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Category Archives: Pets

Sleep Doggy Dog

29-Aug-07

You’ve heard of Snoop Doggy Dog I suppose, the rapper?

Well this is Sleep Doggy Dog. My doggy dog Rosie. Also known as Rosebud, Little Dog, and Bark-a-Lounger.

It occurred to me the other day that in the twelve years Rosie has graced us with her presence, I have sketched her but twice.

That is about to change because I now realize I’ve had a great little subject following me around all these years.

I learn something every time I sketch. Sometimes oddities are revealed to me. This sketch of Rosie revealed an oddity.

You see, at twelve years, Rosie is a really heavy sleeper. The big Corgi ears still work but not as well as a few years ago. And the brain is still playful and sharp but not nearly as prone to keeping watch all the live long day.

As an example, just a few days ago I walked up to her as she slept in this her favorite position. I called her name quietly. Not a stir. I touched her head. Not a stir.
It was not until I rubbed the top of her thick furry neck with a firm hand that she awoke.
Sleep Doggy Dog indeed.

Which brings me to the oddity.

I carefully and quietly sat down on the floor in front of her last night around two in the morning as she slept. I was five feet from her, sketchbook and pen in hand. As usual she was completely zonked out. Not a stir. Not a flicker of a change that indicated I had disturbed her sleep in any way whatsoever.

I sat still for ten or fifteen seconds. Still sound asleep. Deeply asleep. Not a flinch, not a sigh, nothing.

I began sketching her loose and quick and quiet. Scritch, scritch, scratch - the pen making barely audible noises on the grainy watercolor paper.

I got the angle pretty good on the nose and snout then started concentrating on the position of her eyes and…danged if she didn’t wake up!

I froze. How odd! It takes a hard rub on the neck any other time to roust her. I was certain she would just lay there and snooze.

She slowly cracked open her eyes, rolled them up at me for a second or two, then turned and raised her head, and looked at me.

It was a look that said, “If I didn’t know you, I’d bark at you. What the hell are you doin’?”

I am certain it was not the pen on paper noises that woke her. She was awakened from the deepest of sleep by the electricity of me watching her.

I realized at that moment how odd it is that animals, including us, are so sensitive to being watched. Even in a deep, deep sleep our brains tip us off that somebody or something is really checking us out.

It brings to mind the punch line from a joke about the hot and cold “awareness” of a thermos bottle…”How do it know?”

Rosie by the way did not resume her sleep. I continued to sketch her pose from the memory of thirty seconds past. As I did so, she got up, streeeeeetched, toddled the five feet over to me, and gave me three or four licks on the face.

Good doggy dog.

Also filed in Animals, Quick Sketches, Sketching and Drawing, Stories, The Book of Rosie | | Comments (6) »

The Nose

02-May-07

I, the vacation chauffeur, sat alone in the parking lot. My client was inside the drug store, buying toiletries.

My window was open. I was enjoying the breeze, eyes closed, head back upon the headrest, smelling the sweet, salt air of the Gulf shore and beaches. Listlessly daydreaming of scantily cla…uhhh…scratch that part…the “client” might read this.

The SUV slung in along side me, tires grinding the pavement, and came to a quick stop. Almost as fast, the driver door opened and closed. A semi-bald head, barely in view over the hood of the huge chariot, bolted into the store. (Obviously in urgent need of toiletries.)

There was an eerie silence. A quiet that only occurs when one is watching intently…or being watched. The only noise was the tic, tic, tic-tic of the catalytic converter as it cooled itself at rest from the heat of the 400hp engine.

I rolled my head left and studied the looming, blue behemoth. The huge, spotless SUV gleamed in the evening sun. It eclipsed my now tiny Budget-Rent-a-Car mid-size Pontiac. I felt inferior. I felt like poverty itself.

All the windows were black, impenetrable by the eye, and closed…except one which was partially open.

It was a vehicle of complete privacy and security. A family machine. One could see out, but not in. One could inflict great insult upon others from within its great, steel walls without fear. I felt as though I was being watched…mimicked…laughed at.

I imagined there were children in there, in the back, whispering, making fun of me.
I imagined there was a wife in there, in the front, buffing her French nails and snubbing her nose at me, three carat diamond swaying back and fourth as she buff, buff, buffed.
I imagined there was a teenager in there, on the far side, flipping me the bird while bragging about it to his friend on his hi-tech cell phone.
My self-conscious stress building rapidly, I wished I had a straw and spit wads so I could attack those elitist snobs!

Then, it appeared.

The nose.

sniff, sniff…whimper, sniff.

And I had to sketch it.

Also filed in Animals, Machines, Passing Time, Stories, Travel Sketches | | Comments (8) »

Carla

11-Apr-07

Stuff of real life ahead…just a little warning.

I have a loyal reader named Brian who has a blog called BeanQuest. I found BeanQuest by chance one day and became attached to Brian’s writings. His wife, Jennifer has a blog called Jennifer’s Nest as well. They both share stories about family and struggles…stuff we all deal with.

Well, Brian and Jennifer’s dog, Carla, passed away not too long ago. Trust me if you don’t own a dog, that’s a struggle of high significance.

Being a dog lover, I really…well, I know it sounds odd for a guy…I really hurt when I hear about somebody’s dog passing away. We have a dog that is very dear to us and I know how it is when one passes. It’s hard. Quite surprisingly hard.

My father-in-law makes the comment frequently that “if ya’ll ever tell Rosie she’s a dog, she’s gonna be real disappointed.” And so it goes for those of us who love our canine friends like family.

When I read about Carla’s passing, I decided I wanted to do something for Carla and for Brian and Jennifer.

Carla’s in a good place now. But we on this side sometimes take it hard…and wonder. So I sketched up a postcard of Carla from a photo at BeanQuest and wrote a little message on the back to “Mom and Dad”. It’s in the mail.

That’s what I like most about art…it can communicate in unique ways.

Hopefully, it’ll make things a little better for them. I think Carla would like them to know she’s OK.

Brian and Jennifer are getting a new pup soon and Jennifer’s hoping Carla will send them the “right one“. I think she will. Nobody in heaven would know better than Carla which pup would be best for them. I think she’ll put in her two barks worth to get her point across.

And yes, I do believe good dogs go to heaven. Not much reason in us goin’ if they don’t.

Also filed in Animals, Postcard Art, Real People, Sketching and Drawing, Stories | | Comments (15) »

Moleskine Watercolor Notebook, Test III

19-May-06

This is a sketch of my wife alongside the ruler of our home.

Now I’m starting to get the hang of the Moleskine Watercolor Notebook paper. It simply soaks the water in quickly, and as a result, the pigment is “stuck” on the surface almost immediately. Heavy washes of mixed colors sometimes separate a bit.

Knowing that now, I’ve layered lighter washes so the grainy effect is eliminated. All that’s present now is the grain of the paper and its contribution to the style of the image/artist’s touch. That’s a desirable attribute for a watercolor paper. So three cheers for the Moleskine Watercolor Notebook! Once one becomes used to its characteristics, its great.

As for buckling, the paper does “bend” as it becomes saturated, but it never really “buckles” or “puckers” like a thin bond paper would. And once it’s dry, it pretty well flattens out; certainly flat enough for framing as long as there is sufficient backing to press against the painting.

Speaking of framing, each leaf is perforated so you can remove a sketch easily for framing etc.

As for bleed through….there isn’t any. Test one and test two were done on each side of the same leaf. I did let number one dry first though.

So, I think this is a great addition to the Moleskine line. Now if they would just produce them in a cahiers version. They would be ideal for chronicling a vacation or specific subjects, etc. as individual little volumes. All the cahiers sizes would make great little solutions for that type of use.

Sometimes a sketchbook with lots of pages becomes a scattering of subjects with no particular identity, other than the year it was produced perhaps. Thinner sketchbooks make it easy to keep similar subjects and sketches under the same cover and finish each volume fairly quickly. Then, If you want to have a look at your Zion National Park sketches, you’ve got a little volume with only those in it. Plus, one can complete a thin sketchbook faster. For me at least, completing a sketchbook is a good feeling. So the thinner the sketchbook, the more good feelings I get.

Who knows if they’ll ever do that though (make watercolor cahiers)? So for now, seize the day and get yourself a Moleskine Watercolor Notebook. They’re cool!

Also filed in New Art Supplies, Quick Sketches, Real People, Sketching and Drawing | | Comments (4) »

Tricky Nikki

16-Mar-06

I’ve been helping out with sketches over a neat site called Sketch-it for the last few days.

It’s a blog where people can go to request sketches for a buck.

They’re supposed to be one minute sketches but my skills are lacking for that kind of speed.

I help out anyway because I need the practice and it helps greatly to have someone giving me assignments. Plus, it’s great fun for me and for the people requesting sketches.

This is Nikki the Kitty. She belongs to Laura. I spent 30 minutes on this one.

Go have a look at all the neat requests at Sketch-it.

Here’s the link:

http://sketch-it.blogspot.com/

Also filed in Sketch-it Blog Posts | | Comments (0) »

Rosie: AKA “Bark-a-Lounger”

16-Feb-06

This is Rosie, our Welsh Corgi.

After eleven years, she owns the household.

She’s a great watch dog.

She has been known to bark for several minutes at suspicious noises, all the while lying on her side, never stirring or even raising her head from her original sleeping position.

When she is satisfied she has scared the hell out of whatever it was she heard, she stops barking and returns to sleep.

We call the technique
“Bark-A-Lounging”

Rosie is very smart. Smarter than we (her owners) are in many ways.

She can catch a tennis ball in her mouth. We can’t do that.
She can jump through a wire hoop not much bigger than her. We can’t do that.
She can roll over on command. We can do that…but we won’t.
She can shake hands with either front paw. We can do that but it’s awkward.
She can dance on her two hind legs. My wife can do that.
Upon entering the great outdoors, in a matter of seconds, she can find nasty things in the grass and clean them up for us by rolling in them. We haven’t tried that, and probably won’t.