Jack Russell Terrier Illustration

This was one of the illustrations that was given as a Christmas gift! He just had this energetic and curious spirit about him! 

Here is a picture that Rowdy's family sent me of Rowdy looking at his illustration. 

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Vojnich Household! This is the Christmas Card I made for this year featuring my husband and I with all our pets!

Gift Certificate Give Away!

I'm having a giveaway on my Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/FineArtbyErica

You can win a Gift Certificate for an 8"x10" Custom Pet Portrait! 

There are two rules: 1.You have to like my facebook page. 2. Like the image posted above. 

The winner can transfer the gift certificate. So if you like, you give this away as a gift! 

The winner will be announced on 12/17/13

Happy Birthday Marc!

Happy Birthday to my amazing husband Marc! He's such a caring and supportive man! He's truly is my partner in life! His favorite animal is the penguin, so I made this card I made for him! (There seems to be a lack of Happy Birthday cards with penguins on them! )

Happy Thanksgiving!

A small watercolor to show my appreciation for the beautiful colors in the season!
Wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving! 

German Shepherd - Boreas

I finished up a commissioned pastel portrait of Boreas. He was a beautiful German Shepherd own by a very talented dog trainer. Thanksgiving was the anniversary of when he was brought home as a puppy and Lori wanted to have the portrait arrive to honor the time they shared together. Portraits like this are important to me as well. As a pet owner, I know how hard it is to say goodbye and it's an honor to give owners another way to keep the relationship close to their heart.

This portrait was created on Hannemuhle Velour paper, primarily using PanPastels to create texture and detail in the fur.

To learn more about Lori's work with dog training, please visit her website: http://puppy-wuppy.com/

Time Lapse Videos

I'm having a little fun on my instagram account. I came up with a hashtag #EricaPaintMyPhoto for everyone to use. So if you would like to see your picture painted in a pen and ink, tag your photo. If you like the painting, you can purchase it for $45 USD and shipping is included, this price is also for international orders. The last drawing went from my home in the United States (NJ to be exact) to Australia. I decided to incorporate some fun time lapse and stop animation videos into the project as well.

 

It's World Cat Day!

Today is world cat day and I thought I would share a picture of our cat Simon.  He is a Siberian cat and we adopted him from our local no kill animal shelter. He is the boss of the house and has the typical fiesty spirit that comes with red cats (I have the scars to prove it and so does the vet tech at our vet's office).  He can be very sweet and sometimes he turns out to be a lap cat.  This is a picture of him after he successfully kicked me off my pillow (notice he takes up almost all of the king size pillow). When your cat is this large, you tend to just give him what he wants!

Cane Corso

I just recently finished up a commissioned portrait of Tonka, a very handsome Cane Corso. Sadly, Tonka passed away and this was a memorial portrait. I could tell just from working on the portrait that Tonka was held a very special place in his family. I hope the portrait will help them remember the fond memories they shared and still let Tonka have a place in their home.

I primarily created this portrait with PanPastels, it's one of my favorite materials for working with pastels. It specifically works well with Velour paper and large backgrounds. I like using makeup sponges to drag the background across and also to blend the colors together. By far, the best quality of PanPastels is that it stays on that paper. I'm sure all pastel artists fearing the pastels dusting off the paper like snow. So I highly recommend them when using pastels.

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In personal news, I got a new mattress for our bed (the Serta ISeries Acclamation) and I'm hoping that it will help with my neck and back problems. I know it's odd to be excited over a new mattress, but as a person that's been living with chronic pain that sometimes makes me put a halt on doing the thing I love the most, I'm very excited about it. Remember fellow artists, listen to your body when it's in pain and take some time to stretch! So far so good with the new mattress, but it's only been one night. Can you tell I'm really hoping that this is the solution besides having my chiropractor on speed dial?

Panda iPhone Cases

Yes, I'm aware that I'm posting about pandas again, but there's been an update to Fine Art America! It's sister site www.Pixel.com now has iphone cases! Here are some samples of my panda art on the iphone cases! If you play around with the image (using their resizing and move tool) this is what the images look like.

Here is a link to this Panda iPhone Case for the iPhone 5 or 4/4s. 

Here is the link for this Panda iPhone Case for the iPhone 5 or 4/4s

My Panda Art on Pinterest 

panda iphone cases panda art

More Pandas

Yep, more pandas. What's not to love about them?

I'm donated a few items to Pandas International's online auction. The proceeds will be helping the pandas at the Bifengxia Panda Center in Sichuan China.

"Tai Shan Greets Koi" a 5"x7" original watercolor in an 8"x10" black frame, protected with UV glass. Here is the link to the item in the auction. 



A hand painted tea set featuring pandas under cherry blossom trees. The teapot can hold 6 cups and is painted on both sides, the cups hold 12 oz. The set is functional, but I recommend hand washing after use. Here is the link to the set in the auction.

I will be featuring more painted tea sets and mugs later on. As always, if it has a panda on it, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Pandas International.

Red Poppy for Memorial Day

For all those currently serving, for those that have served, and for those waiting for someone to come home, thank you.

In Flanders Fields 
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) 

Canadian Army

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

Sea Turtle Art

Yesterday was World Turtle Day! It's a day to celebrating these gorgeous species and to raise awareness on how to protect them from extinction.  I created some sea turtle art in my sketchbook in honor of the day.

Why is protecting the Marine Turtles so important? They are fundamentally important to marine ecosystems. They are the "sea garden keepers" and help maintain healthy life cycles for coral reefs and sea grass. The coral reefs and sea grass also help benefit the other valuable species such as shrimp, lobster, and tuna. 

I highly suggest taking the time to read the World Wildlife Federation information on how you can help the Sea Turtle and other marine life. They have been doing a tremendous job on addressing illegal trade of turtles, protecting their habitats, and working to minimize the climate changes.