Dog Art Today

Kathryn Wronski: How I Met Your Mother Dog Artist Lives in Grass Valley

Dazed from "How I Met Your Mother" by Kathryn Wronski, print available here

Kathryn Wronski, the artist who painted the dog painting on the set of  "How I Met Your Mother"  lives in my town of Grass Valley, California (population 12,840).   I frequently get visitors here on Dog Art Today searching for her, so I wanted to get that information out of the way.  You can purchase a print of the dog with the green nose painting in Lily and Marshall's apartment here. 

The alternative title to this post is:

"How to be the Alpha Dog Artist in Your Town" 

Kathryn Wronski is as talented at marketing as she is at painting.  Her work is ubiquitous in Grass Valley and neighboring town, Nevada City (population 3,064), and her name is synonymous with dog art.  In fact, it is rare when I meet someone and tell them what I do that the person doesn't respond, "You must know Kathryn Wronski."  I did know her through her high-profile presence at Nevada County art openings and marketing seminars, but I decided I needed to get to know her better and find out how she has cultivated her dog-art eminence in a place with more artists per capita than any county in California.

We met for coffee and an interview at the dog-friendly Broad Street Bistro In Nevada City.

 

Celebration

Moira McLaughlin: How did you begin you career as an artist?

Kathryn Wronski: I actually got my degree in business and tried to make that work for some years.  But I wasn't happy in that world.   I think I wasn't suited for it because I grew up helping out in my family's flower business in Boston, making bouquets and learning about color and composition at a young age.  I missed being creative.   So, about 15 years ago after moving to California and raising two children, I started taking private painting lessons and really responded to it.

I knew I needed a solid foundation to pursue being an artist, so I began taking art classes and studied for four years our community college, Sierra College, which has some excellent courses by the way.

MM: Did you begin your studies painting dogs?

KW: No, but when I did, I felt very silly.  I was taking an oil painting class with highly-regarded local landscape artist, Phil Brown, and everyone was painting bowls of fruit or the river, and I walk in with this large portrait of my parents' dog, Maggie.  I felt like I wasn't being a serious artist.  Phil noticed my discomfort and took me aside and told me to only paint dogs for the rest of the semester.   He could see in my painting my passion for the subject, and I credit Phil for giving me permission to pursue what made me happy.

Blue, work in progress

Blue

MM: It seems that everyone in our county knows you or your work.  How have you established yourself as the premier dog artist in our area?

KW:  The most important thing is creating a connection.   People want to feel connected to the work and to the artist.  I've learned to pay attention to exhibiting my art in places that want me to flourish and that means I had to get over the idea that my work necessarily had to be in a prestigious gallery to sell.   For example, being in vets' offices has been great for me.  And one to the best outlets for my work has been The Gray Goose in Nevada City, a gift shop that allows dogs.

Also, I have a painting behind the front desk at the Emma Nevada House bed and breakfast, so out-of-towners see my work.  I'm very active at two galleries in Grass Valley, ASiF and Art Works.  This year I participated in the Soroptmist International of the Sierra Foothills' garden tour.  And recently I began showing my work down the hill in Sacramento at Gallery 2110.

Winnie hangs behind the front desk at the Emma Nevada House

MM: I am in awe at how prolific you are.   How often do you paint?

KW: Usually six hours a day. I like to paint at night when there are no interruptions.  Also, if there is a day when I don't feel like painting, I make myself go into my studio and just work for 20 minutes.   I usually find that gets the creative juices going and I stay.

MM: Do you work on more than one painting at a time?

KW:  Yes, I usually have ten going at once.

MM: In terms of the products you offer, what are your biggest sellers these days?

KW: Greeting cards at the galleries do well especially for collectors who are obsessed with a certain breed. Prints are harder to sell because people want to buy something that looks exactly like their own dog.  My magnets are not big money makers because I make them by hand and they are time consuming, but they are invaluable for commissions.  People don't usually decide to commission a piece of art on the spur of the moment.   They need to think about it.  So, if a magnet of my artwork is on their refrigerator, it's a constant reminder of who I am and what I do.

MM: In addition to people seeing your work all over town on their daily errands.

KW: Exactly.

MM: Do you know there are people who have been searching for you ever since "How I Met Your Mother" began airing?  I searched myself when I lived in Los Angeles and I saw your painting on the set of the TV show.   I wanted to know who painted the awesome dog painting, and I couldn't find you.  I am hoping this post on Dog Art Today changes that.

KW: It's so funny.   I've never even seen the show.

MM: How did your dog painting end up on a hit TV series?

KW: The set decorator saw my work and bought some paintings when she was visiting Truckee.

MM: At a gallery?

KW:  No, it was a dog grooming place.

MM:  I see what you mean.  Retail might be a dog artist's best friend.  Do you have any other pieces of advice for dog artists who are trying to establish or grow their business?

KW: As artists, it's hard not to take things personally.   So make "the personal" work for you.   Find places to exhibit your art that want you to flourish, and remember that the connections you make in your daily life have have a huge value for your business.

MM:  After so many years, are you still happy painting dogs?

KW:  Yes, but I love farm animals too.  A pig is a dog with a better nose.

Yo

Ringo

Freedom

Thank you, Kathryn. You are a dog art star.

Visit Kathryn Wronski's website.

P.S.  Today, September 29, 2012, Sacramento's PBS station KVIE is presenting one of Kathryn Wronski's dog paintings in their annual fundraising auction.  You can view it here, number 14A Babs and Bubbles.  And you can bid on it live on KVIE at 2:30 pm - 3:00 pm, PST.

Babs and Bubbles by Kathryn Wronski, 14A on the KVIE auction

Happy First Birthday Tyler Foote!

Tyler Foote* by Moira McLaughlin, 2012

Marcello Mastroianni via D'Marge

One of the responsibilities of adopting a dog is picking his birthday.  Several vets guesstimated my dog Tyler Foote* was born last September.  I consulted the book The Secret Language of Birthdays to see what day sounded the most like him. When I saw a photo of Marcello Mastroianni in a tuxedo, I suspected I had found the right date. When I read the description, I knew for sure:

September 28: Day of the Heartbreakers: romantic, tasteful, magnetic, destructive, complacent, excessive.

Those born on September 28 are highly capable of winning and keeping the affections of those whom they desire. This does not necessarily mean that they are physically more beautiful than others, but rather that they have a kind of seductive charm which can melt a cold heart and send one’s blood rushing. Sometimes they can be extremely exasperating and upsetting, but this again is part of their stimulative power.

September 28 people display a talent for inflicting pain which matches their ability to please.  Which they effect depends on the mood they are in, or sometimes on their occupation or primary interest.  In all fairness to them, their scorecard usually shows that they suffer at least as much as those with whom they are involved. In this respect they can appear disarmingly simple and human.

Those born on this day often have many lovers over the years, at least in their younger days, and are rarely fully satisfied by any of them.  Saying they are difficult to please is not exactly true, but rather that over the long haul they tend to bore easily or allow personal differences to get on their nerves.  It is fortunate that they are not by nature calculating people, at least in terms of grand schemes, otherwise they would be quite deadly.  Taken up with love, seduction and sex (usually in that order) for their own sake, their motives are rarely underhanded and although they could easily take advantage of others consciously or unconsciously, they rarely permit themselves to do so.

Destruction can be an important theme in the lives of September 28 people, running the gamut from romantic heartbreaking to intellectual brain-bashing to physical pounding.  This, again, does not imply sadistic intent at all.  It is simply that their role seems to be to break down the defenses of others, which they accomplish with a varied array of weapons. As irresistible forces they may meet their match when they encounter immovable objects.

But those born on this day are drawn toward challenges of all types and do not consider a struggle even worth their time unless enacted with a powerful adversary.  Lovers of beauty, as well as strength, they are helpless when confronted with highly sensual people, art or natural phenomena.  They might even be said to worship beauty, and in this respect must beware of elevating their love object or even themselves to a godlike position.

Although those born on this day do not sound as if they are at all suited to family life, they can make dependable family members.  Loyal to the extreme, they will rarely if ever forsake a friend in need.  Yet those who live with or are involved with them must understand their particular attractive powers as well as their weaknesses.  Often September 28 people do not have a lot of willpower; in the face of their passions, they are like a leaf blown in the wind. Nonetheless, when they sin it is usually with a full awareness of what they are doing.

Seriously, this is exactly my dog.  Find your dog's birthday at The Secret Language of Birthday's website.

Happy Birthday, Tyler Foote.*  Thank you for breaking (open) my heart and being my dog. 

* Tyler Foote is a road in Nevada County, California built in 1913 by Arthur DeWint Foote, Mary Hallock Foote's husband. It connectes North Columbia, California to a town called Cherokee that used to be called Tyler. 

The Grange Prize: Vote for Jo Longhurst

The Refusal (Part I)

UK photographer Jo Longhurst is one of only four photographers shortlisted for The Grange Prize, Canada's only art competition voted on solely by the public.  The winner receives $50,000.

Jo's nominated work includes The Refusal, her series on Whippet show dogs being bred to perfection, and Other Spaces, which explores the physical and emotional experiences of elite gymnasts.   There are interesting parallels between both portfolios which explore ideas of perfection, competition, and rules of societies.   And I think her inspired installations and unique framing add to the intensity of her vision.

It seems that when Jo began studying at the Royal College of Art in London in 2001, she was warned no one would take her seriously if she worked with cute dogs.

Wouldn't it be neat if we could all help Jo Longhust win $50,000?

Click here to vote. (Note: you do have to enter your email and confirm your vote in your inbox.   But it's not too much of a hassle.)

Suspension (1)

Vincent

A-Z (detail)

Monique

Space-Force Construction No.3 (India)

Watch Jo discussing her work and see her Whippet muses, Vincent and Terence:

View this video at The Grange Prize website

Cheers.

Staircase for Dogs

Staircase for Dogs photo by Hiroyuki Oki / Decon Photo Studio

Vietnamese house designed by 07Beach Architectural Design Offices who envisioned a comfortable, fun space that represents their clients' affection for their dogs.

This photo has been my most most re-pinned pin since I joined Pinterest.

Via ArchDaily, where you can see more.

Six Dogs by Russ Noto

Dog No. 1

Russ Noto is a Scranton-born artist who got his MFA at Savannah College of Art and Design.   Fellow artist Leigh Jackson of Noisy Dog Studio sent me his link.  She is obsessed with his paintings. So am I.

Dog No. 2

Dog No. 3

Dog No. 4

Dog No. 5

Dog No. 6

Russ Noto's website.