I visited the Surf Dog Market for the first time the other day. It’s pretty cool. I really like the “Doggy Zen Garden” in the back and that is part of where the event will take place. I’m excited about the “indoor-outdoor” space. I might have to build a special light feature into one of my paintings just to take advantage of the warm summer night experience. How cool would that be?

The shop itself is a little more dog lover’s paradise and a little less “art gallery” than I expected but I can roll with it. I shouldn’t expect to make my grand painterly debut on the art scene with the muckety mucks. I have a long way to go.

This is just a start and it’s a good start. I don’t think I could handle the criticism of real art critics. I’d probably put down my brush forever which would be really sad because I love painting. I really do. Maybe it’s best to start with people who really love dogs and will probably really love paintings with dogs in them.

The event coordinator for this show is the sweetest girl on the planet. She has to be. She takes in homeless dogs on a regular basis and finds loving families for them. I’ve always loved animals but I find it easier to look away sometimes because sad dog eyes are the saddest eyes of all. They just clamp onto your heart and suck you dry. The next thing you know you are letting them in your house and there is dog hair everywhere and you’re buying those great big bags of dog food that you have to ask for help to get up on the checkout counter. I just can’t do that.

But I can paint. I might not be that good at it yet but I’m just starting out. It really is really cool that I can do something that I really love and they can do something that they really love and we can all walk away feeling like we accomplished something together. It’ll be fun too.