dog blog

New Commissions

2009-12-29T16:46:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Erin Kelly, who commissioned a 24" x 26" of her Boston Terrier and cat, Lola & Mange:

(detail)

(detail)

as well as a 20" x 16" painting of her brother's dog, Duke

(detail)

and another 20" x 16" of her sister's dogs, Gertie & Maude

(detail)

and thanks again to Jason Zucco for hiring me to paint his Violet as a Christmas gift for his wife, Eliza:

(this one's meant to be hung next to an earlier 24" x 36" commission of Jason & Eliza's other dogs, Kona & Jasper

New Frenchie Painting and print

2009-10-22T13:35:00.000-07:00

I just finished a new 14" x 11" acrylic on canvas painting of a French Bulldog rolling in autumn leaves. The first 10 people who donate $100 to French Bulldog Rescue will each receive one of the first 10 signed and numbered art prints. The original painting is also for sale on my Etsy shop

New Commission

2009-09-27T10:45:00.000-07:00

of a client's wife who just earned her degree in Dentistry, with their Boston Terrier, and French Bulldog

Recent Paintings

2009-09-18T09:36:00.001-07:00

I donated this new 11" x 14" acrylic on canvas painting to the organizers of Puppymill Awareness Day for a fundraiser auction. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do not buy puppies from pet stores. The puppymill industry is horrendous, and there are thousands of good dogs in shelters available for adoption. Please support Puppymill Awareness Day, happening September 19th in PA.

This new 14" x 11" acrylic on canvas painting was donated as a fundraiser item for a Luv-A-Chin Rescue raffle drawing in mid-October.

New Fawn Pug Art Print

2009-08-20T22:10:00.000-07:00

now for sale on my Etsy shop

NEW CafePress Store!

2009-08-12T11:53:00.000-07:00

I just opened a store on CafePress, with a new Black Pug design:

and a new design of Frankensteiny available on a ton of different t-shirts/ hoodies/ and more, for men, women, kids, and dogs:

Many more designs to come in the future.....

Vinny and Frank

2009-08-03T11:11:00.000-07:00

My awesome neighbors Danielle and Tim have 2 funny Italian greyhounds named Vinny and Frank. Last year I whipped up fun 8" x 10"s of the boys chasing tennis balls past the ancient, weird chain link fence bordering our backyard.

Vinny:

and Frank (he folds his ears up into weird rose-like shapes):

I included the boys in the portrait I gave Tim and Danielle for their wedding last month, too:

Wally

2009-08-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

I just found 3 images on the computer from the mid-late 90s----my family's 2nd dog was a horribly abused little mutt from a crackhouse that my parents adopted. He had awful eye and ear infections from the broken piece of chain link fence stuck in his face when he arrived at the animal shelter. I re-named him Wally, and my sister and I brought him home on the long train ride to Haverhill with him snuggled up in my winter coat. At the time he was malnourished and had been shaved....he reminded me of the sad Christmas tree Charle Brown picked, but Wally grew his hair back, gained weight, and had a good life with my parents and sister.

I gave 5" x 7" acrylic paintings of him as Christmas gifts to my family one year. He loved playing with my dad in the living room:

He made horrible monster faces at my sister when she'd pretend to try to steal his toy:

and he loved sitting with my mom while she read:

Wally was a good little guy (though Cesar Milan would've pulled his hair out at the way Wally ruled the house),but he lived a short life due to chronic health problems, unfortunately. Rest in peace, little Wally.

photo in the backyard by Mary Reusch:

NEW "Summer" Season Series Fundraiser for French Bulldog Rescue

2009-07-21T11:07:00.000-07:00

I just finished a new 14" x 11" acrylic painting of a Frenchie rolling in flowers, and am starting another "Seasons" series fundraiser with French Bulldog Rescue. The first 10 generous people who donate $100 or more to FBRN will each receive one of the the first 10 signed and numbered "Summer" prints from me. There'll be 3 more sets of 10 signed and numbered seasonal prints being listed through Spring 2010. Keep an eye on French Bulldog Rescue for the start of the fundraiser! Every little bit helps these needy dogs!

Pug doodles

2009-04-08T21:30:00.000-07:00

drawn on a recent shakey subway ride:

Maggie, Jim, & Charlie

2009-03-14T19:39:00.000-07:00

My old MassArt friend Jef Taylor commissioned a surprise birthday painting for his wife Alexis of their 2 pitbulls, Maggie & Charlie, with Jim, their Boston Terrier. Alexis's favorite color is Orange, and these dogs love swimming in the summer, so I painted them all sharing a stick in the water. Thanks again, Jef!

Dog Doodles

2009-02-26T08:01:00.000-08:00

I drew my little monkeys on the train ride to MassArt the other night, and feel like I'm finally able to draw Mr. Giles from memory and have it really look like him. Frank and Giles have similar markings, but really different eyes and expressions and personalities. Mr. Giles had a tough month with emergency surgery and a couple weeks of convalescence, right around his birthday, too...the vet gave us a whole test tube of large, calcium-based stones he removed from Giles' bladder. But this 9-year-old Hurricane Katrina refugee dog is one tough cookie. The staples are out and he's running around and acting like his crazy old self again.
Last year Devilicia and I went to see a friend give a poetry reading, and he was really good. Sitting there silently listening to some of the other readers was excruciatingly painful though. Instead of jumping up and screaming and running out of the claustrophobic room, I tried to tune everything out and just drew tiny pictures on a receipt Devilicia slipped me:

Mr. Giles's favorite outdoor activity is spinning in endless circles on his heiny, staring at the sky, before flopping over on his side and rolling in the dirt til he's totally brown and gray:

I did the above picture in my sketchbook as a demo for my Black & White Illustration class. We were talking about making pictures with the eyedropper tool, white gouache, and blotting with cheap paper towels. I'd been thinking about the Autumn day Devilicia shot photos of me with Frankensteiny and Mr. Giles back in Rhode Island:

Autumn 2008 was too short and Winter 2008-2009 has already gone on way too long.

Ava

2009-02-24T07:38:00.001-08:00

I forgot to post this 8" x 10" commission I painted of Garrett Platanitis's Frenchie, Ava, a little while ago. Here are 2 earlier sketches with Photoshop grays added:

Thanks, Garrett!

Junebug Memorial Portrait

2009-02-15T09:55:00.000-08:00

I just finished a memorial portrait for my friend Adriane, who lost her adopted Pug, Junebug, in August 2008 after a vet misdiagnosed her health problems. Adriane and Junebug only got to share 2 months together. You can learn more about Junebug here. Rest in peace, Junebug.

New Bull Terrier 14" x 11" acrylic

2009-01-29T08:57:00.000-08:00

I painted this little guy as a thank you gift for my friends Irena and John Roman, both amazing illustrators and colleagues at Massachusetts College of Art & Design. They gave me a crazy devil mask and told me someday they'd like to have an orange and white Bull Terrier. I painted him on the sidewalk in front of their studio to keep them company until the real dog arrives.

eBay Print Auction for FBRN

2008-12-07T20:49:00.001-08:00

I'm donating 10 signed and personalized Frenchie Sleigh prints on eBay here, with French Bulldog Rescue Network getting the proceeds. My sleigh image has been reproduced on all kinds of merch on the FBRN cafepress store, too!

Rocco

2008-12-06T06:06:00.000-08:00

New 24" x 36" acrylic on canvas commissioned by Emmie Vazquez of her awesome Frenchie, Rocco, zooming around on his magic carpet.
Detail:

sketch for a different pose, ink with Photoshop color:

Thanks again, Emmie!

Bruce and Pinot

2008-09-27T20:56:00.000-07:00

Just finished this new double portrait of Kara Fullmer's Boston Terrier, Bruce (Wayne), and French Bulldog, Pinot, on their red comforter. Thanks again for the fun commission, Kara!

Original Art eBay Auction to Help Frenchies

2008-09-27T05:51:00.001-07:00

I posted 2 original paintings on eBay here, and donated 100% of the winning bids to the great people at French Bulldog Rescue Network to help out some very needy dogs. Please visit their site and donate if you can. Thanks a million to Carla Davis and Kate Ghiselin for their winning bids!

Custom Recreations

2008-09-27T05:43:00.000-07:00

French Bulldog Rescue Network donor Christopher Galleher hired me to recreate my old Boston Phoenix newspaper "Summer Destinations" cover:

featuring his wife Marla and their Boston terrier Tulie as a 24" x 36" canvas painting for Marla's birthday:

and French Bulldog Rescue Network donor Shana McCoy hired me to recreate my old "Sof Serv For 2" painting:

showing her with her departed pug Shu Li:

Thanks for these fun commissions, Chris and Shana

JAKE

2008-02-17T19:15:00.002-08:00

Tonight I gave my Mom this new 20" x 16" painting of my family's newly-adopted puppy, Jake, rolling on their living room rug. He's a real character. Happy Birthday, Mom!

Sachi and Manju portrait

2007-12-26T08:20:00.000-08:00

Harmonix boss and longtime buyer Alex Rigopulos hired me to paint his wife Sachi and their pug Manju as a Christmas present, "with their love melting the snow around them". Thanks, Alex!

Boston Terrier and French Bulldog Holiday Card Box Sets

2007-12-04T08:19:00.001-08:00

are now available from Ghastly Greetings here

Send your family and friends some bug-eyed holiday cheer this year!

recent portraits

2007-11-21T12:37:00.000-08:00

My friend Sheila's little buddy Coach has one eye, and he pulls himself around in a little cart when his back legs get tired. 16" x 20" on canvas, start to finish took 4 hours.

Flossie here is another 16" x 20" acrylic on canvas. She lives with Tom of Standard Design and Sarah in Northampton, MA, and is one good dog.

Happy Halloween!!

2007-10-30T17:35:00.001-07:00