Tag: dog portraits

Judy Henn’s Dog Portraits

Dachshund

A Monday in mid-January calls for some dogs with sunshine and flowers. Luckily, I recently was made aware of Lambertville, New Jersey artist and gallery owner, Judy Henn, who describes her work as a cross-pollination of Henri Matisse and Milton Avery. Judy says, “I know a painting works when someone looks at it and smiles.”
I spent several hours smiling at her dog portraits this morning.

See more at Judy Henn’s studio and gallery, Robins Egg Gallery.

Thank you, Dog Art Today reader and dog artist, Janet Burt of Rainbow Pet Portraits, for introducing me to Judy’s work.

Westie

Nancy’s Family Tree

After the Fall

The Dream

July

Some Things They Love

Holiday Hobie

Gizzy

January 14, 2013
Pen + Ink Dog Portraits by Jo Chambers

Bath, UK artist Jo Chambers likes to tell stories with her work. And when it comes to her custom dog portraits, with a good photo from the client and a brief description, she tells the story of your pet’s “personality” with simple lines and pen and ink. Her whimsical drawings are so rich they are often mistaken for watercolor paintings. It’s not too late to order a Jo Chambers original of your dog, but act now because Martha Stewart recently featured her in her gift guide (yay Jo! but so bummed I was scooped by Martha).

Visit Jo Chambers’s blog Studio Legohead to commission a portrait. An 8.5 x 11″ pen and ink drawing is $140. You can tell her what your dog would like to wear; hat, bow tie, tiara, or au naturale.

Jo also sells postcards and greeting cards of her pen and ink drawings at her etsy shop. These would be great holiday cards or hostess gifts. And stop by her blog to see what she’s up to. Tell her Moira, not Martha sent you.

November 28, 2011
Shelter in Place by Nancy Diessner

Nancy Diessner and her images, Jacob Belcher/Daily News and Wicked Local

Nancy Diessner's Shelter in Place show at the Bromfield Gallery in Boston depicts portraits of rescued dogs beside portraits of the women who saved them. Diessner, who worked at the Save a Dog shelter knows all the dogs and owners personally and learned from her time at the shelter "that the bond that grew between often-abandoned or abused dogs and the people who adopted them was 'direct but not simple.' "

Chris Bergeron of Daily News and Wicked Local has an interview with Diessner, a review of the show, and a detailed explanation of the artist's printmaking process that incorporates digital photography, photopolymer gravure printmaking, and Japanese paper. Read the full article here.

My favorite quote from Diessner, "What I see in the eyes of dogs and in the connection we have with them can, for me, only be expressed visually."

Shelter in Place at the Bromfield Gallery, Boston, runs until April 30, 2011.

Nancy Diessner's website.

April 5, 2011
Martha Tabis’s Quilted Dogs

Fiber artist and avid quilter Matha Tabis uses free-motion quilting and raw-edge appliqué to create custom pet portraits with fabric scraps, tulle, and colorful threads and yarns. Look closely and you’ll see she can also include your dog’s actual pet tag in the piece. What a beautiful way to memorialize a pup who has passed away. I don’t usually feature pet memorials because they depress me. But these make me smile. Her cat portraits are wonderful too…

Visit Martha’s brand new blog to learn more about her and her work. She also has tips on how to DIY.

April 12, 2010
Grass Valley Charter School Dogs at Zazzle and The Flour Garden

Grass Valley Charter School Dog Portraits at the Flour Garden Bakery

In October I featured a story about Katherine Schad and her one-woman initiative to turn every 1st and 2nd grader at Grass Valley Charter School into a dog artist. This month, with the help of teachers Audrey Hight, Lori Davis, and other GVCS parents, Kath completed her mission of producing 88 dog portraits. They also launched a website, set up a Zazzle store, and mounted a local exhibition of the works at the Brunswick Basin Flour Garden Bakery.

This weekend, I stopped by the bakery to view the dogs and the only way I can describe them is magical. I just couldn't take my eyes off of the spectacular wall collage of creativity, then I would lose myself in the originality of each dog. I truly think this is the kind of project that will stay with these children forever, giving them confidence in their own creativity and knowing that that confidence is the foundation on which anything is possible. Several Dog Art Today readers have commented that they would like to replicate this project at their childrens' schools. Kath has plans for creating a lesson plan on her website, but this effort has been a HUGE endeavor on her part, and any ideas or assistance would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to contact her here.

In the meantime, consider contributing to renovation of the new GVCS library by purchasing something from Zazzle. Order by December 15 to make sure you receive it by Christmas. Here is just a small sample of all the fun products:

Violet's Sweatshirt

Dexter's Tote

Zara's Tie

Makai's T-shirt

Arlo's Mug

The dog portraits will be on display at the Flour Garden Bakery until the end of December. In January, they will be on view at Summer Thyme's. A fundraiser with sales of the works is being planned for the spring. Take a moment to view all the dogs individually here and here and remind yourself that everyone is an artist…even you.

December 10, 2009
New Dog Paintings by Heather LaHaise

mistake

Heather LaHaise is one of my favorite dog artists. I first reviewed her work here, and never thought I could admire her work more than I already do. Then, Heather told me she finds most of her models at PetFinder.com, an adoption site for rescue animals. “These dogs are just too beautiful to go unrecognized!” she said. I feel the same way about her work, beautiful and profoundly moving. Thank you, Heather, for giving rescue dogs a voice and reminding people of all the amazing dogs out there in need of a forever home.

Heather’s new show, “the dogs are back in town,” is on view at Mr. Friendly’s New Southern Cafe in Columbia, SC, until December 31. The paintings are available for purchase through Heather’s website. A portion of sales will go to buy food, blankets, and supplies for Heather’s local animal shelter.

connected

corner

SOOT

FRENCH BLUE

MYTH

iconic

I am the proud owner of a LaHaise original of Darby. To commission a portrait of your pet contact Heather.

November 6, 2009
Andrew Pinkham: Best in Show

Andrew Pinkham's dog portraits exhibition, Best in Show, opens tonight at Silicon Gallery in Philadelphia. His photographs are breathtaking, and 20% of each commission goes to three charities: Philadelphia Greyhound Connection,
National Greyhound Adoption Program, PSPCA. Also, on May 1 there will be Greyhounds at the Silicon Gallery available for adoption from the Philadelphia Greyhound connection. Very cool! For more about Adrew Pinkham visit his website.

Hat tip to Matthew Rose who sent me this info via The Artblog. Artists might be interested in participating in Matthew's latest collaborative project A Book About Death in which 1000 artists create an unboud book. I am going to contribute. Learn more about it here where you can view the works as they come in.

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April 3, 2009
Dog Art Today Quoted in The Toronto Star

Recently I was interviewed by Francine Kopun of the Toronto Star newspaper about the upsurge of interest in dog art. Her story, Good Boy, Now Sit…For a Portrait ran today. View it here.

Farley is by Katie Sonnichsen who is also featured in the article. Dog art continues to make news. Very exciting for all of us artists and dog art lovers!

P.S. If you are visiting Dog Art Today for the first time, welcome! Please feel free to leave a comment and introduce yourself or send me an email and let me know what you think. Also, it is free and easy to subscribe to Dog Art Today and have new posts sent directly to your inbox. Click here to join.

P.P.
S. You might also like to view my video Dogs in Art that charts 5,000 years of dog art in 3 minutes, and features many of the artists mentioned in Francine's article.

April 2, 2009
Heather LaHaise: Dog Portrait Duality

Graffiti

Heather LaHaise was born in N.Y. and grew up in Columbia, S.C. After graduating from the University of South Carolina with a degree in art, she moved back to N.Y. and took classes at Pratt Manhattan.

I think this north/south,urban/rural cross-pollination comes through beautifully in her dog art. Traditionally painted dogs drip down her canvases or are cleverly cropped into graphic designs. I especially like her use of graffiti – as if she's still inspired (haunted?) by the gritty, dirty streets of Manhattan even as she embraces the gentility of South Carolina where she now makes her home.

This is a tricky duality to pull off, but Heather has figured it out. Her paintings don't look gimmicky or divided by it. In fact, I think the text unifies her works in a surprisingly remarkable way. I just love them.

Opposites Attract

Edit

Hey Mister

Mine

Double Scoop

Red Alert

Complimentary

Grin Reaper

Why dogs? Heather says, "Not only does their honesty make them perfect subjects, they lack pretension, and their only motive is to please. They make our homes comfortable and even add a lovely distressed finish to furnishings." Sweet.

Visit her website to learn more.

If you're in Charlotte, N.C. you can see Heather LaHaise's dog paintings at the Green Rice Gallery's The Dog Show until August 31, 2008.

August 14, 2008
Michael John dePierro’s Awesome Discount for Dog Art Today Readers

Basset Hound

I received a lovely note from one of my favorite dog sculptors, Michael John dePierro. It included his most recent works (shown here), and an awesome offer for Dog Art Today readers. Order a custom portrait 10" wall sculpture from Michael during the month of March, and it’s only $80 (plus S&H/ and sales tax for MA). This is an wonderful opportunity, as Michael usually charges $120. And, he is truly amazing at capturing the spirit and personality of each dog in every portrait he carves.

Rat Terrier

Bernese Mountain Dog

Golden Retriever

See more of his work here. But don’t forget to order your dePierro original soon. And don’t forget to tell him I sent you : )

Thanks, Michael. Keep in touch.

February 29, 2008