Dog Art Today

GVCS Spring Fling Dog Art Donation

 

 

Dog Art Today gift basket for Grass Valley Charter School

Brenda Lynch, the winemaker at Mutt Lynch Winery, has graciously donated a signed bottle of "Rusty" Muttitage to anchor the gift basket I am donating to the Grass Valley Charter School Spring Fling Fundraiser.   This dog-art-wine-lovers basket includes:

• "Rusty" an exclusive blend of 2008 Sonoma County reds: 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Petit Verdot and 8% Petite Sirah aged for 18 months in French oak barrels.


• Black Lab + Orchid Greeting Cards, 10 pack featuring a handmade collage by me, Moira McLaughlin.


• Greyhound Goddess blank journal with another one of my collages.


• Laika the Russian Astronaut Dog Black Women's T-shirt, 100% cotton, size large, with retro-Modern vintage matchbox label Russian graphics. 

Estimated value: $100.

If you would like me bid on this basket by proxy, please email me by May 3, 2011.

The event is May 7, 2011 at the Grass Valley Holiday Inn from 5:00 - 10:00 pm.  Tickets are $20 and all are welcome.  Visit the Spring Fling Facebook page for more inforamtion. 

This morning I did this photo shoot on my front porch.  I would like to thank my two stylists for helping me get the shot...

 

P.S.  Thank you , Ann Joly, for your shipping stick-to-itiveness.

P.P.S.  The deadline for entering this year's Mutt Lynch Winery - Dog Art Today Wine Label Contest is May 13, 2011 at midnight PST.  Entry details are here.

 

Your Royal Wedding Guest Name?

 

Start with either Lord or Lady.  Your first name is one of your grandparents' names.  Your surname is the name of your first pet, hyphenated with the name of the street you grew up on.

So, technically, I am Lady Roseadele Kitty-Norwood.

But in honor of Dog Art Today, please use the name of your first dog and the street where he or she first came to live with you.   Therefore I am...

Lady Roseadele Darby-Briar.

What's yours?

I hope the wedding is as carefree as this game.  I think our national media has gone insane.

Photo by Tim Walker, styled by Rhea Thierstein via Design*Sponge.  Hat tip to Maureen Intihar Gaines who shared the game on facebook.

My Dogs by Eduardo Recife

 

My Dogs by Eduardo Recife

There is an excellent profile of Brazilian collage artist and illustrator Eduardo Recife at Illustration Mundo. He shares his studio and his process and how his art is evolving.  I like this quote:

I’ve been working a lot outside the computer, with paint, scissors, glue and all sorts of mediums and pigments. Its impressive how the handmade works influence the digital work and the overall process of making decisions. There’s no CTRL+Z in real life.

I highly recommend the whole article.  Beautiful art and insight from a working artist.

Via Fitacola.  To see more of Eduardo Recife's work visit his website Misprinted Type 4.o.

Darby Calendar: March Collage is Finished

 

 

Darby Calendar: March by Moira McLaughlin

I wanted March to be as explosive as spring in the Sierra Foothills.  Thank you Sharon Montrose for letting me use your baby deer photograph.  Visit Sharon's Animal Print Shop to see her menagerie of animal photographs.   Prints of my collage will be available soon.   Calendar will be for sale this fall.

See the rest of my 2012 Longhaired Dachshund Darby Calendar here.

Earth Day: Be Radical. Stay Home.

 

 

Tuffin by Jane Oriel

 

Sometimes green marketing makes me hostile.  The worst offender is the brand If You Care.  The combination of condescension and judgment in the name of this line of biodegradable baggies and plastic wrap infuriates me.  I care, OK?!  I am in this aisle looking for biodegradable poop bags.  Don't make me feel bad that sometimes I use plastic because plastic is free and I care about my budget too.

That's why I think it is fascinating that a 2010 study showed that people are more likely to cheat and steal after buying green products as compared to buying conventional products.   The phenomenon is called compensatory ethics, the finding that "virtuous acts can license subsequent asocial and unethical behaviors."  So, instead of posting about how you can green your dog's life and risk a crime spree, I am going to pass along my favorite quote about living sustainably from our local bioregional poet and naturalist, Gary Snyder, "The most radical thing you can do is stay home."  It's so simple, so big, and so doable.  And it reminded me of these dog paintings that artist Jane Oriel recently shared on her facebook page entitle "No Place Like Home."

I am pro Earth and pro Earth Day.  I just think it's important to be conscious of unintended consequences of marketing guilt and shame.  That green stuff is still stuff that someone is trying to sell you that you might not need.

A few weeks ago my sister stopped by our local co-op and asked if they carried If You Care biodegradable poop bags.  The salesgirl shook her head apologetically and said, "We did, but the biodegradable package they shipped in fell apart and we had to give them away."  What a waste.

 

 

Lacey by Jane Oriel

 

Maddie by Jane Oriel

 

Lucy by Jane Oriel

Althea by Jane Oriel

P.S. Did you know the word radical comes from the Latin word for roots?  I hope you have a radical Earth Day and you get to spend some time at home with your pup this weekend.

P. P. S. This post was inspired by Rebecca Solnit's 2008 Orion Magazine article "The Most Radical Thing You Can Do."