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Posts Tagged ‘French Bulldog Art’

That time is upon us ….

Posted in Animals, Cards, Creativity, Design, Dogs, French Bulldogs, Holidays, Home Stuff, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on November 15, 2021| 9 Comments »

The time when we think of reaching out to family and friends, and putting a little something special in the mail to them.

That said, I am sharing one of my French Bulldog Christmas cards to inspire you. Although, in all honesty, I describe them as holiday cards because they are truly suitable for whatever winter holiday you celebrate.

I know you’d love to see more, so please hop on over to my Etsy shop and check out what’s there, and yes, if you were wondering, they are all Frenchie-themed. But … recipients don’t have to be French Bulldog fans; if they have any appreciation of cuteness in animals, that should do. Thanks!

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French Bulldog Cards and More for the Holidays

Posted in Animals, Art, Cards, Cats, Creativity, Design, Dogs, French Bulldogs, Graphic Design, Holidays, Illustration, Inspiration, Life, Reflections, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on November 22, 2020| 11 Comments »

When I haven’t written in over a month, it usually means at least one thing. In this case, it means I have been deluged with holiday fundraisers and projects from my clients. It has been non-stop, and while I think of things to write here – I even take photos – and I want to catch up with those I follow, my creative energy is directed towards these projects and the time to actually focus on my own writing has been non-existent. It’s frustrating.  But enough whining.

As a new and different Thanksgiving approaches, many, including myself, are already shopping extensively online for Christmas and holiday gifts. To that end, I am going to take a moment to shamelessly promote myself and the lovely French Bulldog items I have created for my Etsy shop.

If you are looking to send holiday cards, “Stranger in the Snow” is one among several you’ll find in my shop. You can also find a few neat gift ideas such as my “Frenchies Apres Monet” blank notecards which I’d like to think would be appreciated by fans of Monet as well as the French Bulldog. I also have a sweet, handsomely-made Frenchie journal, because we all are writing more these days what with all the stress in our lives. No? And if not you, perhaps you know someone who journals faithfully. (Or maybe just needs a notebook!)

All the original artwork is mine, and I can assure you, the cards are of a beautiful, heavy stock. If inspired, just toddle on over to Etsy at JBalsamFrenchieArt. 

As the intensity of my holiday workload is ever-so-slowly winding down, I am planning on writing again soon, and coming by to see you and what you’ve written, too. Should I not get to the post I have in mind before Thanksgiving, I wish you all a peaceful, happy, and safe holiday, however you may spend it. Take good care and let’s continue to look forward to less stressful days when we can meet with each other again as we have in the past. I am always happy to have you stop by!

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A New French Bulldog Christmas Card!

Posted in Animals, Art, Cards, Creativity, French Bulldogs, Holidays, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 10, 2018| 6 Comments »

Please welcome not only an adorable little Frenchie baby, but a touch of nostalgia for times gone by, when a child might be excited to find a real Steiff pull toy underneath the tree. The lights were much bigger, the ornaments glass, and the smell of balsam pine wafted through the house.

Our little pied girl will soon find there’s nothing to worry about with her new stuffed friend, but still she wonders … could she come home with you, then visit your friends and family? You can find her plus more holiday cards, gift ideas, and my new journal in my shop on Etsy. Please stop by!

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Celebrate Spring – Send An Adorable Frenchie Notecard!

Posted in Animals, Art, Cards, Creativity, Dogs, French Bulldogs, Illustration, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on April 17, 2017| 6 Comments »

It may be an ever-increasing digital world, but I know for a fact that there’s a whole bunch of us out here who just love opening our mailboxes and finding a real,honest-to-goodness, 3-D paper card inside. Call us old-fashioned, call us what you will, but we’re still out here!

So … if you like receiving cards and know folks who feel the same, why not send this adorable French Bulldog blank notecard (my original art) to someone who would appreciate it. This Frenchie pup is wearing her cutest garden finery and ready to go.

The card measures 4.25″ x 6″, full color, and soft gloss outside, nice matte surface inside for easy writing. 10 cards to a pack with white envelopes, packaged in a crystal clear acrylic sleeve. And this particular drawing even earned me a spot as a Finalist in the Dog Writers’ Association of America competition in the Illustration category!

Like this idea? Purchase them here and Happy Spring!

 

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How About A Little French Bulldog Valentine Love?

Posted in Animals, Art, Cards, Creativity, Design, Dogs, French Bulldogs, Holidays, Just Fun, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 24, 2017| 16 Comments »

Everyone likes to share a little sweetness with someone special at Valentine’s Day. How about sending this adorable Frenchie Valentine?

frenchieval2017-bakingcookies4blog2

Check out those just-frosted cookies  – this cute pied Frenchie is. And they’re not just hearts for Valentine’s Day. Why, yes, there are some cookies with rather familiar big ears! And you know what that means. That these blank notecards are not just for Valentine’s Day but for whenever baking cookies is a good time! Yup. ANYtime!

I’ve drawn these new Frenchie notecards in my usual style, but somewhere in between a sketch and a finely detailed colored pencil drawing, all on a nice, recycled matte paper. Blank inside so you can write to your heart’s content and never be out of season.

We all know how digital everything has become nowadays, but I’d like you to take a moment and remember the last time you opened your mailbox and found inside a real, 3-dimensional card from someone in your life. Put a big smile on your face, didn’t it? I know that’s what happens to me. So go old-school and send some smiles to the wonderful people in your life. Better yet, send those smiles with my adorable (if I say so myself) French Bulldog notecards.

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New French Bulldog Notecards

Posted in Animals, Art, Creativity, Dogs, French Bulldogs, tagged , , , , , , , on March 20, 2012| 4 Comments »

If you enjoyed the image of the little French Bulldog with a flower hat that I posted a short while ago, you’ll be happy to know that you can now send her adorable little self out to friends, family or anyone with whom you’d like to share a smile.

Yup, this is the image that first appeared in Just Frenchies magazine and earned me a spot as a finalist for excellence in Illustration/Painting in the 2011 DWAA (Dog Writers’ Association of America) awards. (Read more.) This was big news! So I thought you might enjoy a visit from this little pup. She’s ready to travel!

10 adorable notecards with matching white envelopes for only $15.00 plus shipping, and you can buy them right here!

Note: All illustrations, drawings and photographs are © Jeanne Balsam and may not be reproduced in any format without written permission. Thank you!

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A DWAA Finalist!

Posted in Animals, Art, Creativity, Dogs, French Bulldogs, Illustration, tagged , , , , on December 20, 2011| 6 Comments »

How excited was I to learn that I am a finalist in the Dog Writers Association of America’s (DWAA) national contest for dog illustration! My French Bulldog art has been appearing in Just Frenchies  magazine, a quarterly publication for the breed, for quite a few years now, and they recently notified me that I was a finalist. The publisher and editor-in-chief had submitted my French Bulldog artwork to DWAA, unbeknownst to me, and lo and behold … I made the cut.

I’m particularly honored to be among other finalists who are artists contributing to Dog Fancy and the AKC Gazette. That’s some mighty fine company. The winner will be announced at Westminster this coming February 2012, but I understand all the winners are announced prior to the show at the DWAA annual dinner.

This is the kind of thing where I would be beyond ecstatic if I won, but am just so grateful to have been submitted by my publisher AND to have been named a DWAA finalist among many accomplished professionals.

The burning question may be exactly which piece was submitted? And the answer is, I’m not sure yet. But it might be this one.

Note: All illustrations, drawings and photographs are © Jeanne Balsam and may not be reproduced in any format without written permission. Thank you!

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French Bulldog Christmas Cards

Posted in Animals, Art, Cards, French Bulldogs, tagged , , , , , , on October 3, 2011|

It’s never too early to order Christmas and holiday cards! Take a look at a special selection featuring the ever-so-adorable French Bulldog. Frenchies bring life to any drawing or any holiday card, and I love having them be the subject of mine.

Take a peek at what’s in store right now!

Note: All illustrations, drawings and photographs are © Jeanne Balsam and may not be reproduced in any format without written permission. Thank you!

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French Bulldog Art …. Applied

Posted in Animals, Art, French Bulldogs, Graphic Design, Uncategorized, tagged , on May 22, 2010| 2 Comments »

It was most recently my pleasure to do a small portrait for a woman in Walla Walla, WA who inquired about my doing a drawing of one of her French Bulldogs for a new business card. Between running my own Graphic Design business and applying myself to my writing and illustrating of children’s books, I didn’t know if I wanted to do a portrait. It’s something I have put aside in the interest of focusing on my future in children’s books. But I felt called to do this and felt I was getting a nod from the Universe. It somehow seemed significant that Toni Myers lives out by two of my current favorite authors, Sherman Alexie and Patricia Briggs. Plus I knew it would keep me refining my French Bulldog art and drawing skills.

Toni sent me a baby picture of one of her French Bulldogs, Truman. Toni and her family have show Frenchies and a small, conscientious breeding program, We Be French Bulldogs. She asked if I might incorporate her favorite flower, a purple pansy, in the image. I accepted the work, and we had a great working experience. I loved doing the work – both the portrait and the business card incorporating it  – and she and her family loved the results. What’s more, I had the opportunity to work with a truly delightful woman who now will be a part of more of my own French Bulldog work in children’s books.

Such an arrangement had never crossed my mind; in fact, I wasn’t quite sure why this iniitally seemed such a good thing. But I do believe in synchronicity —  things align in time and space for a reason. Surely this was one of those events, and it put smiles on two faces clear across the country.

You can order Frenchie cards and other items here!

Note: All illustrations, drawings and photographs are © Jeanne Balsam and may not be reproduced in any format without written permission. Thank you!

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French Bulldog Postcards

Posted in Animals, Art, Creativity, French Bulldogs, tagged , , , , on April 14, 2010| 2 Comments »

You don’t have to travel far to let someone know you’re thinking about them, but if you’re going on vacation, why not take a passel of these adorable Frenchie Postcards with you? Or send one “just because.” These are the newest French Bulldog item I’m offering in my Etsy shop, and aside from cute? Very economical!

Check them out on my web site and order some to send today! (These are seasonal items and not available all year `round.)

Note: All illustrations, drawings and photographs are © Jeanne Balsam and may not be reproduced in any format without written permission. Thank you!

 

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French Bulldog Sketches – III

Posted in Animals, Art, Children's Books, Creativity, French Bulldogs, tagged , , , , on March 12, 2010| 4 Comments »

Because French Bulldogs are a main feature on in my shop, and my artwork is featured quarterly in Just Frenchies magazine, many people ask me if I have a Frenchie of my own … they assume I must. The answer is no, not yet. I love the bully breeds, and I love drawing and photographing them, and I’ve become completely enamored with Frenchies over the last 5 years that I have been drawing them. So much so, that a Frenchie is the heroine in more than one of the children’s books I am working on.

But having a dog is a whole lot different than drawing and writing about one. In the 18″ of snow we’ve been hit with here recently … and repeatedly, I vividly recall what it was like not so long ago when I had two dogs, one of whom did not wish to sully her paws in that fluffy white stuff. And that was at 6:30 in the morning.

But that’s only a part of it. Dogs require time … especially a new dog. I will want to do what I always do – walk, socialize, obedience train, play and so on. Although it could change any moment, right now I would find it difficult to commit to the time I know I will give a dog.

And then, there’s kitty politics. Already an uneasy balance exists here – Miss Bossy Boots (Gypsy) spends way too much time scheming of ways to make Mewsette’s life miserable, and it’s not clear what tossing a dog in the mix might do. Although Claude would probably have a new best friend in 3 days. I firmly believe that when I am supposed to have a dog, the one that absolutely must be mine will appear.

So for now I draw. And write.

Featured here are a few more sketches, either in plain old pen, (my absolute favorite, by the way, for writing and general sketching, is Pentel R.S.V.P. Medium. It is one of THE best balanced writing pens on the market – you can feel it when you hold the pen with the cap on the end – just perfect!), and to the right, loose colored pencil. Enjoy.

Order French Bulldog cards and art here!

Note: All illustrations, drawings and photographs are © Jeanne Balsam and may not be reproduced in any format without written permission. Thank you!

 

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French Bulldog Sketches – II

Posted in Animals, Art, Creativity, French Bulldogs, tagged , , , , on May 8, 2009| 6 Comments »

Balsam-FrenchieBananaSplitI’ll admit right off – this is a lure. Who am I luring? Well, I don’t know exactly. What I do know is that there are lots of you checking out my previous post on French Bulldog sketches, yet nary a comment. So this always makes me curious.

Are you Frenchie people? Bully breed people? Do you just love looking at Frenchie drawings? Needless to say, as this is a focus of much of my animal drawing subject matter as well as children’s book illustration at this time, I have plenty to post. But I am left wondering … what is it you’re looking for?

Balsam-FrenchieFairyShould you be interested, my Frenchie Banana Split drawing is part of a set of blank note cards, Frenchie Sundae Pups,  (sorry, no longer available) featuring 4 adorable babies and ice cream. The little vignette of the Frenchie Fairy is another blank note card, and with every purchase of these I will donate $4.00 per box to the French Bulldog Rescue Network, (FBRN), who is currently inundated with Frenchies in need due to the economy. Even if you don’t buy my note cards, if you’re here because you’re a Frenchie lover – go visit and help them out!

Hope you enjoy these little summer-y sweeties, and do say hello!

p.s. Find more Frenchie cars and art here!

Note: All illustrations, drawings and photographs on this site are © Jeanne Balsam and may not be reproduced in any format without written permission. Thank you!

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