How long have you been creating?

I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t drawing. As a child one of my favorite treats was going to the stationary store. I was often in trouble with my teachers all through school for doodling in the margins of test papers and assignments. In high school I was the artist and writer on the newspaper and loved doing caricatures of my teachers. My earliest (and still fondest) ambition was to be an “author/illustrator”. Unfortunately I got a lot of early messages from my family that to be an “artist” was to be a flake, so I was 30 before I actually decided to pursue it as a living. I have been creating art professionally since about 1996, and as a full-time self-representing artist since 2002.

What is your media of choice?

I love archival ink pens, ballpoint pens, watercolor pencils and watercolor paint. I prefer watercolor blocks for finished pieces, but I also enjoy painting on sheets of handmade watercolor paper for more primitive-looking work like my Cave Painting series. I also really enjoy my all-media sketchbooks, where some of my best work comes out; those sketches only appear in my blog but the loose, unedited style is what really excites me.

I taught myself how to watercolors a few years ago. Before that all of my professional work was digital and I hadn’t used a real paint brush since the early 80’s. In fact, I started my art business just a little backwards – I would create my images by painting with a computer program (primarily Photoshop with a tablet and stylus) and then making prints. I had been selling prints from these digital works successfully for a few years before I actually painted and sold an original watercolor. With over 80 prints available now the watercolor and early digital reproductions sell side by side.

What are you motivations for creating?

I am motivated by the desire to tell a story when I create. I put a lot of thought into the descriptions that go with my art, and I often include it when I sell prints. I am inspired by the people who collect my art and share their stories and photos with me. I do Dachshunds more than any other animal because they are so human with their stubbornness, loyalty, and silliness. I tend to anthropomorphize everything around me.

Art is also my business and I am driven to put a lot of effort into it so that I can continue to do what I love full time and to be at home with my 3 year old daughter. That means creating as well as promoting the art and maintaining great customer service.

What other artists or movements inform your work?

Among the artists that I particularly admire and am inspired by are Brian Froud and James C. Christensen. Both bring out a deep humanity in their fantastic subject matter. I find the art in many children’s books particularly beautiful and among my favorites are Graeme Base, Maurice Sendak, David Wiesner.

What do you find visually stimulating right now?

In the middle of a very damp Northwest winter would you believe clouds? Not the flat gray ceiling that they are this moment (this month), but when they have depth and character. Also trees, sunlight through leaves, the last sunlight and shadows of the day…

What's the last book you read?

I just finished Patricia McKillip’s Something Rich and Strange, preceded by her book Winter Rose. She writes as I would like to paint; her descriptions are so rich in imagery that I often have to re-read passages because they send me off on some hidden path or I have to put the book down and draw what it made me feel. I am re-reading The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, which is hilarious. The Sarcasm Early Warning Device alone is worth the price of admission. I also just finished Andrew Wyeth’s Autobiography, a gorgeous book told mostly in images and faintly disturbing descriptions.

Tell us about some of your artistic goals for 2006.

In late 2005 I had the number one Dachshund item on Café Press for the Christmas shopping season with my Dachshundicity Calendar (the calendar was also in the top 10 of all Café Press calendars during December). For 2006 I hope to produce enough new art to do another calendar and perhaps even interest a traditional publisher. My dearest wish for 2006 as an artist is to find an audience for my paintings of faeries, fantasy creatures and women. I list those on an alternate eBay ID because I fear alienating the collectors who have been with me for 7 years and expect my whimsical dog art, not saucy little pixies. I have done a few fairy art cards which actually didn’t do too badly, and I have just started a blog where I post my sketches as I try to find and define my new direction. One of my life goals is to write and illustrate children’s books; perhaps 2006 will be the year I get started.

What would you like your fellow EBSQ artists and our collectors to know about you and/or your work?

Finding and joining EBSQ several years ago was such a blessing. Having a community of other artists to connect with has meant a lot to me. It has provided me with the support system I never had before. Recently I was accepted into a new group called Art for Critters, which connects artists with animal charities.

I have been able to help several Dachshund rescues in the past by donating art and design, but just imagine the combined passion of many artists donating some of the proceeds of their creativity for all animals in need! I am very excited to be a part of it.

I am very grateful to the people who collect my art originals and prints as well as the shirts, coffee mugs and more with my art on it.

You can find links to my online store, eBay auctions and blog on my website at http://www.wiener-dog.com. Thank you!