Normally I paint outside because I prefer working in natural light, but it has been so hot here in southern California that I decided to bring everything inside. The Santa Ana winds, seasonal winds that blow from the east to the west, have been moving through town and it is hot, hot, hot here. I doubt I would be exaggerating if I suggested I could cook dinner on the pavement. It is that hot. Oy.

The next painting is of my beloved blue Dachshund. I love that little doggie, though my husband doesn’t like little dogs, and said that if I ever brought a Dachshund home, he might have it for lunch if he couldn’t find anything in the pantry. Of course he wouldn’t eat a dog, but he is Norwegian, which means he’s a barbarian genetically. Anyway. When I first created Mr. Blue Dachshund in a cookie, he marked a huge turning point in my work. Bored and often frustrated with pre-cut cookie cutter shapes, I decided to take a different approach with him, so I outlined his shape onto a piece of plastic and cut my own stencil from that. I used that stencil on a few cookies and practiced drawing his features on top of the base layer of icing. The first few attempts were dreadful, and that’s when I learned to first try new designs on wax paper. (the trial cookies didn’t go to waste; my husband ate the no-good ones…)

I hope to finish this one in the next day or so. In the meantime, I’m enjoying being inside, grateful for air-conditioning, and that Nunuk, who is at least 20 times larger than your average Dachshund, likes to lie at my feet while I work. Occasionally when I pause and look at him, so calm, so sleepy on the floor next to me, I think, I have a good life. I do.

I’ll be back with the final version soon. Cheers.