Dog Art Today

Category: Dog Art Calendars

  • Done…almost

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    My January collage of Darby is almost finished.   I'm stepping away from it today and tomorrow I will disassemble it and glue it back together, the trickiest part, imo.  As you can see, I scrapped everything from my first iteration except for the idea of Darby sleeping in the nest and the speckled paper.

    This has been the most challenging collage I have ever worked on.  I don't know if that's because I haven't made one in a while or if I am too close to the subject.  I think the pressure I put on myself to memorialize my dog undid me a bit.  Maybe I should just spend time with my dog.  Enjoy his reality instead of trying to capture his essence.   I still don't know.   I might do some "throw away" pieces before I begin on February.  Stay tuned.

    P.S. The nest includes strips of the Peaceful Valley seed catalog.  The bird brings another strip in his beak.  Graphic designer Milton Glaser says it's ok to explain one's work.

    P.P.S. Thanks, Rebecca Collins of ArtPaw, for sending me this link to images of The Eight Dog Chronicles, 18th century Japanese books that fired my imagination in a new way.

     

     

  • Valentine’s Day Gift for Pit Bull Lovers

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    January's over, but it's not too late to order a 2011 calendar for the Pit Bull lover in your life.   I think this one would be a great Valentine's Day gift for that special person who is not into hearts and flowers, but loves elegant design and this one-of-a-kind breed.

    This work of art was designed by Jessi McNamara, advertising creative exec by day and Pit Bull advocate by night, with a grant awarded her by Sappi Paper.   Jessi collaborated with photographer Jesse Dhein to create a calendar that gives back; all proceeds go to San Diego's Even Chance Pit Bull Advocacy + Resources + Rescue.   The calendar features photographs of  Even Chance’s rescued Pit Bulls, along with their stories and Pit Bull facts and quotes.  Beautiful.

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    Order your 2011 Even Chance Pit Bull Rescue Calendar at Etsy.

    More about graphic designer Jessi McNamara here.   And more about photographer Jesse Dhein here.

  • Slow Going

    It’s February 5 and I haven’t finished my collage for January.  My process spread out all over the house — pages ripped from magazines on every surface —  and it made me feel crabby.   I like things neat.  Art is not neat.

    Here’s where I am headed.  It is not coming together.  But I guess it is coming along…

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  • My Collage Process

     

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    Actually, I am still discovering my collage process.  Especially since, as I’ve mentioned, this year I am creating a series of Darby collages to include in a 2012 Longhaired Dachshund calendar.  I’ve never worked on a series before.  These are some photos of my first steps.

    I spent a significant amount of time cutting out silhouettes of Darby sleeping.  Then, decided I wanted to use the actual photograph instead.  This is an important decision for a collage artist.  Are you going to use the photo or deconstruct the photo and build the shape out of other materials?  I wanted to use natural and/or Japanese paper in each collage and I liked the idea of Darby made out of the speckled paper, like an eggshell in the nest.  And I wanted to use the feather paper beneath the nest.  But both didn’t feel right.  So I’ve put these attempts aside.  For now.

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    Every time we go for a walk, I spend time looking at the colors I see, and the natural world my dog interacts with.  Brown, green, and a hint of purple are January this year.  Here are some images I intend to work with, including photos I took of succulents in my yard.

     

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    Here’s my work table.  Yes, those are real deer antlers hanging on my fence…

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    One of the challenges I discovered was that I kept finding images I wanted to use for other months.  I considered buying another table, but knew I would lose the saved images under piles of more saved images.  So I decided to put everything up on the wall.  I used Scotch Reusable Tabs.  They work well, secure but easy to remove without damaging the paper.

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    I’ve also been working on compositions for future months and posted them on the wall too…

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    Here’s the direction I’m headed. I placed a lighter version of speckled paper behind the nest…

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    P.S. When I was finishing up yesterday, I noticed a scrap of paper on the window sill.  I put some pine cones behind it (I’ve become obsessed with the artistic and engineering genius of the pine cone since I moved here — I used to think they were corny) and took a picture.  It was a nice reminder about simplicity and the happy accidents that occur in the studio.

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    I’m so glad to be back.

  • The Unexpected Pit Bull Calendar 2010

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    Jyotshna O'Hare founded The Unexpected Pit Bull in 2004 to celebrate this wonderful breed and give Pit Bulls a positive visual voice.  This year, she has teamed with photographer Laura Moss to create the 2010 Unexpected Pit Bull Calendar.  100% of net proceeds go to the top Pit Bull rescues across the country.  Beautiful!  Order yours here.

  • Dog Art Calendar Addendum: The Dog Jewelry Museum Calendar

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    This morning, Deb Schneider of the Dog Jewelry Museum sent me a note introducing me to her amazing site that catalogs in detail over 600 pieces of dog jewelry from the early 1900's to present.

    This year, she chose 12 of her favorite "dog walking" pieces and created the 2009 Dog Jewelry Museum Calendar.  Awesome!  Order yours here.

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  • Dog Art Calendars

    Day 3:  Calendars for dog lovers.  Order one for yourself too.

    One of my favorite calendars this year is the one I helped create.  It is a collaboration with Michelle Page and her Nepalese dog sign painters.  They provided the vibrant, humorous, and totally original artwork and I put it together and made it available for $19.99 at CafePress. 

    I am so pleased with the way it came out and that it continues to publicize these artists who were being replaced by computers, giving them new outlets to sell their work to customers around the world.  See my earlier post about it, including images of all the dogs/months here.

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    The Emancipe+ 2009 Pet Calendar features the original artwork of three artists, Heather Christofero, Tim Kerr, and Pat Falconer.  Emancipe+ is an Austin-based organization dedicated to preventing animal homelessness and putting an end to euthanasia as a means of population control by providing low-cost or free surgical sterilization of dogs and cats.  All proceeds from this lovely calendar go towards Emancepe+’s mission.  (Note: some cat paintings included.)    Click here to order yours.

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    Linda O’Neill’s 2009 Dog Desk Calendar is super sweet.   With 12 of her wonderful pups it will brighten up any dog lover’s day (and desk).  Avaiable at her Abby Creek Etsy Shop.

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    If you know someone who loves Boston Terriers and Mid Century Modern furniture, here is the perfect gift,  Lili Chin’s Boogie On 2009 Calendar.  It features her Boston Terrier, Boogie, on famous designer chairs from Eames, Aarino (below), Panton and more.  I just love it!  Order yours here.

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