Dog Art Today

Call to Artists

Submit your art to the 30th Annual Sierra Festival of the Arts, a juried celebration of fine art in historic downtown Grass Valley, California.

Application Deadline: April 2, 2013

Event: Sunday, May 26, 2013, 10 am - 5 pm

CLICK HERE for application.

P.S. This is not a dog art show. But I know many of you sometimes create work sans dogs.

P.P.S. I am one of the jury members. So I wouldn't mind dogs.

Besotted Blog Feature

Besotted Blog Collage by Miss Tristan B.

This week, I was honored to be featured on Miss Tristan B.'s exquisite Besotted blog as part of her Pinterest Curator series. Tristan is the perfectionist force of nature behind the Besotted Brand LLC shop, purveyors of fine design, including stamps, inks, prints, parcels, and labels. Her shop and her blog are two of the most beautiful spots on the web.  And, she is an evocative writer.  So I was delighted when she captured in words what I had been visually cultivating over on Pinterest (yes, I've been moonlighting).

Here's her take:

The one thing I loved most about the about the boards is she allowed her passion for Canines to be prevalent throughout her boards in a very interesting and sophisticated manner. I dare say, one of the best collections of dog imagery on the interwebs. Some of the boards that knocked my socks off were – Dogs:Musicians + Muses, Dogs: Artists + Muses, Dogs: Writers + Muses. You don’t need to be a dog (or animal) lover to appreciate these boards (but if you are get ready to swoon). It’s a fine collection of vintage images of dogs and their famous human best friends such as Picasso, Coco Chanel, Charles Dickens and the list goes on. It’s a nostalgic visual treat. Moira is a pretty prolific pinner so be prepared to lose yourself in some rustic, bohemian, vintage goodness.  (Read the full story.)

Thank you, Miss Tristan B.

For more "rustic, bohemian, vintage goodness" follow me on Pinterest.

Knit Your Own Dog Book Giveaway

Border Terrier

Dog artist and creative knitter Sally Muir sent me a note about the recent publication of her new book (with co-author Joanna Osborne), Knit Your Own Dog: The Second Litter, and asked if I'd like to share it.

Absolutely, I told her. The 2010 feature I wrote about Sally and Joanna's first book, Knit Your Own Dog, is one the the most popular posts I've ever run on Dog Art Today. Since you loved it so much, I asked Sally's publisher, Black Dog & Leventhal, if they would sponsor a book giveaway.  They graciously agreed.

To win a copy of Knit Your Own Dog: The Second Litter leave note in the comments section below before midnight PST on Tuesday, Febrary 26, 2013.   The winner will be selected randomly and be announced on Wednesday, February 27, 2013.  This contest is only open to U.S. readers.

Purchase a copy of Knit Your Own Dog: The Second Litter here.

Here are some of my picks of the litter.

Airedale

Staffordshire Terrier

The Greyhound

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Yorkshire Terrier

Wirehaired Dachshund

Photographs by Holly Jolliffe.

Lyndon B. Johnson Howls With Yuki

Lyndon B. Johnson Howls with Yuki While his Grandson Patrick Lyndon Nugent Looks On, AP Photo/Yoichi Okamoto, Jan. 6, 1968

Today is President's Day in the U.S. Enjoy your day off, or have a good howl if you have to work.

Via Retro Campaigns.

Free Flowers

Bucket of Narcissus by Moira McLaughlin

Valentine's Day is not just about roses in the Sierra Foothills. I decided to make some bouquets of narcissus, madrone, and a spiky green plant I don't know the name of, and set out a flower stand in front of my house. My dog, Tyler Foote,* helped by chewing his bone. We had a beautiful day. 

My Work Station

Valentine's Day in the Sierra Foothills

Free Flowers with Tyler Foote*

Flower Stand

I gave my neighbor a bouquet.   In return, she dropped off a garbage can of horse manure.  Smelly "gold" for my compost pile.

Good Trade: Flowers for Horse Manure

I have big plans for my garden this year.  And hopefully I'll have lots to share.

Garden Plan with Tyler Foote

As of this morning, there was still one bouquet left.  If you're in the neighborhood, come by.  It's yours.

Yours

Maybe no one wants to take the last one...

* Tyler Foote is a road in Nevada County, California built in 1913 by Arthur DeWint Foote, the husband of  artist and writer Mary Hallock Foote's. Tyler Foote Road  connectes North Columbia, California to a town called Cherokee that used to be called Tyler.   I'm not sure why the town was called Tyler, but I plan to find out.