human beings.”
For more information, visit AnnesArt.com.
Thanks to MODERN CAT BLOG for featuring my work and hosting this great Holiday Giveaway for Feline Lovers: Visit their site to see the package which includes a ‘Feline Tips Tree’ Holiday Gift Mug with Candy, a Porcelain Cat & Wreath Ornament, one Cat & Wreath Magnet, a 5 x 5 inch Mixed Feline Notepad, a 4 x 11 inch Mixed Feline Notepad, and one ‘Feline Tips Tree’ Holiday Greeting Card PLUS the winner will receive a $150 discount certificate toward a custom pet portrait box frame print!
To enter this giveaway, please visit MODERNCAT.net and leave a comment. The winner will be chosen in a random drawing on December 24.
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!
I was thrilled to find out that the Grand Opening Party for my studio made Crain's Chicago Business Top Ten List for things to do this weekend in Chicago! Now if some of you were on the fence about coming....this should settle it once and for all. : ) The libations are chilling and treats await...T minus 4 hours! Putting raffle gifts together for the drawing tonight...Need details? Bring your friends...
