GREAT NEWS

Great new !!!!! Lawrence's painting "Slipping Away" has been selected for the national juried exhibition of the Oil Painters of America. This is one of the most prestigious exhibitions for oil painters in the United States and will be held at the Legacy Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ from April 30 through May 30. This is the third time that Lawrence has had a painting in the national exhibition of the OPA. I'm so proud of my human !!!!!!!

Lawrence has fur on his face

Lawrence loves to rub the fur on my face and now he has grown a beard and has fur on his face. Now when I rub my muzzle on his face I feel his fur. He says it bothers him and he can't feel my fur on his cheek when he nuzzles me so he is going to shave it off. I think he should keep it because it makes him one step closer to being a dog.

BIRTHDAY PRESENT

Today is Lawrence's birthday. This morning I gave him a big wet kiss on his nose while we were still in bed. He said it made his day. When we got up and looked outside we saw that the mountains had turned into an icy winter wonderland. What a beautiful present for Lawrence !!! After lunch we drove up Finks Hollow Lane into the mountains and it was like being in an ice palace. Some of the most beautiful gifts are free.

A SPECTACULAR AUTUMN

Although the fall colors were late arriving the view from our front porch has been spectacular. We appreciate it every morning when we look out our window. The leaves are now falling and the mountains are turning brown. Now the forest floor is a bright yellow and the squirrels are kicking up trails of leafy gold as they run through the woods. I wish Lawrence would let me chase some squirrels and then I'd be kicking up some leaves.

BROOD

I am a lucky dog. I live in a nice house with Lawrence my owner who loves me very much. Some of my cousins are not so lucky. Several of them are up for adoption at Basset Rescue Of Old Dominion in Charlottesville, Virginia. You can see them at http://www.brood-va.org/. They are all loveable dogs and your life would be enriched by adopting one of them. Bassets love humans.

BACKYARD BEAR

This afternoon we had a bear in the backyard eating plums. This one looked like he weighed about 175 pounds. This is the third time in the last 6 days that we have seen bears in the backyard. On Friday there were 2 here at the same time. We told this one to "get outa here" and he ran back up the mountain. The plums sure have been popular.

MORE GOOD NEWS

The results of Paint The Parks, which is one of the most prestigious juried art exhibitions in America, have been announced. There were 200 paintings selected nationally and 3 of them are paintings by Lawrence !!!!! Needless to say, we are very happy about this. They are pictured below. More of Lawrence's work can be seen at altafferart.com.

Taggart Lake oil 24 x 36 $4,900

Pyramids Of The Badlands oil 16 x 20 $1,600

Path Ay Jenny Lake oil 18 x 24 $2,200

STATE DEPARTMENT EXHIBITION

Recently Lawrence was asked by the State Department to lend some of his paintings for an exhibition in the American embassy in Honduras. This is part of the Art In Embassies program. He is lending two of his earliest works from his personal collection. They are pictured below. So head on down to Honduras and take a look.

The Landslide oil 11 x 14
In The Harbor oil 20 x 16

ANOTHER NEW PAINTING

Lawrence has been busy in his studio and just finished this interesting painting of a marsh with large patches of violet wildflowers.

NEW PAINTING

Lawrence just finished a nice little painting of crab skiffs in Fleeton, Virginia. He loves all of the boats of the Chesapeake Bay. Fewer and fewer of these wooden boats are being seen these days.

LAWRENCE'S NEW PAINTING

Lawrence just finished a new painting called "Thistles And Wildflowers". The location is at the base of Old Rag Mountain. We frequently take an evening ride in that area. To see more of his work take a look at his web site "altafferart.com". I love going out on painting trips with Lawrence.

ITALIAN SKY

Lawrence just put the finishing touches on a plein air painting he did three years ago near Treviso, Italy. I really like the sky. It conveys a lot of energy.

IT'S FINISHED

Lawrence has finished the new painting and he thanked me for all of my help. I particularly like the colors he incorporated in the sky - Naples Yellow and Cobalt Violet Light. He loves color and considers himself a colorist at heart. I really love the way the colors in the sky are reflected in the water. We have been thinking about my doing a painting with my tail. The tip of it looks just like a watercolor brush. I might be the next Bassetquiat.

MY HUMAN IS LEAVING ME

Tomorrow my human is leaving me and going to LA to visit his son, Lawrence Franklin Altaffer IV (shown above). We usually refer to him as L4. He is twenty six years old, single, and lives in Santa Monica. For the past two years he has been the webmaster for the DATA foundation which was co-founded by Bono. DATA promotes aid to Africa. He has also done work for Matt Damon's production company Live Planet. Currently he is working on several freelance projects. You can see his work at "catpointstudios.com". He does really nice work. My human and L4 are planning to go to the art museums in LA and Laguna Beach and they are taking a one night road trip to Las Vegas. I'd really like to go with them but they tell me there are no slot machines that pay out in doggy biscuits. We bassets are really discriminated against!!!!!!!!!