Golden Retriever art signing set at Ellen Rice Gallery Oct. 1, 2

Delaware artist Ellen Rice has been drawing and painting since childhood, and while most collectors associate her name with luminous coastal scenes and inspirational works about women, she started her career painting portraits, often portraits of man's best friend. Rice will release "Anticipation," her second Golden Retriever print of the year this weekend. She will be available from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, and Sunday, Oct. 2, to sign prints of both "Anticipation" and her other recent Golden Retriever print, "Running Free" and, as time allows, to demonstrate painting a puppy. The public is invited. The gallery is dog friendly.

"For a long time I've concentrated on painting the natural beauty around me, capturing the moods of the place I've called home more than 50 years. Scene after scene beckoned me and I had not painted a dog in years," said Rice. "Earlier this summer while cleaning, I came across an old photo of a very happy Golden Retriever I'd always intended to paint and felt a strong urge to paint it. If it made me smile, I reasoned it would make others smile, too, and we need more smiles these days."

"I painted 'Running Free' in the studio space in my gallery and almost immediately had two parties vying to buy the original. One bought it and the other couple decided they'd prefer a portrait of their own Annie. 'Annie-ticipation' as they call it, is the painting I'm releasing in print this golden weekend. What was brought home to me with these paintings is the joy they bring, and I committed to doing more portraits for that reason."

Rice fits portraits in between her larger works in oils. Besides the action-packed painting of a black lab puppy she'll be demonstrating this weekend as time allows, she is completing three larger works for debut in the fall: a rainbow over the Atlantic as a storm goes out to sea, crashing waves by soft evening light, and her seventh Strength of Woman Series painting, "Comfort."

"I work in stages, using a method where you paint one color glaze on, let it dry a couple of days, then go on to the next thin veil of color, over and over and over until the results you wish are accomplished. Because of this method, I work on multiple paintings in various stages at the same time. You can only go so far with one color before you have to let the painting dry. It's worth the extra time when it's done. I love the results. I just hate the patience part! You see the finished painting in your mind, but you can't make it happen instantly."

The Ellen Rice Gallery is at 98 Garfield Parkway, Suite 109, in the Blue Surf building in Bethany Beach. The gallery is open all year. Current hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. For more information, call 302-539-340 or go to www.ellenrice.com.