Dog Art Today

Longhaired Dachshund Calendar: July

 

 

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...

 

original sketch

 

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...

 

 

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...

 

Untitled, 1995 by Helen Frankenthaler

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

 

 

July Flowers

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

 

Tantra: The Indian Cult of Ecstacy by Philip Rawson

I kept thinking it looked familiar...

 

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...

 

my studio

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

 

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...

 

 

 

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

 

 

Frida Kahlo

Next up, August.  I'm thinking sunflowers...

I started my Longhaired Dachshund Calendar in January 2010.  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.

Longhaired Dachshund Calendar: June

 

I drew this sketch last January when I decided to make the Darby calendar.  I started working on it two months ago, combining it with this sketch...

 

 

I've been looking a lot at this print...

 

New Year's Eve Foxfires at the Changing Tree, Oji by Utagawa Hiroshige, 1857

And this one...

 

Fireworks Over Ryogoku Bridge by Utagawa Hiroshige, 1856

I'm incorporating the stars from the above print.  And today dog artist and author Kim Niles of KiniArt sent me this quote:

"Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in the heavens, where the love of our lost ones shines down to let us know they are with us." --  author unknown.

I still start my day with tears.  I still appreciate hearing that it will get better, but I miss him so much.  It's hard to believe.

Longhaired Dachshund Calendar: May

 

 

Dreaming of Sky Pines by Moira McLaughin

The above artwork is the finished May page for my Longhaired Dachshund calendar.  It was inspired by a walk I took with Darby in my neighborhood down a rural, farm-filled street called Sky Pines.  The first idea was based on a blue heron that flew right over us, low, fast, prehistoric, and awe-inspiring.  This was the initial sketch...

 

This was the first pass...

Then this...

Then, I got a lot of great feedback from readers.  I really do appreciate your suggestions.   For this piece, my favorite comment came from Suza Johnston in London who owns an erudite Dachshund named Archie.  She said, " Why not a flying, soaring, exultant feel… as in a Chagall – with Darby’s ears flapping back and soaring with the heron?"

I loved that idea.  So I played around with painting Darby soaring.  Here are some attempts...

I thought soaring Darbies looked like too blob-like, and I wasn't happy with the colors.   So I made these images out of a magazine ad...

I liked the blue heron but the blue Darby got lost against the blue background of the sky.  So I added some green.  This would give the heron a sense of motion and it would capture the glowing psychedelic feeling of a spring day in Grass Valley...

 

But the blue Darby wasn't a strong enough focal point.   It was too inconsistent with the photos of the sheep.  So I built a Darby composite out of several photographs of him.  His ears aren't flapping in the wind, but I was happy with the shape and color and the way he looks neslted in for the wild ride...

Overall, I'm pleased with the final version of May.  Once again, here it is...

 

But I couldn't resist playing around with the soaring Darby.  And this is the image I made that hangs on my wall (I'm not crazy about the frame, but it's all I had)...

Thoughts?