Tag: dog artist

Melissa Doodle

Pug Love

Artist Melissa Langer is one of the most inspiring people I know. Not only does she create every day, she is constantly pushing the boundaries of her artistic experiences — trying new mediums, experimenting, taking classes. She is a crafty dynamo. Last week she posted some blind doodles on her blog and asked her readers to give it a try. Close your eyes, visualize, and don’t lift your pencil. This week she posted a gallery of them on her blog. They are so charming and wonderful. Stop by and take a look and then try one yourself.

P.S. One of her readers, Sharon Pope, started calling them Melissa Doodles. And I think it’s about time Melissa had a technique named after her, so that’s what I call them now too. Sweet!

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March 5, 2009
John Singer Sargent’s Studio

John Singer Sargent, 1885

Photograph of John Singer Sargent in his Paris studio circa 1885. Photographer unknown via the Smithsonian Institution photostream on flickr. Note the large dog portrait in the upper left hand corner.

I wonder if this is where he seduced Louise Burckhardt (or she seduced him)…

Louise Burckhardt, Lady With The Rose, by Sargent, 1882

…and also painted Louise's dog, Pointy. IMO, one of the greatest dog art works of all time…

Pointy by John Singer Sargent, early 1880's

Read more about the bittersweet love story here. Pointy is also one of the stars in my short film, Dogs in Art.

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March 4, 2009
Camilla Engman’s Blog

Camilla's dog Morran. Muse and good sport.

Artist, blogger, and dog lover, Camilla Engman's blog is one of the most inspiring sites on the Web. Visiting it is like a mini-trip to Sweden and a peek through eyes that can see only beauty. Highly recommend!

March 3, 2009
Van Dyck the Dog Artist

Duke of Richmond and Lennox, 1633-8

No one does criticism like the Brits. Brian Sewell of London's Evening Standard is no exception with his evisceration of Van Dyck and Britain which opened last week at Tate Britain. Sewell doesn't like the artist:

Repeatedly Van Dyck and Britain demonstrates how bad a painter he could be and swamps the few masterpieces with paintings that are curate’s eggs, flawed in drawing and construction, more than faintly ridiculous in conception, and by workshop hacks as much as by himself.

The name of the exhibition:

And why call it Van Dyck and Britain instead of Van Dyck and England? He was attached to the English court, his duties as a courtier and painter were carried out in London and any influences that he absorbed here and traditions of portraiture that he chose to respect were those of earlier painters in London and the court. Scotland was another country and the courtly Stuarts were divorced from it; Britain did not exist.

Or the organization and information:

I felt that I had been subjected to a plodding tutorial by thoroughly dull minds, to essays written by students with access to Wikipedia, and to the connoisseurship of eyes less accustomed to looking at paintings than to examining reproductions. I could identify neither new research nor a fresh approach to this dry as dust material.

But what he does like are the dogs:

Van Dyck was far better with men and dogs than with women and there is morew pleasure to be had from the hounds and lapdogs that inhabit these paintings than from any of their masters and mistresses.

If you never want to enjoy looking at a Van Dyck again read Sewell's full article. Actually, I think he makes some valid points about scale and composition issues. But no one handles satin like Van Dyck and his hounds are magnificent. Here are some of my favorites:

Charles I and Henrietta Maria, 1632

A Lady of the Spencer Family, 1633-8

Crowning Christ with Thorns, 1618-20

Children of Charles I, 1637

Van Dyck and Britain is on view at Tate Britain until May 17, 2009. Click here for more information.

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February 24, 2009
Dachshund Self Portrait by Ken Bailey

Ken Bailey is one of my favorite dog artists. This new, cheeky original painting that every Dachshund owner can relate to is available on his website for $245. Love it!

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February 17, 2009
Jason Bronner’s Dogs of the Empire

Guar(d)ingo

Jason Bronner’s Dogs of the Empire show at Saint Mary’s University Lillian Davis Hogan Galleries in Winona, MN couldn’t be more timely. His drawings and paintings, inspired by the street dogs, legends, and dog art of Rome, express the duality of dogs’ ferocity and affection. Bonner also considers this dual nature in respect to foreign policy and looks at parallels between the empires of ancient Rome and the U.S.

He writes:

Dogs are hunters and guardians. They seek dominion, either from their masters, or imposed by themselves. I am interested in the tension between the part of the dog that can tear apart it’s quarry, but then return to the side of its master and lick his face or the faces of the children. It is easier for us to conceptualize a beast as completely evil, or an angel or virgin or hero who is only good nurturing, comforting. The dog is both.

The dog can be a metaphor for the protective element of the government as well as the oppression of the state. The same dog that was once a companion has been turned into a beast that the government declares is needed to protect us. One begins to wonder if this same dog causes more fear in those it should protect than the supposed danger it protects us from.

The Dogs of Ulysses

Kerberos

Untitled

Untitled

Untitled

The show runs until February 6, 2009. Click here for gallery information. Visit Jason Bonner’s website to lean more about the artist.

January 30, 2009
Andrew Wyeth Dies at 91

Master Bedroom

Andrew Wyeth, one of our great American painters, died in his sleep this morning at the age of 91. Wyeth the son of famed illustrator N.C. Wyeth and father to artist Jamie Wyeth, is best known for his stark, neutral, paintings of the two places he called home, Chadss Ford, Pennsylvania (where he died) and Cushing, Maine. Landscapes and people alone in their domestic settings were common subjects, but dogs made appearances too.

My favorite Wyeth dog painting, and one much beloved by his fans, is Master Bedroom. The unadorned room and the grey tones coupled with the warmth of the sunlit shadow and the cozy dog project an astonishing warmth for a painting that borders on melancholy.

His critics, who have diminished over the span of his career, pegged his style as Realism and called it sentimental. I completely disagree. I see it as soulful. Wyeth called it "thoughtful."

And, I am not even sure the category of Realism applies to his work. Yes, his paintings depict realistic subjects, ones he stayed true to as the 20th century Pop Art start dug into abstraction, but spend some time with his paintings and you'll see the surreality of his world come through, from the dazzling effect light can have on a newspaper left on the ground, to the complexity of what it means to be alone with one's thoughts. Yes, Wyeth captured the daily life of simple Americans, but through the brilliance of his brushstrokes and mastery of composition, he showed us that nothing is more surreal than life itself.

The Intuder

Ides of March

If these paintings or Wyeth's name are not familiar to you, you probably know him by his most famous painting:

Christina's World

January 16, 2009
Porties for Obama Art

It's been an exciting week to be a dog artist and blogger. On Sunday, President-elect Barack Obama announced he had narrowed his choice for First Dog down to two breeds, the Labradoodle and the Portuguese Water Dog. Actually, he said "Hound" which is sweet because it shows how much he is NOT a dog person yet, and we will all get to watch his transition. With this announcement, the dog world went crazy. And I went a little nuts too, because I at that very moment I was working on a commissioned collage of a Portie named Willy.

Willy, founder of Porties for Obama. Photo by Lee Anderson.

I first met Willy and his mom, Buffy Nicolas of Virginia, via email back in August. Buffy was very excited about Barack Obama's campaign. She liked his politics, but even more, she liked the idea that he had promised his girls a dog when the campaign was over. She was determined to get him elected and see a Portuguese Water Dog in the White House.

I thought it was a long shot. A Portie was not even on AKC's short list of recommended breeds. And, to be totally honest, I had never heard of a PWD. But, I loved the adorable photo Lee Anderson had taken of Willy, and I thought if I can help the Porties for Obama folks elect Barack Obama as our next president by posting Willy on my blog I am happy to do it.

Cut to, this Fall when Buffy commissioned me to do an Obama collage of Willy. She graciously gave me time to work on it after the holiday rush. She asked if she could have it by the Inauguration. Perfect, I thought. That will give me a nice image to put on my blogs that day (I write The Obama Dog Blog too). Little did I know that I would be swept up into the Portie presidential frenzy. With apologies to the Labradoodles for Obama people, I now feel like an honorary member of Team Portie. And, after spending so much time working with darling Willy and his passionate mom, I can't help rooting for them. Go Porties!

Here are some Portie for Obama products from my store:

Porties for Obama Greeting Cards

Porties for Obama Journal

Porties for Obama Tote

Porties for Obama Women's T-shirt

If the Obamas do choose a Portie, I think this shirt would be perfect for the President:

Property of my Portie Men's T-shirt

This one would look great on Michelle:

Portie Mom Women's Long Sleeve T-shirt

Something for the girls is in the works, actually, another Willy collage. Thank you, Buffy.

To see all the Porties for Obama items in my store click here. Labradoodle fans, feel free to contact me to commission art for your dogs. Yes, I can be bought.

January 15, 2009
Shepard Fairey’s Obama Inspired Dog Poster

Shepard Fairey,
the artist whose iconic Obama posters branded a movement and help elect
a President, has donated his talent to help rescue dogs with this ADOPT poster.
Shortly after President-elect Obama made the comment that his family
would like to adopt, "a mutt like me," Fairey was contacted by Dr. Pia
Salk, an animal
advocate who works with North America’s largest non-profit pet adoption
website, Adopt-a-Pet.com. Fairey explains:

Pia simply asked if I might be willing to
collaborate on a way to have my art help these animals.

As most of you know, I’m a big believer in speaking up for all who
suffer injustice, regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation or in
this case, species! And I’m all for adopting from the shelter. My
wife and I share our home with 2 pooches, George and Weezie, who is a
rescue. They are the happy canine siblings to our 2 human daughters.

The image I created for this print reminds me of a dog I had as kid, a mutt named Honey.

The
exciting news for art collectors and animal lovers is that 400 signed,
limited edition prints will be available for sale some time this
January and all proceeds go to Adopt-A-Pet.com. You can sign up for
news alerts at Muttslikeme.com. These prints are highly collectible and will go in a matter of minutes.

But
if you don't get one, the website also has free badges, banners,
posters, and wallpaper you can download and add to your own sites to
raise awareness and show support. There is even a black + white
version for kids in class to color in and discuss. Click here to see all the free artwork available.

Thank
you, Shepard Fairey, for continuing to use your talent for good. Your
work shows us that giving means more than writing a check. An image,
an hour of time, or simply speaking out against injustice can change
the world.

January 8, 2009
M.C. Escher the Dog Artist

Seems famous Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher (1898-1972), known for his intricate impossible contsructions, started out with more simple shapes like this dog tessellation (a geometric design of identical interlocking shapes) from 1938.

See more cool dog tessellations on Rita's Dog Blog, a lovely blog written by a dog with great taste in art.

August 13, 2008