About Us

Hello!  Welcome to the Shenandoah Basset Art Studio, located in our home in Strasburg, Virginia which, of course, is in the Shenandoah Valley. Five Schillingers live here.
 
  Me (that is Liz), the painter of Basset Hounds;
Jack, my husband, who manages the business, keeps the inventory, packages the outgoing art, and prepares the hounds’ special food;
Sluggo, the rough-and-tough male with a heart of pure gold;
Charlotte or CR, our matriarch and clown; and    
Uptown Girl, our newest addition.

We lost Ruby, our beloved pack leader and noble friend, last Halloween.  She was 11 1/2. Our pack is our primary source of models.
Down to up: Sluggo, Charlotte, Uptown Girl
Jack and I are retired professors and moved to Strasburg about ten years agowhere the housing was more affordable and the dogs could have a larger yard to patrol. Though I have been a lifelong lover of art, I did not begin painting in earnest until shortly before retirement. It was
the lack of realistic Basset Hound art that compelled me to begin painting them. I do
paint other breeds occasionally, usually as portraits (commissions) of specific dogs; but Bassets are my forte!

My models refuse to play poker or pilot
fighter planes or do human-type things
some famous artists’ dogs seem to do. 
So my paintings don’t show such things.
Instead they portray Bassets doing the
things Bassets really do, which involves
a lot of sleeping, as well as playing,
running, howling, walking, eating, and
just hanging out. Despite this rather
limited repertoire of activities, they
offer me endless inspiration at the easel—
and joy!



Our two grandsons, Auggie, 5, and Dane, 2 1/2, are frequent visitors.  Much of the lure of Grandma's house is the presence of the three fun-loving Bassets.
Not a “virtual studio!” No, it’s the real thing, complete with turpentine smells and the disorder of a messy artist (but spruced up for this photo). Visitors welcome!
In addition to the website, my work is
exhibited in and around Virginia, in Washington, DC, galleries, and at BHCA and Basset Rescue activities. Two or three times a year the five of us take our art on the road (along with quarts and quarts of home-canned dog food) to exhibit and sell our wares and meet other Bassets and their people.  We welcome news of shows and events
featuring this fine breed.I paint in oil and sell original paintings and reproductions plus lithographed cards. Occasionally I add special Basset “finds” to my inventory, which we have come across on our travels, such as Basset-print tea towels from Siberia or Basset Hound hood ornaments cast in England.  My new website should allow us the flexibility to keep current with our inventory on-line.  We invite your comments and suggestions for improvement!


"Indoor Almanac"
by Liz Schillinger

Since January 2004, I have been regularly contributing  humor/commentary columns to an arts and opinion newspaper in the Shenandoah Valley, the Bryce Mountain Courier, recently renamed the Mountain Courier, based in Woodstock, Virginia.  The Courier and my topics usually target events and interests of people who live in Shenandoah County; however, my essays are often written on broader themes.

Since the monthly newspaper is not online, and since a handful of my far-flung friends and family wish to read the columns from time to time, I've created a hidden blog for them within my website, since I've already contracted for the service and can handle insertions myself. 

Below are essays beginning with January 2008. If there is any interest in the first four years of 'Indoor Almanac,' let me know and I'll add them or send some to you.  These are my columns as I submit them to the Editor and Copy Editor. They do very little editing of my work, mostly correcting typos and eliminating widows. By filing them here, I do not have to rekeyboard them from the publicized versions or try to scan the tabloid-sized pages. My titles below are merely descriptors are not the same as the published titles.

The editors do not enforce their space recommendations, and so I blithley exceed them most of the time. The majority of my pieces are two to three times as long as most newspaper columns. The advantage to this leeway in length is that I can delve into more complex subjects that require more explanation or examples; the disadvantage is that the laissez-faire policy encourages a lack of writerly discipline on my part. So it goes.

(The Courier is copyrighted. Please contact editor/publisher Peggy Boston for permission to reprint:  courier@shentel.net .)    

For questions or comments, please contact me at bassets@shentel.net or 540 465-2828.
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, FOR THOSE
INTERESTED IN THINGS OTHER THAN BASSET HOUND ART!