This is what happens when you leave your palette with wet paint on it by the back door, where your dogs come in and out. Not a smart idea!
You know how when you are exhausted after painting all day, not at home, and you come home and you have to start dinner, clean up, sort through the mail, move the laundry that's been fermenting in your washer all day, and just all the general hit you in the face chores that happen when you walk in your front door? Well, it was one of those days, and I was too exhausted to carry my heavy painting basket downstairs to the studio. So I plopped it by the back door with a very wet palette full of paint right on top. Oil paints are very expensive and so I use them a couple of days in a row before scraping them down and starting with new paint. Then forgot about them. Let the dogs in, let the dogs out, let the dogs in again. Then I went outside to feed them and was startled to see Mitzi, the white English Sheepdog, covered in blood! I ran over to her, and noticed her blood was very bright red near her eyes (cadmium light) and a much darker shade on her body (alizirin crimson) And then I noticed her partner in crime, Lilly, had a red, orange, and yellow tail. On pure black it looked beautiful. Lillie's tail, which wags a lot, and very vigorously had to have hit the palette, and then proceeded to hit Mitzi's face, and side of her body in many places. So after I finished laughing I freaked out, because cadmium is poisonous, and ran them over to the hose to (try) to shampoo it out of their fur. Most of it came out and they are didn't have any on their tongues or around their mouth. Lesson learned about putting your stuff away when you get home!
The funniest part came later when I was out to dinner with my husband. My oldest daughter, Alyssa, called my cell phone during dinner. So I answered and she's screaming into the phone "Mom, Lilly attacked Mitzi and she's got bite wounds all over her! She looks like she was shot!" I explained to her that the dogs got into my red paint. We all had a good laugh over it, but I have to say I feel bad now when my dogs run and hide when I walk by with my palette and brushes.
