a great resource...

Need a way to spend a few dozen hours? The New York Library's digital collection is treasure trove of decorative motifs, patterns and historical ornamentation.
Here's a couple of my favorite links:


Les fleurs animées

La décoration moderne dans le textile

Bouquets et frondaisons

The grammar of ornament

L'animal dans la décoration

Have fun!

Westminster

Yesterday I spent the day at Madison Square Garden with dozens of dachshunds, bassets and PBGVs. What an experience! Westminster is a bench show so you can go back stage and watch the English sheepdogs get their hair teased into a giant afro, pet the Best in Show blood hound and get a lick from an Irish wolf hound. It was a bit of heaven on earth. The fuzzy guy on the left came in second.

There were quite a few new breeds recognized by the Kennel Club for the first time this year. I got to pet one of them - a Norwegian Buhund from Oregon who was held by her owner - no crate for this pup!

It was hard not to shed a tear when the proud owner of the winning afghan hound burst into tears hugging her glamorous dog when they won best in show for the breed - sniff, sniff!

If you attend the show definitely visit the lobby of Hotel Pennsylvania to see their beautiful lobby filled with dozens of dogs, their fancy beds being rolled in on luggage carts and coolers filled with their special mix of gourmet dog food. Then walk half a block to The Nile, a glam bar, and enjoy a cosmo!

New Website

My website is updated thanks to Nancy White Cassidy, illustrator and web designer.
She made the process painless and easy. If you need your site updated or overhauled, she's the person to call. Thank you, Nancy!

Visit her site at:
www.nancycassidy.com

My updated site:
www.jdecker.com

Grady

One of my earliest childhood memories is trying to convince our three-legged dog, Grady, to hold a marker and color in the border of a book of fairy tales. I came across this old snapshot of the both of us. We adopted him after he was hit by a car and needed some special care. He was the perfect childhood pet; waited at the bus stop each afternoon for my arrival and a patient model during dress up. What a pup!

New Year, New Blog, New Possibilities...

The new year brings new resolutions, possibilities and opportunities.
One resolution is to blog. With the exciting things happening in the next few months it would be a shame not to record them. So here it goes....

10 bluebirds...

Great News....

I delivered the paintings for Froggy Went a-Courtin' to Soundprints in Norwalk, CT this week.

10 botanical borders, 10 bluebirds, 4 spots, 10 spreads and a cover are all in their capable hands. It was exciting - and a relief! The Froggy book will be packaged with a CD that includes a read along narration and a musical rendition of the song. This is the latest in Smithsonian's series American Favorites that celebrates our country's musical heritage.