Ninja Pug Is Back!

A while ago I did a quick sketch of a character I named Ninja Pug (see Ninja Pug's first post here). I loved the idea of a chubby, clumsy pug taking herself way too seriously and thinking she's a superhero ninja defending her home and neighborhood.

Before I got Rosy I did a few drawings of Sunny turning into Ninja Pug every day after I leave for work. I think I'll start doing some more drawings of Ninja Pug and maybe introduce Rosy as her sidekick. But for now, here's one of the illustrations I did a while ago of a rotund and not-so-stealthy Ninja Pug.

How A Pug Welcomes Spring

This is how a pug welcomes spring.  Seriously.  I was walking her and admiring the beautiful recently bloomed trees and then looked down and realized she was peeing right at the base of the tree.

I've been doing a lot of pen work recently and so it was a nice welcome change to add some color this time.  I had a split second of disappointment when I first started where I was upset I couldn't accurately capture how the tree looks.  Don't you hate it when you can't convey on paper what's in your head?  But I kept at it and ended up relatively pleased with the result.  But man painting takes up way more time!

Rainbow Bridge (Sister's Request)

One of my sisters was generous enough to give me some new watercolors for my birthday and then promptly demanded a picture using said watercolors.  Since she gave me such nice paints, I agreed.  My sister has been fortunate to have three great dogs in her past, but unfortunate to have them pass away, one very recently.  So she wanted a recreation of my previous rainbow bridge (here) but with her three dogs together.  Since this was for my sister, I started with a pencil sketch and then went over it in pen and erased the pencil marks.  Here's the cleaned up ink sketch.

I wanted to have all three dogs doing something typical of their personalities and habits.  My sister's first chihuahua/pomeranian mix is in the lower left - her lil singing fox.  Her pug is on the right, gorging on hamburgers and kalbi (notice all the biscuit flowers nearby the pug are gone since she ate them).  And her most recent departure her second chihuahua/pomeranian mix is sitting on top of numerous plush comfy beds.  All three dogs' collars are nearby them.

I did some of the painting below, but need to touch up a few spots still.  The pug's lack of a shadow is bugging me the most.  But I got waylaid by weekend plans and a bad head cold.  I loved using watercolors again, but I missed the gouache a bit when trying to color in the trees.  Oh, and good watercolor paper makes ALL the difference.

The Rainbow Bridge

Sad to say that one of Sunny's cousins will be leaving us soon to join our other old dogs at the Rainbow Bridge.  She'll be with our much beloved first pug, chi-pom mix and chocolate lab from our collective family (sisters and myself).  My niece and nephew still talk about how much they miss their chocolate lab since that only happened within the past year.  We tell them that she's now happy in the old dog farm where she's no longer stiff and tired and can play with her friends and doggy family.  There oldness fades away, sight and hearing comes back, and arthritis is blissfully absent.  I also added some dog biscuit flowers, toys, and favorite beds of course.  The only thing missing from this perfect place is a familiar lap and petting hands.  But in the end we'll join them and be happy to shuffle off our old aches and pains as well by then.  We'll miss you Butter!

Arizona Trip - I love cacti

I recently came back from a relaxing vacation in Arizona that ended on a not so great note with a cancelled flight (due to "Hurricane" Irene) and a rescheduled 5:30am flight.  I thought I'd do more drawings and paintings but I was too busy relaxing and vegging out.  It was awesome.  So this is the only one I did pretty quickly because it was HOT outside and I needed to jump into the pool.

Pond (Niece and Nephew Stories)

Yes, I know clown fish are saltwater fish, but I'm just drawing based on my sister's stories for her kids.  I don't control the stories and can't change the many many factual inaccuracies.

Forest Gate (Niece and Nephew Stories)

I've been doing some watercolor illustrations for the stories my sister tells her kids.  I do it mainly for my niece and nephew but thought I'd add them here as well.