Happy Holidays!

Jacob*Dave*Ryan*Austin
and Me
The Vollenhals
Christmas 2008

I thought I would post this morning our Holiday picture for the year. I usually take this picturte myself, but this year I opted for a professional. My friend Jason from Munfy Productions
took us to a cool location and started shooting. It was a lot of fun and my son Austin, far right, was the biggest ham of all. I will post more after the Holiday because there are many more to see.

Ryan*Jacob*Austin

Well, I am outta here due to shipping, painting, and shopping. Have a great day! Marnie

Rocket Dog Scores

So you might say this is a little over the top, but a certain customer, along with her football loving son will totally disagree. This painting is a custom piece that was commissioned from the Gallery ART251. And the lucky boy who this is for, well, I think it's a Christmas present...and I'm pretty sure he doesn't read my blog. I think he will love it and hope his mom does too. I actually had a tough time with this one, probably because my boys are football crazy and I wanted to make sure it was going to be loved by it's fan.
So..I brought in the judges(my boys). After a few negative comments and suggestions, in turn I added....fixed and then brought them back again. They LOVED it! Yea!

I am finishing up a few more commissions this week and through the weekend. Come Monday, I will not be painting for an entire WEEK! Did you hear that Dear..I have to make sure I tell my husband that...and I'm sure I'll get a hug and kiss as well.
My break is over and it's back to painting. I'll post again Friday(cross your fingers) on another commission I've been working on. Have a great day! Marnie

Excuse this busy Artist!

Annie the Boxer

The Dog Family (at least that's what I titled it)


Excuse me for being absent this week, but I have been swamped in biz. And as I've said in the past, painting, shipping, and my kids come before blogging. I am barely awake right now due to extremely late nights this week. I think I'm even on my third cup of coffee this morning...which I have never done before. I didn't even exercise this week I've been so busy. Ok.. I've said enough about what I've been doing and why I haven't been around.
Well, above are some more custom dog paintings that I have been working on. These were both painted on 8x10"s and turned out fabulous. I can't wait for the owners to see them in person.
I don't mean to post and run today but I am working on more custom pieces for clients. I'll post more next week and OH GOTTA go ...my pool man is here to fix something! Marnie

Handmade for You

Lately I have been creating a ton of custom pieces for clients on ETSY and around town. Above is Lucy, who I really enjoyed painting. Her owner, Yancey, sent me some photos in which then I created this. She loved it, and I think I really captured her. So, if you'd love me to create a little illustration of your dog on a canvas or ornament let me know.
Ok...so today is filled with delivering some art to the gallery ART251. They are featuring an artist tonight, it's not me. But they are in need of some more Hawk the dog...of course. Don't mean to blog and run. Marnie

THANKS COOL MOM PICKS!

I forgot to mention but a couple of weeks ago, COOL MOM PICKS featured me on their blog. I was part of the holiday promotions. Kristen, Liz, and Mir find the coolest stuff on the planet for babies and kids. And well, let's just say they love Hawk! Thanks ladies.



Sunday 16 November

Deck your halls all year long

Talk about getting a bang for your nursery decor buck: The whimsical set of mini hand-painted artwork is not just wall art, it's a whole set of ornaments. Personally, I'd hang them in the baby's room, but sneak them out to the tree every December so that the whole house can enjoy them.

This whimsical critters are hand painted on eco-friendly wood from artist Marnie Vollenhals of J. Austin Ryan. I love her existing motley assortment of characters and colors, but she'll customize them for you for a small additional fee. If you don't want the whole set, you can buy them individually as well. I'm partial to Little Mouse on Guitar, myself.

Our Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving! Austin said it was his best ever, and I'd have to agree. I hosted this year for the first time and it really was not that bad. I started preparing the day before so that I wasn't a crazy lady the day of. I have always been the type to use items around my home for decorating and even outside since I love to garden. The boys and I collected, trim branches, and picked flowers out side for our decor, it was fun. Of course, a little rock throwing came into play, BOYS! So here are some photos.
















We made some desserts in the morning. Chocolate covered Oreo's with sprinkles, the boys made. And I made a chocolate cake with a turkey on top. My boys aren't big fans of pumpkin pie, so I made this for them. It was the hit of the night actually. I didn't take photos of any other food because by the time it came out of the oven it was in our bellies.:>)
Like I said, we pulled greens from the yard to add in the decorating.I even added cranberries to the vases with little orange flowers from my yard, they looked so pretty. Austin and Ryan helped out with this.
Well, I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving as we did. And no, my kids are not drinking wine, it's sparkling apple cider. Don't think the thought didn't cross my mind, especially with the rock fight in the yard. It's back to reality today, work! Have a great day. Marnie