When dog artist and DAT reader Nancy Schutt sent me this link to Domenica More Gordon's needle felted dogs now on view at The Dog Show at The Workshop in Edinburgh, I knew (although no mention is made of it) that one of the pups looked very familiar...
Top image is available as a greeting card here. See more of Domenica More Gordon's work here. For more great dog art, visit Nancy Schutt's Good Dog Art too.
Just when I think I have seen it all, someone creates a new way to combine dogs and art...
I don't think Jen Bekman has time for a real dog right now as she works tirelessly to bring affordable art to everyone via the internet through her brilliant 20 x 200 project. But this little guy, Maynard the Bulldog, purchased at Woolworth's in 1989, brings great charm to her cozy, eclectic apartment. If you're feeling that Autumn nesting instinct or you are still putting off actually hanging your artwork, stop by Design*Sponge to see Jen's place. Trust me, you will be inspired.
Affection by William Zorach
William Zorach (1887-1968) conceived this 15" bronze statue with a golden-brown patina in 1933. I love how it appears both ancient and modern. It is lot 33 at Christie's American Paintings Sale on September 29, 2009. Estimated price: $10,000 -$15,000. Bid here.
Raspera is a Japanese subscription website that features photo-based templates for 3D paper animals. There is a wide array of fun creatures. I picked out my favorite dogs.
Last Sunday at Horsetail Lake in Cook County, IL, renowned sculptor Vasily Fedorouk and his wife, Dilbara Arapova, were playing ball with their dog, Era. The 2 1/2 -year-old German hunting terrier chased the ball into the lake and became entangled in the weeds. Fedorouk, 59, jumped into the
lake and rescued him, but became entangled himself. His wife and a bystander, both of whom cannot swim, called the police. They arrived 8 minutes later, but it was too late. Fedorouk had drowned in 6 to 8 feet of water.
I know this is a tragic story. But, it is also one of tremendous heroism. And when I read that his wife said, "He would want to be remembered for his art. He [once] told me that after he dies, his art will still live on forever." I thought it would be fitting to share his work with other dog and art lovers. I think his sculptures are awesome -- in the fullest sense of the word. I am in awe.
To his family, I am so sorry for your loss. There are no words to help you grieve, but know that his works and his selflessness are an inspiration to me as an artist and pet companion.
View more of Vasily Fedorouk's work at his website.
Read full Chicago Tribune article by Joseph Ruzich.
Hat tip to Michèle of Brussels, writer of the wonderful Eurodog blog, who keeps me informed of the latest European dog art news. When she sent me this post about this magnificent Greyhound bronze , I thought it was a contemporary piece. In fact, this lifesize dog sculpture was created in the mid-17th century by Artus Qhellinus of Antwerp.
Note the dog's detailed collar. On it, is the Roose family coat of arms, so it is thought that this is a dog portrait of the family's pet. Once again we see there is nothing new in our obsession with our dogs and our desire to memorialize them through art.
This is one of five sculptures recently acquired by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Visit their website for more information.
I have mixed feelings about Australian artist Emily Valentine's feathered dogs. I think they are absolutely exquisite but when I read that she makes them by trapping and killing the registered pest, the Indian Mynah bird (after her supply of roadkill and dead pets ran out), I felt uneasy. But it seems that is the point.
Valentine wants her art to "stimulate the viewer with the uncomfortable nature of the feather, to question our callousness treatment of animals and birds, and ask how we sub-consciously classify animals – pet or pest, valued or worthless, beautiful or plain and why."
See more of Valentine's dogs on her website, and let me know what you think about beautiful dog art made with dead birds. For me, the word would be conflicted.
Hat tip to Tara Aveilhe. Visit her blog, Nothing Elegant which is anything but. It's one of my favorites.
Berkeley Breathed: Flawed Dogs: The Year End Leftovers at the Piddleton "Last Chance" Dog Pound
Donna Long: The Best Dog in the World: Vintage Portraits of Children and Their Dogs
Kim Levin: PhoDOGraphy: How to Get Great Pictures of Your Dog
Peter Bowron: Best in Show: The Dog in Art from the Renaissance to Today
Stephen Huneck: The Dog Chapel: Welcome All Creeds, All Breeds. No Dogmas Allowed
Valerie Shaff: If Only You Knew How Much I Smell You: True Portraits of Dogs
William Secord: Dog Painting: A Social History of the Dog in Art
