I've been experimenting with messy. And book arts. And erasure poems inspired by these artists.
Today is Darby's birthday.
Darby McLaughlin
November 20, 1994 – December 3, 2011
I miss you.
I meant to tell you about The Dog & The Crow, Ray Richardson's show with Guy Denning at Ben Oakley Gallery in London before it closed this weekend. Sorry.
Visit Ben Oakley Gallery to see more, especially if you love English Bull Terriers.
Last week, after I posted about Heather LaHaise's home tour, another artist, Kit Cutting, sent me this note:
"Did you notice the shadow behind Darby looks like Tyler Foote?"
No!!! I never noticed that.
Holy crap.
Heather painted Darby's portrait three years before he died. Three years before Tyler Foote was born.
This Tyler Foote…
I asked Kit Cutting how she discovered Tyler's shadow.
She said:
I was admiring the painting, and as a dog artist I like to see how other artists handle backgrounds. I had just been on another page looking at Tyler Foote's birthday photo so he just jumped out at me.
My next thought was the shadow intentional, so I looked at the date and realized it had been painted before Tyler came into your life.
It gave me me goose bumps.
Today is Día de Muertos, Day of the Dead, the Feast of All Saints. It is a sacred and soulful time, a day to think about those who have died. Pay attention, in case they appear.
I'm thinking about turning my house into a shrine. The Virgin Mary has nothing on Tyler's shadow.
Thank you, Kit Cutting.
Heather LaHaise, too.
Have you seen Tyler Foote's Pinterest board?
* Tyler Foote is a road in Nevada County, California built in 1913 by Arthur DeWint Foote, the husband of artist and writer Mary Hallock Foote. The road connects North Columbia, California to a town called
Cherokee that used to be called Tyler.
Phaidon concludes “New York Loves Mike Kelley.”
Read Jonathan Blaustein’s review (very poignant and personal, really you should read it) of Kelley’s retrospective in Amsterdam earlier this year.
One of my favorite artists, Heather LaHaise, was recently featured on Apartment Therapy.
Her South Carolina home filled with dogs, art, and dog art is inspired. I especially love the images of her studio.
Photographs by Virginia Postic.
Hat tip to Heather LaHaise.
P.S. Heather’s Darby portrait is one of the treasures of my home.
Now on view at London's Gallery on the Corner, Drawings by Dogs, an exhibition of 32 dog drawings made by an oil pastel attached to the dog's food bowl. The clever device is pushed around during mealtime on heavyweight Fabriano Medioevalis paper and framed according to the artist's size: small, medium or large.
The show is a collaboration between EMMASBROTHER and Tom Webber to benefit Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.
Visit the visually delightful website Drawings by Dogs for more information. I especially love the portraits of each artist by Tom Lakeman. Show ends October 20, 2013. Dogs are encouraged to come and create their own works.
Via The Daily Mail.
Banksy's in NY for a month-long show "Better Out Than In" on the streets of the city.
Join the fun via his website.
Modern Dog Design Company's copyright infringement case against Target, Disney and Jaya Apparel Group regarding the 26 drawings (many of dogs) that were stolen and used on T-shirts was set to go before a jury on Monday, September 23, 2013.
On Friday afternoon, an "agreement in principle" was reached for a $200,000 settlement (profits and attorneys' fees, more than has been spent defending the trial). Modern Dog Design Co. agreed that the defendants could may the payments in four installments, but they insisted that Target guarantee the payments because Jaya Apparel has a cash flow problems. It was agreed too, and the case was removed from the docket.
Then…
Robynne Raye, Modern Dog Design Co. co-founder writes…
…the very next day, Target informs us that they will not guarantee the 4th payment.
Once again, the defendants are jerking us around. We believe that they have no intention to pay us the money we agreed on.
Now we can't decide who is the worst offender: Disney for not stepping up at all? Jaya for fighting us every inch of the way, and not admitting what is apparent to even a child? or Target for stepping up, then stepping back down?
Read the full article by Robynne Raye, "Shame on Target."
And read her follow-up article "Target: Hero or Zero?"
If you're new to the Modern Dog vs. Target, Disney, and Jaya Apparel saga here is a brief video showing the blatant infringement…
Follow new developments, including a call for a Target boycott, on Modern Dog's Facebook page.
Sabrina (my niece, age five), "Want me to paint you a picture?"
Me, "Yes, paint me a picture of Tyler and Darby together."
She runs to the art studio and appears 45 minutes later.
Sabrina, "That's Darby with a halo. And Tyler's going 'agghhhh,' like he wants to play."
Me, "What are the colorful streamers in the sky?"
Sabrina, "That's the soul."
After two years, and the sale of their studio to finance their copyright infringement lawsuit against Disney and Target, Modern Dog Design Co. will have their day in court on Monday, September 23, 2013.
If you are in Seattle and want to attend please do:
Sept 23 – 27, 2013 (9am-4pm)
Federal Court House
700 Stewart St
Seattle, WA
Judge Zilly’s courtroom, 15th floor
Modern Dog Goes to Trial Facebook page.
Modern Dog and the Burden of Proof via Print.
More at Seattle Copyright Watch.
Good luck, Robynne Raye and Michael Strassburger .
Thank you for standing up for artists’ rights.
P.S. Many of you contributed art to Modern Dog Design Company’s 1000 Dog Portraits book. They recently selected a new cover….
