Thursday Emmett and Clara spent the day at a doggy spa, getting bathed and groomed. They’ve basically been kicked out of the three previous groomers, because they are huge, and maybe… well… less ‘compliant’ than people would hope. Really, they are just big and strong and exhausting. They adore water but despise baths, go figure. This time, there were no tears (human) when I picked them up, thankfully, but we were asked to schedule them separately next time (which I had suggested in the beginning, but no one ever believes me)
It turns out both dogs decided to pee all over themselves just as the ladies were finishing up their three hour routines… which had actually already taken 5 hours. So, we added another hour. In all honesty, I told her do whatever she needed, seriously just towel off their backsides if necessary, but I guess their work ethic prohibited that.
Anyway… we haven’t been banned, so that’s something. However… they really weren’t trimmed the way I was hoping, either. Don’t misunderstand, they look good… but I had specifically asked if they knew how to trim newfies feet and ears. And they did get a LOT of shedding undercoat off, an impressive amount, but they didn’t trim their ears like I’d hoped. (Still, the dogs feel soft and fluffy, smell good, seemed to enjoy themselves, and we aren’t banned, so I’m calling it a $300 win. Yeah, $300… and that’s not even above the average compared to other groomers… think twice before bringing a newfie into your family. Today we got 3 months of heart worm and flea/tick preventative, and an ear check, and spent $700. Seriously… they are worth every penny but DO CONSIDER FINANCES before bringing a newfoundland home. Be sure this is where you want to invest your time, and your retirement fund. )
Back to the grooming… Clara is a BEAUTIFUL girl, and I’m sorry her sketch looks like this. I’m still trying to figure out how to sketch them. But I had to try to capture the pink ponytails they gave her. So adorable! Very Punky Brewster. (Do you know her???) They lasted only an hour or two.
By the way, they were weighed at the vet: Emmett is down to 139 WOO-HOO WAY TO GO EMMETT!! And Clara is up to 125 (no comment there, but you look mahvelous dahling) I’m not 100% sure about the scale, because it has weighed low before, and I believed both of them weighed a bit more. But it’s close enough, I guess, and we were really trying for under 140 for Emmett…
I watched this youtube video by Dr Oto Kano, and tried out these basic texture techniques. I’ve used them before but wanted to really focus on the technique.
Dr Oto Kano is an artist I support on Patreon.
This video describes 8 ways to add texture, for the beginner watercolorist… I played with table salt, plastic wrap, a gift card, and made scratches with a needle, and will watch the more advanced video next.
ThreeSixFiveArt 