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View Full Version : New Member: Susan Calvert, Good Girl Designs, www.SusanCalvert.com


SusanCalvert
03-06-2006, 09:04 PM
Hello Everyone,

I'm glad to have located this forum and hope to meet some interesting pet guardians.

I have a dog named Lucy. She is the inspiration of my art. My company name, Good Girl Designs, arose from Lucy's positive training. "Good Girl" we'd say to her, during potty training.

Here is additional info about myself:

Susan Calvert, award-winning pet artist of Good Girl Designs, creates colorful cat and dog paintings, prints, cards and magnets.

*****ARTIST STATEMENT*****

I have always felt close to my dogs. I rescue them from shelters, however, I believe they rescue me. My dogs provide companionship, inspiration and help me cope with loneliness due to a managed environment from asthma and MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivity).

Many people indicate their cats provide them with the same comfort I have enjoyed from my dogs. Though I am unable to have them because their indoor waste odor triggers my illnesses, I have incorporated cats into my portfolio at the requests of other passionate pet owners like myself.

My watercolor paintings, colorful representations of canine and feline life, are universal symbols for all cats and dogs. These animals, like people, come from many different backgrounds. Some breeds were mixed to create new breeds. Cats and dogs adopted from shelters may be a potpourri of breeds.

I use mood-evoking color to move past breed specifics by painting happenings, circumstances and situations occurring in the lives of cats and dogs. I see similar parallels in animals and their human guardians. When we move past specifics of breed, race, etc., I believe the bigger picture is to be loved and accepted.

Susan Calvert , Visual Artist, www.SusanCalvert.com

"Dogs and Cats are Earths Angels"

John Olexa
03-06-2006, 09:52 PM
Welcome :) Nice to see someone else use there name. Now I'm not the only one LOL :D

Pepsidoodle
03-06-2006, 10:15 PM
Hi Susan and welcome. I love your watercolors! I am a fellow artist. Into abstract expressionism Willem DeKooning, Pollock and Max Ernst. I paint a little like Grandma Moses on acid I have been told ha. I haven't done much lately. Your paintings are inspiring. Welcome again.

SusanCalvert
03-06-2006, 11:00 PM
Hi John,

Thanks for the welcome and vote of confidence with real name usage. We are who we are!

What is your favorite subject to photograph?

www.SusanCalvert.com

SusanCalvert
03-06-2006, 11:37 PM
Pepsidoooooooooooodle--love your forum name!

Thank you for the warm welcome.

Good to meet another artist. Where can I view your art? Do you have a website? Do you paint animal companions?

I love all the artists you mentioned. Others of interest to me are Picasso (he created something for everyone), Kandinsky (read his quick, interesting book on abstraction entitled 'Point and Line to Plane', Freida Kahlo, Kirchner, Vance Kirkland, Lichtenstein, Warhol, Ed Paschke.

My studio should be completed within the next few months. I can hardly wait to get back in the 'grove". It's been a year without painting (we moved 3 times last year due to relocation--ugh!)

Lately, I've been dabbling with acrylics to create cat and dog ATC (Art Trading Cards) and creating my new website which will enable folks to purchase off of it. The site is on hold and will be completed next month as I am preparing for my vendor booth at the Chicagoland Family Pet Expo next weekend, March 17-19, in Arlington Heights, IL.

I'll be opening an eBay store too in coming months.

I read your profile and it stated "wannabe artist". No, no, no! Think positive! If you create art, you are an artist.

I use to think of myself as a "starving artist" until I took first place at the dog art competition in NY. My attitude changed and now I say "I'm a rising star". You are too! Believe it and you'll be it!!!!!

Take care.

www.SusanCalvert.com

krazy4birds
03-07-2006, 01:45 AM
Hi there Susan.......you have some great watercolors..hope you don't mind but I have moved your post to classifieds as it does pertain to that and you will get better advertizement here. Good luck with your site!

SusanCalvert
03-07-2006, 08:57 AM
Dear Krazy4Birds,

Logged on this morning and thought, 'Oh, no, I must have hit the wrong button yesterday. My posts are all gone.'

Thank you for your kind comments about my art. I truly appreciate your support.

Thank you for moving my posts to the appropriate place on the forum. I'm still learning how to navigate here.

I enjoyed the sweet sentiment at the end of your post regarding your mom.

All the best,

Pepsidoodle
03-07-2006, 10:06 AM
Hi Susan. Thanks for the Pep talk. Congratulations on your winning first in NY. I went to a journalism school for commercial art and did not conform to most of their theories. Most classes were on the edge of campus in basements! I lost my confidence when I kept getting D's on my work. That was years ago and now our nation has a broader view of the fine arts in my opinion. I have a studio and all the materials needed to create. I just don't have the drive. Maybe someday. I need to get a website. Thanks again. I think your nice words might just get me off of my touckus! ha ha. Once again I really like your style. It is bold and beautiful!:)

SusanCalvert
03-08-2006, 12:36 AM
Dear Krazy4Birds,

Could you move me back to the introductions page? I have not received any posts, etc. from anyone new since the move. I see the others who signed up with me have had many more viewers.

I'm not so much worried about my business as I am about talking to folks. We moved and I'm having a difficult time meeting people with the same interest. Love my pet!!!

The neighbors think I'm crazy. I brush Lucy's teeth, feed her a homemade, organic human food diet, wipe her down every night, etc. She even has her own kid's bed next to mine! She is an important part of our family. I'd like find others with similar interests. My (pet) art is an added bonus to get the conversation going and what I do to spread the word about making our animal companions part of the family.

Thank you for your help.