Oh man, I’m so behind with the blogging. And now it’s our crazy time what with the holidays and all– but I want to remind everyone that the Anne Made 2021 Calendar is for sale at Zazzle

You want to see what we have lined up for you?
Here’s a sampling.

And look! A corgi made the cover this year. A dog I can see eye to eye with. Literally… eye to eye… not figuratively. In other words the corgi is an awesomely short dog. Anyway, this dude made the cover but he also shows up during the year.

And dog-wise we also have added Remus the crazy Pomeranian/Chihuahua room-mate. (Who bites sometimes)

And for June we have the neighbor’s cat investigating the fish pond.
The fish survived.

They survived and then in October Anne brought them inside. Now we get a really good view of them. I like to stick my nose up to the glass and watch them and pretend I’m scuba diving.

Speaking of swimming. Here’s August and here’s the happy as hell quintessential black dog with frisbee at the beach.

Okay.
That’s my blog update.
Now back to work for this guy.

The Bud and Gabby dolls. It’s me and Gabby. Are we cute or are we cute?

And we’re soft and cuddly and sturdily constructed and lots of fun. Anne has worked long hours in assembling these little guys. I have been immortalized in paintings and drawing and greeting cards and books and now this. Gabby too. We’re practically famous. And any day now we’re going to be up for adoption in Anne’s Etsy Store.

Hey friends, fans and anybody else who is reading this.

I thought it was time for another sit-down with Anne to find out how she’s doing in this time of strangeness.

I interviewed Anne on a sunny day in her studio when she was just finishing up some paintings that she had been commissioned to do. They were going very well so she was in a good mood and I was relieved to see that her shoulders weren’t all hunched up and she didn’t have that pained ‘things aren’t going very well’ look on her face. Anne was wearing one of her black ‘painting’ sweaters and her matching black ‘painting’ pants as we sat down to discuss work and life and love in these – let’s face it – crazy times.

Buddy: So what’s happening? You doing okay in this time of isolation.

Anne: I do well as a recluse. I like to putter and I have projects and I’m a homebody. And I’m back to making the Buddy and Gabby dolls with plans to make lots of them. This is a project that’s been on the back burner for a while and this is the perfect time to have some fun and make toys basically.

Buddy: Are you planning on selling them? And how much would they cost?

Anne: What a swell idea. Here’s the thing. They are time consuming and one of a kind and it’s not like I want to go into a grand production line turning them out cause then it wouldn’t be so much fun. It’s fun now. Experimenting with fabrics and embellishments like eye-lashes and toe-nails. And I like it that no two will be exactly alike. So how much would they cost? I’m not sure.

Buddy: So, change of subject. Are you going to get another dog?

Anne: Dogs?! Dogs dogs dogs. I love dogs. Everyday I check Petfinder. We want a dog that will be gentle and accommodating of Benny our number one house cat who doesn’t want to loose his place of honor on the couch and in the house.

Buddy: What kind of dogs are you looking at?

Anne: Oh my! So many appealing faces out there.

Here are some criteria. Must be adaptable to Benny. I do love the low riders. I love the hounds and the very long velvety ears. But the perky stand up ears have tremendous appeal. I like a long nose. I have loved pugs and terriers but they never wind up at the top of the list. No big dogs- as gorgeous and loveable and awesome as they may be. And no really hairy dogs. Asthma present. Joe always wanted a German shepherd but big and hairy and so I don’t think so.

But you just never know who might walk in the door and you fall in love.

These things have a way of working out on their own. 

When the woman is ready the dog will come.

Benny: And may I remind you of our lodger Remus. Another reason to hold off on adopting a dog. Who is this guy anyway and how did he wind up in our house.

Anne: Well he needed a place to stay and we took him in because he came with Ben who is our lodger/house-mate/sanitation-manager/handy-man/procurer of groceries and more. 

Benny: So Anne how’s your cartooning going Anne? You still drawing those pictures in your little books?

Anne: I am. Want to see some? 

Buddy: Well, yeah I do. 

Anne: Okay, I’ll send you some pictures later and you can include them in your next blog post.

Buddy: Sounds good. Any final words?

Anne: There’s a surprise around every corner so you just have to get used to it.

Guess what Anne’s been doing in her free time?

Sewing some of these crazy cute Bud and Gabby dolls. I don’t like calling them dolls but not sure what else to call them. Don’t want to call them ‘stuffed animals’ cause that makes them sound like turkeys. I can say that they are all one of a kind and truly handmade at Annemade by Anne.

Just staying safe at home. Me, bored? Never. I always have something to do.

Like organizing the essentials. I personally don’t have to worry about getting toilet paper because I’m a cat and our system of elimination is so much less a hassle than yours. We’re very tidy. We bury and we exit the box. Some of us have been trained to use a human toilet but we have no need for the paper.

Playing solitaire and waiting for cocktail hour?

What if you’re on the wagon?

Read a book. Knit. Do a puzzle. Have a snack. Call a friend. Clean the litter box. Organize something.

The calendar for 2020 is ready for you.

Anne worked hard. Lots of new art. And we’re all happy she got it done before the old crystal ball dropped. You can check out all the new images and buy the calendar at our Zazzle store. https://www.zazzle.com/mbr/238012448829472374

The ‘Yoga Class’ is for the month of September. Once again I’m a real headliner in this calendar. That’s me in the middle. I’m looking at you. It’s an awesome class. Dogs. Cats. All sizes. All colors. Some of us are more flexible than others.

Anne’s taken to painting horses. She had thought she might take up horseback riding but decided she’d explore her fascination with those big big animals by painting them instead. I thought this was a smart decision. I didn’t want to see her falling off one of those big big animals onto her head. That would be awful.

This is October. It’s a good time to hunt- October. Here we are ready to pounce. We try to do most of our work at night so Anne doesn’t have to witness the carnage. Gabby and I like the night-shift and we work well together as a team. She’s very patient and quick on her feet and I’m the muscle of the operation.

That’s it for the 2020 Calendar update. Another blog post added to the archive. So if you want to buy one just head on over to https://www.zazzle.com/mbr/238012448829472374

And thanks for reading this… whoever you are. Does anyone actually read these things? Blog posts written by a cat? Well, I certainly hope so.

Art for Small Spaces  

Well this is crazy.
Look at all these mini paintings stacked like pancakes.

And here they are hanging up in the studio. Please note: Anne has started posting them to her Etsy store. We’re calling them trading cards. Like Anne had when she was a kid. Which was a long time ago. She’s old-ish. Been around. Anyway these cards have many different themes and stories, faces and places. Think of them as collectibles. And then start collecting them. They make nice little gifts.

As you can see subject matter is eclectic. Not just a bunch of birds and bunnies. I see a nun. I see a cat playing a piano next to George Washington.

More about this later. Next post I’m going to tell you about my trip to the beach. Holy smokes. Crazy. But fun.

Here are a few more of Anne’s paintings from a few years ago that I never posted. I’m going to post more of Anne’s art oeuvre over the next weeks. Add some color and conversation to my blog here. Enjoy.

Story of a cat- With pictures

This is JaKarr. She’s a blind cat who lives with Cleo and Carson and though Anne can be reluctant to do pet portraits she’s been known to make exceptions when there’s a story to tell. It’s not just about a pretty face ya know.

JaKarr helps Carson work. Carson and JaKarr have a special bond.

Get the picture. Here JaKarr is allowing Carson to share the chair. True love.

Almost there but she hasn’t done all the faces. The face and eyes are key. Especially the eyes. If the eyes aren’t right the picture doesn’t work.

Cleo gave us all kinds of info, stories and pictures. We had lots to work with. I say ‘we’, it’s mostly Anne who does the work… I just look over her shoulder and make helpful comments from time to time.

These paintings are all 10×10″. Anne likes working on a few paintings at a time when she does a portrait. There’s often more to say about the cat/dog/bird/rabbit/person than one image can express. Anne actually did the three paintings hoping one would pass muster but then in the end they all passed muster and so the JaKarr pictures are all with Carson and Cleo.

If you’re interested in portraits drop us a line.