For the third time in as many years Kat Corrigan will paint 30 dogs in 30 days starting July 1, 2012.
Now is the time to submit your dog. You do not have to commission a portrait to participate, but it's a great time to get a Corrigan original if you do.
It's also fun to watch the daily dogs appear on her blog. Go Kat!
Click here for submission guidelines.
Minneapolis artist, Kat Corrigan, is diving in the deep end this summer when it comes to her dog art. First, there is her “Dog Show” exhibition that opens tomorrow night, June 30, at the Key North Boutique. Then, on July 1, she commences 30 Dog in 30 Days, an ambitious project she describes as “a dedicated painting practice, where the commitment to painting every day positively (and sometimes profoundly) affects the quality of the overall work.” Half-way through the painting marathon she will give an artist’s talk on July 14, once again at Key North Boutique. Then, she will mount an exhibition of all 30 dog paintings on August 19 at Diamond’s Coffee Shop, where she is also creating a space where the actual dog muses can attend.
If you’re not in Minneapolis to see this dynamo in action, visit her blog, My AUTOBI-DOG-RAPHY, where she will be posting her completed dog each day. If you are in Minneapolis, stop by one of her events with banana, some Gatorade, and a foil blanket. Go Kat!
The paintings in this post are from Corrigan’s 30 Dogs in 30 Days 2010. See them all here.
Kat has two spaces left for the 30 Dogs in 30 Days project. Email her for price and availability.
This Saturday, August 14, Mutt Lynch Winery will celebrate their Dog Days of Summer event and unveil the wine they've paired with Kimberly Kelly Santini's winning entry in our 2010 Wine Label Contest. When Brenda Lynch (winemaker), Rae Huestis (label designer), and I (Moira McLaughlin, Dog Art Today founder) selected Rusty as the champion, we had no idea that for a bad dog who died more than 30 years ago, this would mean redemption. We also had no idea the depth of commitment Kimberly Kelly Santini has made to art, animals, and an online community of painters since before most of us ever heard the word blog. Here is my interview with her:
Describe your inspiration in creating Rusty.
Rusty had been my grandfather's dog back when I was a child. My grandfather passed away very suddenly this spring, which brought the Kelly family together from all over the country. Many great stories surfaced at his funeral and mountains of photos were shared. The stories always involved Rusty being outrageously bad, yet getting away with it, a testament to how much my grandfather, a strict disciplinarian, loved him.
The family photos were mostly grainy black and whites with Rusty being an inch or two high, or they were horridly faded Polaroids — not the sort of material I was comfortable creating a painting from. But Rusty seemed like great fodder for a collage. And a collage could be a solid design concept for the label. I also liked the idea of a red dog highlighting a red wine. It seemed like a good fit all around.
Rusty and Gerald Kelly, Kimberly's grandfather
Does Rusty know he is a celebrity?
(note: this was before I saw the photos)
Rusty passed away some 30+ years ago. But the Kelly family has embraced the idea of him being on the Mutt Lynch wine label. My aunt declared that he had finally done something right!! And I'm looking forward to sharing a glass of Rusty wine with my grandmother and listening to more stories about the family.
You mentioned this painting/collage method is new for you. What inspired you to try something different?
I have led children's workshops on collage and mixed media, but tried to keep that process simple, using photographs, magazine clippings, and other items. We would work with things like a photograph of a dog's head with a tiara cut out of a magazine collaged over newspaper and tissue, creating a basic accumulation of images that, when coupled together, told a story. I looked at a lot of other collage artists as part of building the curriculum for my workshop, with one of my personal favorites being Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson who uses paper bits to shade and mold her subject.
With each workshop I fell more in love with the collage process. I wanted to explore possibilities outside of the classroom, incorporate my own painted papers, play with texture and allow the collaged materials to mold the form, carry the details and tell a story. Rusty was the perfect subject for this experimentation.
This year you will paint your 1000th dog in your Dog a Day series. How did you get started and how do you stay committed?
I started Painting a Dog a Day back in October of 2006 and thought I'd stick with it for a year or so. It was intended to be my own personal window where I could paint just for me. As a commission artist, one who works primarily life-sized or larger to client specifications, I knew that painting just for myself would feed my muse and keep my creativity strong, even if it were just for an hour a day on littler paintings. I never expected the project to take on a life of it's own, but that's what it did.
It's not that hard to stay committed to it, and it helps that I thoroughly love my job. There are days when I'd rather be doing something else. But I have a deep connection with the paint, and when I stand at my easel (even on a day when I'd rather be playing hookey), those reservations melt away and I become absorbed in the painting at hand.
But I also work hard at keeping my muse alive by trying new things (like collage!), getting out and looking at great art in person, working with children (talk about inspiration!!), volunteering in my community and mentoring emerging artists.
And there is nothing like sharing that rush of emotion when a client holds their painting for the first time. I revel in the moment, knowing that only I could have delivered this cherished painting to them. And then I get right back to work, planning and building for the next portrait.
Tell me about you upcoming solo show at Best Friends Animal Society in Utah.
Back in 2007 when the daily paintings were relatively new, Best Friends Magazine (Best Friends Animal Society's monthly publication) did a feature article on my artwork. This exposure was formative in creating the early core of the Dog a Day community – a group of collectors, artists, animal advocates and all around amazing people that now numbers over 1000. It seemed especially meaningful to be invited, three years later, to hang my work in the heart of the Best Friends Animal Society.
The show, which opens August 27 and runs until October 15, is titled "Happily Ever Afters." This is my first solo exhibition comprised entirely of daily paintings. My muses were especially selected because they were each rescued themselves. The paintings will be accompanied with real life stories of other animals who found their own "Happily Ever Afters." I want the show to convey names, faces, and unforgettable details of a population that is forgotten, discarded, and treated unfairly.
Here are some paintings that will be included:
After winning the Mutt Lynch – Dog Art Today contest and mounting your first solo show this year, is this a new level for you as an artist?
They are definitely key moments, specific points where I can reminisce upon my journey to date. However, I view each new day as a turning point – an opportunity for me to pick up my paintbrush, go a little further as an artist and a compassionate person.
I love my life.
And we love your art as much as your creative spirit, your drive, and your inspiration, Kimberly. Congratulations!
For more on Kimberly Kelly Santini:
Studio
Daily Paintings
Originals & Limited Editons
Prints & Notecards
Mutt Lynch Winery's Dog Days of Summer:
Date: August 14, 2010
Time: 11:00am – 5:00pm
Cost: $10.00
(100% admission fees and 10% of sales benefit the SF SPCA)
Location: 602 Limerick Lane, Healdsburg, CA 95448
Dogs are welcome
To order a bottle or case of Rusty click here.
Cheers!
I featured North Carolina artist Clair Hartmann last July when she was in the middle of painting 101 dogs at the Wilmington Farmers' Market to incorporate in a book called The Downtown Dog Project. True to her word, and an inspiration to every dog-a-day painter who aspires to publish someday, Clair's book is now available at blurb. Congratulations, Clair. It look beautiful.
Proceeds from the book sales benefit Adopt-an-Angel.
See more of Clair's work at her Daily Painting blog.
I am always inspired by great art. But great art wedded to a clever concept with branching possibilities for promotion and altruism really excites me. Clair Hartmann’s Downtown Dog Project is just such an endeavor, one I am thrilled to share with you.
A rare shot of Kim in front of, not behind, the camera, playing Frisbee with her dog, Finn.
Michigan-based artist, Kimberly Kelly Santini, has been painting a dog a day since 2006. That’s over 700 dog portraits. She is also a wife, mother of three, and an editor at Art Career Experts, a site devoted to marketing and career advice for artists by artists. I am inspired by her ability to manage all her passions with drive and a sense of humor. I think you will be too.
1. How did you get started as a dog artist?
Growing up, all I drew and painted were animals. Even through college, I would sneak equine and canine pieces into my portfolio whenever I could. When we started our family, my studio got packed up to make way for a nursery. For about 7 years I took a sabbatical from making art to focus on raising my family. When I started painting again, it was second nature to paint a dog — besides, I’d been promising my brother a portrait of his for years. The first piece I did was a canvas of his Ebony, lifesize. After seeing Ebony’s portrait, one after another, friends and family started asking for paintings of their own. I seem to get dog requests the most, although I am not complaining — they are very close to my heart.
2. What is your favorite medium and why?
I love acrylics for the same reasons many dislike them — their short drying time. I am a quick painter, and if my surface stays wet more than 5 minutes, I get mucky colors. I do not have the patience to slowly lay down purposeful marks and wait for areas to dry. I have been working in oils this last year, and am starting to recognize the value of having a wet surface to work with, but I still prefer my acrylics.
3. How would you describe your art?
Like the smile of a dear friend.
4. What are your 3 your favorite pieces?
Usually, whatever’s come off the easel most recently. I can share 3 pivotal pieces, though. I am sentimental about pivotal pieces because they represent to me a turning point in my abilities.
Tribute, 12″ square, acrylic on board. Many people see this empty collar and immediately read it as a loss. I prefer to see it as representing the cycle that all dog-lovers go through of love and loss. It is heartbreaking for one small piece of the circle, but we choose to repeat the path because of all the other wondrous moments leading up to said heartbreak. Additionally, this particular still life setup translated onto canvas exactly how I saw it in my head — a small victory for me!
Rest, 6″ x 12″, acrylic on board. I love the quiet emotion in this piece — it translated wonderfully to a tribute to a dearly loved dog who has crossed the bridge.
Doggles
Doggles, 4″ x 8″, acrylic on board. This is the sort of painting that oozes smiles — I think work is successful when it immediately evokes an emotional response.
5. Tell me about your studio; is it how you want it to be? Plans for reorganizing? Wish list?
I love my studio. Despite its chaos, it is my safe house. In my studio I can do anything, or at least that is my mindset. Just the mere fact that I have a studio, or the realization that painting is my job, is enough to send me into a happy dance. It is a mess, but it’s my creative vortex, and I need this sort of scrambled collection of objects and snippets of paper to feed and generate new ideas.
Studio Disaster I: My Grandfather’s Desk
Studio Disaster II: Opposite Wall
Studio Disaster III: My Palette
Our home is almost 100 years old, and my studio is the only room we haven’t yet gutted. There is old wallpaper so hideous it is lovely, incredibly bright turquoise deep moldings and trim, and the ceiling is stained and cracking. But I have the most fabulous light fixture (had it built especially for the room), have beautiful northern and western windows with great light, and the scale of the space is perfect.
I’m considering shutting the studio down for several weeks this summer, giving the walls a fresh coat of paint, adding more book shelves, actually organizing the closet (instead of opening the door and dumping whatever object I’m trying to hide), and refinishing the floors. I’m considering it. It would be more fun to instead work on a mural proposal for the local bark park….
Ideally I would love to have a separate space where I could greet clients and discuss their projects. Right now that happens in my living room (adjacent to the studio), but there is a need for a dedicated space where I could rotate artwork on the walls depending on who was visiting, have a flat surface for sketching or spreading out reference materials, and comfortable seating so that we could linger over tea, cookies and artwork.
6. Upcoming projects or goals for the future?
I know that the Painting a Dog a Day project will not last forever, and that’s ok. I am searching for my next big wave, but making certain that this search does not take away any energy or momentum from the daily pet portraits. Meanwhile I am writing catalogs that highlight each year of the daily project (the first book is published already, titled Painting a Dog a Day – the First Year, and is available at blurb) and laying the groundwork for publishing video shorts of select daily paintings. I also am building a curriculum so that I may begin teaching workshops, both locally and nationally. I also just started as an editor at Art Career Experts, a site devoted to marketing and career advice for artists by artists.
Thank you Kim, for letting us take a peek at your paintings and your process. Wonderful!