Nice Catch

This is a watercolor I did of a border collie so excited about catching his flying Frisbee he ends up jumping a little too high.

Margarita Chihuahua print

I decided to take a little look back at some of my favorite art prints and paintings I've done .


Here's a happy little chihuahua sipping on her favorite beverage.
I do have the print in my ebay store.

Georgia Bigfoot Big Hoax

Researcher says Bigfoot just a rubber gorilla suit

ATLANTA Turns out Bigfoot was just a rubber suit. Two researchers on a quest to prove the existence of Bigfoot say that the carcass encased in a block of ice - handed over to them for an undisclosed sum by two men who claimed to have found it - was slowly thawed out, and discovered to be a rubber gorilla outfit.

The revelation comes just days after a much ballyhooed news conference was held in California to proclaim that the remains of the creature were found in the North Georgia mountains was the legendary man-ape.

Steve Kulls, executive director of squatchdetective.com and host of Squatchdetective Radio, says in a posting on a Web site run by Bigfoot researcher Tom Biscardi that as the "evidence" was thawed, the claim began to unravel as a giant hoax.

First, the hair sample was burned and "melted into a ball uncharacteristic of hair," Kulls said in the posting.

The thawing process was sped up and the exposed head was found to be "unusually hollow in one small section." An hour of thawing later and the feet were exposed - and they were found to be made of rubber.

Matt Whitton, an officer who has been on medical leave from the Clayton County Police Department, and Rick Dyer, a former Georgia corrections officer, announced the find in early July on YouTube videos and a Web site.

"Everyone who has talked down to us is going to eat their words," Whitton said at the time.

Phone calls to Whitton and Dyer went unreturned on Tuesday. But the voicemail recording for their Bigfoot Tip Line - which proclaims they search for leprechauns and the Loch Ness monster - has been updated and announcing they're also in search of "big cats and dinosaurs. If you see any of those, give us a call."

On Tuesday, Clayton County Police Chief Jeff Turner said he has not spoken to Whitton but processed paperwork to fire him.

"Once he perpetrated a fraud, that goes into his credibility and integrity," Turner said. "He has violated the duty of a police officer."

Latest Bigfoot news from Canada

Berry-pickers report sasquatch sighting in northern Ontario

Monday, July 28, 2008 | 8:16 PM CT

Two Ontario women say they saw what might have been the legendary sasquatch in northwestern Ontario last week.

Helen Pahpasay and her mother were north of Grassy Narrows, Ont., about 230 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, to pick blueberries last Tuesday when they spotted a hulking figure from their truck at about 10 a.m. CT.

"It was black, about eight feet long and all black, and the way it walked was upright, human-like, but more — I don't know how to describe it — more of a husky walk, I guess," she told CBC News.

"It didn't look normal."

The creature seemed to spot them, then ran off into the woods, Pahpasay said. She and her mother debated chasing the creature to try to get a closer glimpse, but were so shaken they decided to abandon their berry-picking excursion and return home.

Others returned to the area later and found a large, six-toed footprint, Pahpasay said. "What do I think it was? Right now I'm not even sure what it was. But it really scared both of us," she said.

"There's been talk of Bigfoot, sasquatch. And I'm still not sure what it was, but I've never seen anything like it."

Pahpasay says she and her mother aren't the only people in the area with a sasquatch story. A couple of men from their community said they also saw the creature three years ago, she said, and a similar animal has been mentioned in old lore about the area.

"I've never believed it before, no. I'm not even quite sure what it still is today, even after what I've seen," she said.

Sasquatch, an aboriginal word meaning "hairy giant," refers to a large manlike creature some believe could be roaming woods from California up the West Coast and across Canada.

In April 2005, a ferry operator in Norway house, Man., captured on videotape three minutes of footage of what he said was a sasquatch. However, the video, which was shown on an American television network, was indistinct at best, failing to live up to its billing as "footage of the century."

In 2006, several people in northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan reported seeing a sasquatch-like figure in the woods around Flin Flon, Man.

Skeptics say it's preposterous that a large mammal could have evaded detection in North America throughout history. Despite numerous alleged sightings, no one has ever produced concrete evidence such as skulls or bones, they argue, while footprints, film or photos can be manufactured.

Derby Day ACEOs

Just listed on ebay a new horse ACEO to celebrate Big Browns Derby win.
Click here to view the art on ebay!


















Also listed is this colorful ACEO card of a mare and her colt celebrating Mothers Day equine style with a nuzzle.
Click to view auction on ebay.

New Poodle ACEOs

Just listed in time for Mothers Day, a Poodle ACEO Puppy Hugs for Mom. Click here for the auction link on Ebay!

















Heres another fun ACEO card, Poodle Smile done in watercolor pencil and ink. Click here for the ebay link!

April (Snow) showers, bring May....?

I just got a chance to post these photos from last weekend April 19th and 20th. We had the latest snowfall here in North Seattle in 30 years! Above is a view out the second floor window looking at a very snowy redwood tree.














This was just the beginning, we ended up with about three inches, most of the snow hit at night and was melting by the morning of the next day.
















One leary and cold chicken as the snow storm starts. She spent the day inside the Chicken coop glaring at the snowflakes.

Today its 55 degrees,a little more like a spring day.

Rucky's Custom Portrait

After seeing Frankie's cool painting, Rucky wanted his own portrait and so did his owner.















Rucky was happy to chill in the sun with a fruity frozen drink near the sea shore.















This was a big hit with Rucky's owner. We did a custom portrait on 16 x 20 gallery wrapped canvas in Acrylic paint. If you look at Frankie's painting below and click to enlarge you can see Rucky looking out from a painting hanging on the wall.

Frankie's custom Portrait

Earlier this year I was commissioned to do a custom painting for a poodle owner who contacted me through my website. First we started with good photos of "Frankie" a pretty cool black standard poodle.













I found out that Frankie's favorite spot was the sofa and his favorite toy was a big yellow stuffed duck that he loved to pull the stuffing out of. I did a pencil rough and sent it to the owner and Frankie.
They loved it!!















I did the border and sketched out the drawing onto the 16 x 20 canvas.















The finished product! Click to enlarge.

Back underway

Our break is over, we are back in the game!

The Cleverpup art ebay store is open for business.

stay tuned for more!

Merry Christmas!

Have a warm and safe Holiday and a very Happy New Years!

and for the kids, Track Santa with NORAD

Fall Pictures

The burning bush has turned very scarlet this year and really stands out in my front yard. I don't have a lot of fall color compared to the mid west and east coast, but this bush really trys its best.











Every year we get the fall garden spiders building webs everywhere, this one was particularly plump as it waited for its prey near the garden shed.

Pretty in Pink

"Pretty in Pink" Chihuahua portrait done for our friends at "Boutique of Paws". They have some very cute handmade dog sweaters at the web site, please visit them and tell them "Hello from Cleverpup Art!"

Pink pillow and a toy Beaver

thats all I need.......

Talk like a Pirate Day Sept 19

Avast there! It be time for Pirate Talking to all your mates this Wednesday! Grab your skull and crossbones and enjoy the fine booty of fun Pirate videos! Arrrrgh!

You're a Pirate!



Pirate Convention






The Pirate song sung by George Harrison

Good dog!

Grrrrrrrr

Bigfoot Howls it up in Michigan

Believers hear Bigfoot's howl

50 who paid $300 each to prowl U.P. woods for the beast weren't disappointed.

Francis X. Donnelly / The Detroit News

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- In the middle of the night, a group tried to lure an elusive beast from its lair deep in the woods.

A man banged on a tree with a stick. Another beat his chest, Tarzan-like. Another uttered deep guttural screams.

And then, seconds after the last yell, from the blackness surrounding them, came a low-pitched howl that made the searchers shiver:

"Aaaaiiiieeeeeee."

Bigfoot!

The searchers not only believe the legendary mannish ape is frolicking through the forest east of this Upper Peninsula community, but also captured its mournful yelp on tape Thursday night.

The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, a California group running the search, will add the audio recording to what it said are footprints, sightings and other mounting evidence from past expeditions.

"I'm not a believer. I'm a knower," said the group's president, Matt Moneymaker. "You've had to be in total denial to say that none exist."

At the very least, the big ape is a big draw.

About 50 people from the Midwest gladly forked over $300 to join the four-day Michigan search that ends Sunday. It was sold out, as are expeditions planned for Utah and New Mexico.

The paying investigators say the cost is small compared to the chance of spotting a legend.

They're among the legion of true believers whose views are bolstered by a growing number of Internet sites reporting sightings and some prominent academics who won't rule out the possibility that the beast exists.

Don Young, 43, a hunting and fishing guide from Phillips, Wis., said he has wanted to prove the existence of Bigfoot ever since spotting one near his home a second time in 2004.

"It's a need," he said. "There's a need for me to prove it."

Since the last sighting, he has devoted 60 hours a week looking for the beast.

Why the U.P.?

Why the Upper Peninsula? Why not?

Once relegated to supermarket tabloids and the Pacific Northwest, Bigfoot or Sasquatch has been turning up everywhere lately: the cornfields of the Midwest, the swamps of Florida, the piedmont of North Carolina.

The ultimate loner, it was just a matter of time before it discovered the remote wilds of the U.P., where residents live far from each other and like it that way.

Still, some residents are dubious.

"Bigfoot?" laughed Toni Peake, 34, who lives near the woods being searched by the group. "Is he single?"

Local officials were tickled pink to host the search.

The Convention and Visitors Bureau of Marquette County, which has been getting calls from out-of-towners about the quest, said the monster could draw tourists to the area.

Director Pat Black said downstate residents probably aren't surprised to learn that Bigfoot toils in the U.P.

"We're the place that has psychic moose," she joked.

According to Moneymaker, who has been studying Bigfoot for decades, Marquette County's newest denizen could be 11 feet tall, weigh 2,000 pounds and have feet that reach 20 inches.

It's shy, nocturnal, eats meat and plants, and makes nests from trees and brush, he said.

He believes there are thousands of Bigfoots (Bigfeet?) roaming the Earth.

Other searchers, like Erik Beckjord of Berkeley, Calif., believe it's an extraterrestrial.

"It is more of a space-time creature, ala Einstein and parallel universes, rather than a trappable being," he said.

Whatever its size, number or universe, the primate has held a primal allure that spans oceans and centuries.

Since the 1800s, places as disparate as Australia and Tibet have worried about being attacked by some type of mammoth creature under various rubrics, Yeti, Yowie, the Abominable Snowman.

Even today, a handful of anthropologists and zoologists, such as Jane Goodall, said it's possible such a beast is roaming the Earth.

Preparing to search

Stalking a ghost, even a big, hairy, smelly one, takes preparation.

On Thursday, Moneymaker talked to four residents who claimed to have seen Bigfoot locally over the past 40 years.

"My one brother thinks I'm nuts," said Kathy Morrison, 40, a Big Bay resident who said she saw the creature nearly 30 years ago.

"She believes in ghosts," interrupted her son, Joey.

After learning the locations of the encounters, Moneymaker used a topographical map to figure out the best place to listen to the beast's "echoing vocalizations."

A few searchers ventured into the woods to look for tracks, scat, nests, any signs of what they call Squatch.

They studied the terrain to learn what type of habitat it most enjoys, but discounted the significance of a nearby casino and golf course.

At night, the searchers broke into groups of three to five at an RV park and campground along Lake Superior.

The 50 attendees are mostly middle-aged men from neighboring states whose jobs range from teachers to computer programmers to a lawyer.

Half are first-timers, while some have gone on a half-dozen expeditions.

Larry Lacke, 53, a chemist for a Milwaukee brewery, said he has been curious about Bigfoot ever since hearing a bizarre howling on a Texas hunting trip seven years ago.

"I've heard a lot of animals but none like this," he said. "I'm trying to keep an open mind."

The smaller groups moved gingerly through the blackness. Approaching a targeted area from different angles, they communicated through walkie-talkies with ear pieces.

They lugged all types of high-tech equipment: night-vision goggles, motion-detective devices, digital audio recorders and a helmet-mounted thermal-imaging camcorder.

Before capturing Sasquatch on tape, however, the searchers needed to lure it toward them.

They banged on trees with sticks and emitted long howls, trying to pique what Moneymaker said is the creature's innate curiosity.

They also spread various types of bait on rocks: apples, sardines, licorice, even gorilla pheromones.

"We've laid out entire banquets before," Moneymaker said.

The searchers seemed eager to believe that any incident was a sign that Bigfoot was among them.

After hearing the low-pitched howl Thursday night, they quickly dismissed the possibility that it came from an owl or coyote.

The next night, a searcher driving to camp said his car was struck by a bitten shrewmouse. When he got out to investigate, he saw the silhouette of something that quickly disappeared.

Bigfoot again!

By 2 a.m., most searchers called it a night and headed back to base camp. But not Don Young. The Wisconsin hunting guide pitched a tent in the middle of the woods to await what he believes will be another encounter with American folklore.

"People laughed at me, called my wife Mrs. Sasquatch," he said. "That's why I want to prove it. Then I can laugh at them."

Happy Fourth of July

Happy Birthday America!

ebay store now closed

I have decided to close the Cleverpup ebay store as it is not worth the costs to keep it going. I will still be listing auctions on ebay though, just not any store inventory. To see/purchase Clever pup original art and prints please visit my Clever pup store at ESTY and my Clever pup store at Cafepress for T-shirts, coffee mugs, and more.

I will be re-designing my Cleverpup website at www.cleverpup.com so you can purchase prints online also.