Dog Art Today

Tag: longhaired dachshund art

  • Darby Calendar: August

     

    Longhaired_dachshund_art_august

     

    Butterfly Darby by Moira McLaughlin, 2012

    For August's image of my Longhaired Dachshund Calendar tribute to Darby I wanted to experiment with:

    1.) a limited palette
    2.) drawing
    3.) my Darby stamp from Lush Prints

    Here's where I started…

    Longhaired_dachshund_calendar_august_2

    I made several Darby images.  Here are a few…

     

    Longhaired_dachshund_drawings_3

    I kept looking at Matisse's work…

    Henri-Matisse-art-painting-Harmony-in-Red

     

    Harmony in Red by Henri Matisse, 1908

    But it had too many colors.  So I moved on to Mark Rothko's Orange and Yellow…

     

    Mark-rothko-orange-and-yellow

     

    Orange and Yellow by Mark Rothko, 1956

    Drawing Darby hurt.  He felt more elusive than ever.   I am having trouble pushing through.  Maybe I don't want to finish this project.  Maybe that's why I like the unfinished quality to Butterfly Darby.  I'll leave it at that…

    Longhaired_dachshund_art_august

     

    Butterfly Darby

    See previous images of my Darby Calendar here. It is a tribute to my 17-year-old Longhaired Dachshund who passed away in December of 2011.

  • Longhaired Dachshund Calendar: July

     

    Darby_july_calendar_post

     

    Darby:July by Moira McLaughlin

     

    The July collage of Darby for my Longhaired Dachshund Calendar didn't start out this way.  The original concept was a nod to Magritte. This was the sketch I made last year…

    Darby_magritte_post

     

    original sketch

    Magritte_son_of_a_man_with_apple

     

    Son of a Man by René Magritte, 1964

    I was going to make the apple a tomato.  The leaves in the corner were going to be basil.  The stripes in the background were going to be red and white, and Darby's tag was going to be blue with a white star.   Get it? July 4th.  I was inspired by this Georgia O'Keeffe painting…

     

    Cows_skull_georgia_okeeffe

     

    Cow's Skull: Red, White, and Blue by Georgia O'Keeffe, 1931

    But, I wasn't thrilled with this idea. It's kind of kitschy.  And Darby wasn't kitschy or overly patriotic.  He didn't really like tomatoes that much either.

    Then, I saw this painting by Helen Frankenthaler…

    Helen_frankenthaler_untitled_1995_post

     

    Untitled, 1995 by Helen Frankenthaler

    "That's July," I thought.  I see those colors in my garden and windowsill in the summer…

     

    July_flowers

     

    July Flowers

    Then, last month I had this book on Tantra on my table…

    Tantra_cover_post_1

     

    Tantra: The Indian Cult of Ecstacy by Philip Rawson

    I kept thinking it looked familiar…

    Darby_hope_post_1

     

    Darby: Hope by Moira McLaughlin, 2008

    Would that be weird to make a collage of my dog inspired by an Indian sex cult? 

    I did a little research and found out that Tantra is not a religion or a "way of thought."  In fact, according to Philip Rawson, "Tantra sees thought as one of the chief causes for people gradually becoming disillusioned and miserable in what they believe to be their world."

    Well, that spoke to me in my misery, still grieving Darby's death, and worried that the tears weren't stopping.  Also, the word tantra means "to weave" or "web" and that "all is one and interconnected."  Tantra is all about action and intrinsic goodness, not just sex.  So, I thought, it wouldn't be so creepy to make a Tantric Darby.

    I gathered some ideas…

    Darby_july_studio

     

    my studio

    I'm not going to lie. Tantirc Darby was creepy at first…

    Darby_july_fisrt_draft

     

    Tantric Darby

    I didn't know what to do with it.  So I shut the door to my studio and didn't look at it for about three weeks. Then, this Monday I woke up, went into the studio, and reworked it.  I did it all, except for a few green leaves. 

    Here it is again…

     

    Darby_july_calendar_post

     

     

    I think Darby looks a little bit like Frida Kahlo, too…

     

    Frida_kahlo

     

    Frida Kahlo

    Next up, August.  I'm thinking sunflowers…

    I started my Longhaired Dachshund Calendar in January 2011.  I am hoping to publish it by September 2012.  Prints of each month will be available too.    It is inspired by my muse, Darby, who passed away at age 17 on December 3, 2011.  See the Darby collages I have already finished here.

  • My Collage Process

     

    Longhaired_dachshund_collage_1

    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.

    Longhaired_dachshund_collage

    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.

     

    Longhaired_dachshund_collage_4

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

    Longhaired_dachshund_collage_3

    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.

    Longhaired_dachsund_collage_5

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

    Longhaired_dachshund_collage_6

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

    Longhaired_dachshund_collage_7

    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.

    Pinecone_photo

    I’m so glad to be back.