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SAMMY'S GARDEN

Original _ Oil on Canvas_  60 in x 20 in x 1.5 in

ORIGINAL OIL PAINTING 

About this Painting: 

Too much to say about Sammy, who came home with me, scared the bejeebers out of all of my neighbors, and turned into 'The Best Dog Ever' that everyone in the neighborhood grew to truly love. One hundred million belly rubs and massages later. He challenged my tolerance, tested all of my fears, taught me to speak up for those I love who have no voice - in spite of the position that they might put me in, and taught me things about myself I didn't know. He was a dog with a lot of love to give - someone just needed patience. Nobody in his past had had enough of it.  He was not going to be 'easy!'  

I saw his frightened little mugshot on the L.A. AnimalServices website on Christmas morning.  He melted my heart. He looked afraid.  I brought him home, stopping at a groomer to get him cleaned up.  But they wouldn't bathe him. They ushered me into the back area where Sam was huddled in a corner, snarling and hissing like a little Devil Dog possessed by evil spirits.

"GET HIM OUT OF HERE!" the store manager yelled at me.  ("Yes, I can see that there's an issue.  He's a rescue," I responded calmly.  Sam was going to be a LOT of work!)  

When he arrived home, he scampered around my place then sought refuge under the bed. When I tried to get him out from under there, he nearly ripped my hands off.  His teeth were sharp.  I was scared. I was in over my head.  Way over my head!  But I also knew that he couldn't go back to the City Shelter.  If he did, a stray and then an Owner Surrender?  - - They would put him down.  If they adopted him to a family with young children, he could actually hurt someone.  I had to keep him.  There didn't appear to be any other viable option for him.  But I also knew it wasn't going to be easy.  If not me, then who? 

Then he & my other dog, Molly Brown, got into it.  That alarmed me.  I took him down to German Shepherd Rescue to meet my friend Dave, one of the trainers.  He did an assessment and concluded, "THIS IS GOING TO BE A TOUGH ONE!"  (DUH!  Ya'think?)  I expressed my concern to a fellow rescuer, Caroline.  I was honest. I didn't think I was 'the right person' for Sam.  He needed a 'firm hand' not a lenient one.  My dogs were all handled with love and a general penchant for letting them be themselves.  That obviously wouldn't work with him.  Sam was potentially dangerous. She advised me to write to Best Friends. I did.  (To this day, reading that letter makes me cry.  How could I EVER have thought of giving up so soon?  What kind of a person doesn't even try to make it work?)  But (fortunately) Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah wasn't moved by my letter.  I'd offered to take in a dog with 3 legs, missing an eye, and a host of other 'medical issues,' all of which I felt quite certain I could handle.  Translation: An otherwise unadoptable dog that just needed oodles and oodles of love was totally within my comfort zone.  Just not one with any behavioral issues. They were handling Michael Vic's dogs, so this oughta be right up their alley.  It was.  But they didn't have any room. They were still dealing with the crisis Vic had created. In the end, their saying "No" was one of the best things that ever happened in my life.  

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I love visiting Karl and his wife.  They are old enough to be my parents.  He's a phenomenal painter/ artist.  He grew up in Bavaria.  (He said my German isn't half bad). His parents escaped with him just before or around the time the Nazis came into power in Germany.  I entertain Karl and his wife with my funny stories.  And we talk about art. Like about the Karlami.  That's the spot of color you sometimes see in a piece which elevates it to the next level.  Usually it's a warm color, but it doesn't need to be.  I was telling Karl about it and asking him if he knew what on earth I was talking about.  He did.  He agreed with me that it was 'a thing.' We named it “Karlami “ after concurring that nobody had previously identified this as "a thing" and/or thought to name it.  It definitely is "a thing." Henceforth, it is called a "Karlami."  I'm telling you that so you'll know it, Dear Reader, when you see it! 

Karl really liked Sammy's Garden.  But he told me I needed to put in a Karlami.  I'm not sure if he was joking, or not.  When you are telling funny stories, everyone likes to get in on the action!  He may have been pulling my leg.  As for a Karlami, I was dreaming about possibly orange, or maybe a hot pink.  I pictured that in my head.  I thought the orange would be less predictable and hence more spectacular.  But it's hard to go back at a certain point. So, there is no Karlami in Sammy's Garden.  And I'm okay with that too. 

(The upper edge of the painting is painted orange. That was the color of Sam's collar and lead.  Sam and I were together for eight years, so there are eight paintings done in his memory.  Each has the upper edge painted in that same shade of orange.)

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PROVENANCE:

Eccles Art Center, Ogden Utah (2025) 

ENTER CALM AND JOY   

EMERGENCE
Oil on Board
14 x 11

I wanted to try my hand at abstract, but I didn't know where or even how to begin.
So I decided to play. Just see where things would go - and pray that as had happened already, 
more times than I could remember - “Color” would save me. It seems to me like
that is exactly what happened- “COLOR” jumped in and my own version of an “abstract”
began to emerge.

I was in Ojai and gave Bert a call to say “hi” and see if she was at home. I was planning to drop by.
She picked up and told me there was a class, but I should drop by just the same. So I did. When i arrived I found her holding court from her gallery turned studio. A half dozen tables were arranged in two rows and artists were positioned around the room.  But these were not students -NO! These were some of the finest pastel artists in the area - Lynn Byrne Simon, Donna Vis, Emily Cunningham, Jannene Behl, …. were just a few of those present. All around me were canvasses filled with master works in-progress, and it was so overwhelming to watch each beautiful piece come alive in front of me.  It was a dream.  I walked around the room to meet the artists for the first time (in person), but in fact, i already knew nearly all of them.  I could recognize their “hand” from paintings I'd collected. So when the first artist sitting at a table closest to where i stood looked up and said,

“Hi! I'm Donna.”

I replied, “Donna Vis?”

She was taken aback. Curious! So i added, “I recognize your style.”

Then the next desktop. I didn't have to study the work long. I knew immediately- “Lynn Byrne Simon, i presume!”

The group had ordered from Papa Lennon's and were starting break for lunch when Bert turned to face me.  It was already shaping up to be an incredible day, but then Bert ‘got me!'

“Are you going to paint?”

Well. . . I'd never done pastels.  So I hesitated.
“Take a seat,” commanded Bert!

Well,  I'm no pastel artist, but that's how it started
That's the origin of this piece, a handful of small-ish equine works, and of the “My Farm, Red Barn” Series, and “Molly's World” and about a half dozen or so other smaller works.