Encouragement

My favorite part of etegami is sending it to people who 

will be encouraged or uplifted in some way 

by the message and painting I send.

My favorite words of encouragement are: "Hang in there!"

Sometimes there is nothing else to say.

People are going through hard times and 

many times you can't say "Hope you get well" because often they won't.

But just to let them know you are thinking of them

 and are quite aware of what they are going through.

That is what is important.

All of these paintings are from real life photographs.

Some are rather humorous and the hope is that the recipient will smile.

The expression on this panda is probably familiar to many.

"What the heck have I gotten myself into???"

I think I have painted just about every photo that is available for animals hanging on!!

And then there are the times when the person is actually sick and

will most likely recover. Then I feel OK to send the traditional get well card

with the quintessential sad puppy eyes.

I didn't like how this one was turning out while I was making it,

but after it was done, from a little distance, it painted itself quite nicely.

I tried a very minimalist approach with this little puppy.

Just a sharpened chopstick outline and minimal paint.

Again, from a distance, very heart-warming.

Red-eyed tree frogs are fun to paint and seem to have a positive quality to them.

You can imagine someone smiling when seeing one of these.

Even Snoopy is quotable!