While I consider most Art Crawls moderate successes if there is decent traffic and good conversation about art, I am very happy and excited to say I sold a painting last night at the Birmingham, Art Crawl! This was the busiest Art Crawl in several months, and my fourth sale (of my own, non-commission art) through this venue within a year.

This oil painting, "Nipper and ipod" is one of my oldest paintings, dating back to my college years. This image is old, but it was all I could find at the moment. I had touched it up since then and even signed it with a recent signature (post-marriage name change).

The story behind this piece, briefly:

Nipper is the RCA dog. The dog's owner had died, and his brother, artist Francis Barraud, inherited Nipper. The new owner noticed Nipper twisting his head in recognition of his master's voice on the phonograph, and in 1898 painted "His Master's Voice." From this, the marketing image of the RCA dog was born. This playful piece is just my commentary on the recent evolution away from the older recording technology to this generation's digital, MP3 technology. Here's a short article that features the original painting, and gives a little more detail than my account: 

http://www.woofipedia.com/articles/high-fidelity-nipper-the-rca-dog

Another children's portrait completed this past week, delivered today, measuring 16 x 20 inches, rendered in acrylic.