PenPets

The Smith Pack

2012-02-13T11:16:00.000-08:00

I'm preparing for a Smith Family Reunion in California this week, a small one with my mother, father, three brothers, two sisters-in-law, and two dogs. Having taken a two-day Book Arts workshop with Rebecca Goodale at Haystack Mountain School of Craft last month, I decided to practice my new skills. Here are four accordian books I've made of the Smith family dogs that have graced our lives over the last 50 plus years.

"The Smith Pack"

Four Accordian Books

Tracy, Lucky, Charlie, Roger, Tess, Eli,

Merlin, Kiva, Kinsey, Tanner, Logan, and Riley

My brothers -- Brian, Evan, and Cary -- grew up with three dogs. The first was Tracy, a fabulous black Labrador, who taught us all to love dogs. Next came Lucky, a little mixed-breed spaniel, who I found as a stray puppy and brought home "for just one night, Mom!" Ha! She lived a long life under our roof. Finally, Charlie, a golden retriever, rounded out the love fest. The rest of the pack are dogs my brothers and I have loved as adults. Only my Kinsey and Evan's Logan and Riley remain, but I don't think they'll be the last of the Smith pack.

The Smith Kids with Tracy

Brian, Evan, Cary, and Leslie

Cary, Evan, Grandpa, Lucky, Brian, Grandma, Leslie, Charlie, and Mom

"All My Dogs" on the BBC!

2012-02-02T14:05:00.000-08:00

Last week The Washington Post reviewed All My Dogs. This week the BBC interviewed Bill Henderson, the author of the book I illustrated. Watch the video by clicking here. We hope to make it the most watched video on the BBC! I'll post the text below from "One Man and his 13 Dogs":

February 2012

A dog may be man's best friend, but many dog lovers end up with numerous canine companions over the course of a lifetime.Bill Henderson has had a total of 13.The author of "All My Dogs: A Life" has dedicated his memoir to a shaggy mutt called Lulu who he describes as his "life dog".The book covers his own strict upbringing, rocky times in his marriage (he credits a dog with saving it), and the birth of his daughter. Each of the chapters is named after one of his dogs.Describing it as a "mutt memoir", Henderson says the book is half about humans and half about dogs. His conclusion is that dogs are more than just man's best friend, they are an essential member of the whole family.

Video produced by Leigh Paterson. Sketches courtesy of Leslie Moore.

First PenPets of 2012

2012-02-01T10:17:00.000-08:00

Lulu and Truman

Belgian Tervurens

10" X 8" colored pen and ink

2012

Lulu and Truman are Belgian Shepherds, one of four breeds -- Groenendael, Laekenois, Malinois, and Tervuren. Each breed is distinguished by its coat color, texture and length. The Groenendael has a long, straight, black coat; the Laekenois has a short, wiry, fawn coat; the Malinois has a short straight coat that varies in color from dark fawn to mahogany; and the Tervuren has a long, straight coat that ranges from dark fawn to reddish mahogany with black tips.

Here's the photograph of Lulu and Truman I used as a reference for my drawing:

Both dogs are champions! Lulu won Best in Show at the Belgian Tervuren National Specialty in 2011. Here she is posing for her prizes. Darlene (Lulu's person, the one in the middle) describes Lulu as "a diva with a super secret fun side."

And Truman has won prizes doing what he was bred to do. Here he is herding a flock of ducks. I love the way he's tip-toeing behind them. The ducks don't look at all perturbed. Darlene describes Truman as "a gentleman with a sense of humor."

I've never known a Tervuren personally, but I've always thought they were handsome dogs, a cross between Lassie (one of my childhood heroines) and a wolf.

Jassie, The Last Poster (for now!)

2012-01-31T06:00:00.000-08:00

Wew! Thirty one days; thirty one posters/postings; one month. A tough assignment for this introvert whose comfort zone tends much more towards the interior monologue. Time to get back to my drawing. The commissions are stacking up. I'll share my first PenPets portrait of 2012 tomorrow.

Snook, Sunny, and Smudge

2012-01-30T16:47:00.000-08:00

Winchester

2012-01-29T17:21:00.000-08:00

Gregory

2012-01-28T09:03:00.000-08:00

Spike

2012-01-27T09:06:00.000-08:00

Spencer

2012-01-26T13:16:00.000-08:00

Cali and Earl

2012-01-25T15:37:00.000-08:00

Washington Post reviews All My Dogs

2012-01-25T11:41:00.000-08:00

Today Yvonne Zipp of The Washington Post reviewed All My Dogs, along with three other books about dogs, in "Four Books About Canine Friends." Here's what she had to say about All My Dogs:

Pushcart Press founder Bill Henderson had the sound idea of chronicling his life through the dogs who shared it, and All My Dogs (Godine, $19.95) handily wins Best in Show. From Trixie, who taught him “to play without ceasing,” to tragic Ellen and Rocky, Henderson honors each one. Sophie, an adopted Labrador, saved his second marriage and watched his daughter grow up. “Opie was a rescue beagle — rescuing not him but rather his elderly owners.” Patient Lulu helped Henderson when he had cancer diagnosed. Accompanied by lovely drawings by Leslie Moore, memoirs like this don’t happen along very often.

Click here to read the whole review.

Jibe at the Helm

2012-01-24T05:14:00.000-08:00

Moose

2012-01-23T12:25:00.000-08:00

Sabin

2012-01-22T13:46:00.000-08:00

Ruger

2012-01-21T16:06:00.000-08:00

Kinsey

2012-01-20T16:14:00.000-08:00

Mittens, A.K.A. Mitty

2012-01-19T12:51:00.000-08:00

Oliver

2012-01-18T12:50:00.000-08:00

Lexi

2012-01-17T08:15:00.001-08:00

Kato

2012-01-16T15:56:00.000-08:00

Cuzco

2012-01-15T14:56:00.000-08:00

Kaly

2012-01-14T16:46:00.000-08:00

Charlie Brown

2012-01-13T11:28:00.000-08:00

Shingles

2012-01-12T15:46:00.000-08:00

Lulu

2012-01-11T02:26:00.000-08:00

For those of you who have read "All My Dogs," this is Lulu, Bill's favorite.

Cinders

2012-01-10T04:48:00.000-08:00

Arrow

2012-01-09T11:51:00.000-08:00

Dante

2012-01-08T12:28:00.001-08:00

Earl

2012-01-07T13:21:00.000-08:00

Jackie

2012-01-06T05:32:00.000-08:00

Gilmore

2012-01-05T05:47:00.000-08:00

Missy

2012-01-04T12:03:00.000-08:00

Happy

2012-01-03T12:34:00.001-08:00

PenPets Poster Art

2012-01-02T12:09:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T15:46:00.000-08:00

2011 Round Up

2012-01-01T15:44:00.000-08:00

It was a good year for PenPets. I drew 40 portraits: 46 dogs, 9 cats, and one person (My submission to the New Yorker contest -- Eustace Tilley with a Dragon Tattoo -- did not win). Of the 40 portraits, 27 were in color. It seems to be catching on.

Last PenPets for 2011

2012-01-01T15:37:00.000-08:00

Lenny

Schnauzer/Border Terrier mix

Faith and Belle

Irish Setters

Missy

West Highland White Terrier

Missy, Saleem, Reilly

Shih Tzu mix, Tiger-Stripe, Golden Retriever

Poppy

Japanese Chin

Ruby

Praise for "All My Dogs"

2011-12-07T06:10:00.000-08:00

Praise keeps pouring in for "All My Dogs: A Life" written by Bill Henderson and illustrated by me. I particularly like the Publishers' Weekly mention of the "famed artist"!

Interspersed with sketches from his childhood and adult forays into romance and publishing, Henderson reveals how much his dogs taught him about enduring tragedy and enjoying the pleasures of life. Few readers will get through this slender volume of heartwarming portraits and vignettes without reaching for the tissue box.
—Booklist

With dry humor and enviable honesty, this gem by Pushcart Press founder Henderson (His Son) tells his life story through 13 dogs—of different sizes, shapes, breeds, and mixes—that he and his family have owned. His first dog, Trixie (a German Spitz mix) shaped his formative years in suburban Philadelphia. After his friend's father kicked out the mutt Duke, a 10-year-old Henderson took him in. Labrador retriever Sophie saved Henderson's relationship with his future wife and witnessed the couple's daughter, Holly, grow up. Today, Franny and Sedgwick keep Henderson company. Henderson candidly discusses the deaths of his dogs, including the unexpectedly intimate depiction of the time he discovered Ellen and Rocky (a beloved Chesapeake Bay retriever and mutt) floating in a residential swimming pool in his upstate New York neighborhood. While making a solid, yet subtle, argument for why dogs remain man's best friend, Henderson also writes of his Christian upbringing and his "spiritual sojourn." The book is greatly enhanced by famed artist Leslie Moore's line drawings, and the typeface is Minion, which just happens to mean "faithful companion."
—Publishers' Weekly

"Just when I thought it would be impossible for a dog memoir to set itself apart from the plethora of similar books on the shelves today, I read All My Dogs, a charming and moving account by Bill Henderson, founder of the Pushcart Press. Similar in scope and sensibility to Elizabeth von Arnim's 1936 classic, All the Dogs of My Life, this narrative chronicles the dogs with whom Henderson has shared his life, and the ways they informed it. . . . Henderson's way of telling an economical, well-crafted tale is similar to the manner in which he leads his life: resourcefully and creatively. His dogs have been invaluable companions, and their stories, as well as his own, make for a memorable read."
— Claudia Kawczynska (Editor-in-chief), The Bark Magazine

"It would be a mistake to dismiss All My Dogs by Bill Henderson as just another entry into the already inflated category of canine books, because this little memoir is masterful. . . . What makes All My Dogs extraordinary is Henderson’s skill at weaving together stories about dogs with the trials and tribulations of his personal life; especially moving is the author’s account of his own bout with breast cancer that coincided with his dog Lulu’s cancer diagnosis. Bill Henderson’s writing is simple yet eloquent, at times poetic and poignant. His descriptions of people, events, and scenes range from the humorous to the dramatic. Henderson well knows how to tell a story. He also knows he is lost without dogs. In a chapter entitled “Dogless Years,” Henderson writes of his first, unsuccessful marriage, lamenting, “The idea of children, or dogs, never came up. Our lives were as empty as a bare ruined choir.” Indeed, Henderson is at his best when a dog is by his side. That’s what All My Dogs is really about. Happily, this story reinforces what most dog lovers already believe—that a dog is the best companion a human could ever have."
— ForeWord Magazine

Fall Drawings, 2011

2011-10-24T04:04:00.000-07:00

Bandit

Dachshund

10" X 8" colored ink

Boone

Viszula

5" X 7" sepia-colored ink

Chyna

Pitbull

5" X 7" colored ink

Izzy, Bianca, and Tyson

Pugs

8" X 10" black ink

Koda

Labrador retriever/Border collie mix

10" X 8" black ink

Oliver

Hound-dog mix

8" X 10" colored ink

Spencer

Border terrier

8" X 10" black ink

Happy Labor Day!

2011-09-05T08:08:00.000-07:00

One of my labors has finally come to fruition. I spent last summer illustrating All My Dogs: A Life by Bill Henderson, and the book has finally come out this summer! Here’s what David R. Godine, the publisher, says about it:

“It may be true that a dog is a man's best friend, but if you are a serious dog owner, you are probably a serial dog owner, having embraced not one but a succession of canine companions, each of them memorable in their own particular way, and each marking a particular epoch in your own life. . . . In this intimate, moving, and revealing memoir, Bill Henderson, the beloved founder of the Pushcart Press, divides up the stages of his life into canine epochs. There was (and there always is) the first dog, the worst dog, the ones that died untimely deaths, the one who saved a marriage. . . . This is a book to love even if you don't love dogs. (http://www.godine.com/)

And here are a few more words of praise for our book:

“Like most great memoirs, All My Dogs contains the diversions readers need to slow their reading pace and savor the richness of the book’s content: triggers for daydreams and contemplation. As Henderson chronicles his life by recounting the lives of the 13 dogs he has owned, he stirs his readers’ memories of their own lives.” (The Ellsworth American, August 4, 2011).

“I cried at my desk at work, in the staff lunchroom, on the subway (twice), and had the sense to finish it in the privacy of my own home. And if that sounds like the book is a downer, rest assured it’s not. This is a lovely little volume, gentle in tone and a bit artless, telling the story of a life through the dogs who attended it. Bill Henderson, the founder of Pushcart Press and its better-known progeny, the annual Pushcart Prize, hasn’t written his account as an instructional, or a confessional, or even a celebration. Rather, it’s a meditation on the grace notes both dogs and people bring to a life—a hybrid “mutt memoir,” as he calls it.” (http://www.openlettersmonthly.com/likefire/pocket-review-all-my-dogs-a-life-by-bill-henderson
by Lisa Peet on August 16, 2011)

Lisa Peet even mentions me in her review: “The accompanying line drawings by Leslie Moore, appealing portraits of each dog recreated from photos and Henderson’s desriptions, add a nice touch. Lulu really does have the sweetest eyes.”

Finally, my neighbor, Rachel Snow, an active octogenarian, said she sat down to look at the pictures in the book and read the whole darned thing straight through! It kept her from getting all sorts of chores done. Happily so, I hope. “He’s my kind of writer!” she said.

I have copies of the book for sale for $20 + $4 (S & H). They’re signed by Bill Henderson, and I’ll be happy to sign and inscribe copies as well. Please contact me if you’d like to buy one. You won’t be disappointed!

A Summer's Work

2011-08-27T12:53:00.000-07:00

Percy & Ellie

8" X 10" pen and ink

2011

5" X 7" pen and ink

2011

Earl

8" X 10" colored pen and ink

2011

Jibe at the Helm

8" X 10" colored ink

2011

Colby

5" X 7" colored pen and ink

2011

Kaly in Kolor

2011-07-03T10:27:00.000-07:00

Kaly

8" X 10" colored pen and ink

2011

Kalypso, otherwise known as Kaly, is a Teacup Yorkshire Terrier -- 2 1/2 lbs. of sheer energy, able to bring a grown man to his knees in a single play date. I've drawn three portraits of Kaly over the years. This is my first one in color.

Kaly

10" X 8" pen and ink

2009

Kaly

8" X 10" pen and ink

2005

A Pancake Pile of Pit Bulls

2011-07-03T10:17:00.000-07:00

Pickles and Peaches

8" X 10" pen and ink

2011

Pickles and Peaches are a cozy pair of Pit Bulls from Santa Barbara, California. They like to sleep pancake style, one on top of the other, usually Peaches on top of Pickles. They belong to a Pullitzer Prize winning cartoonist and I was in a real panic trying to get them just right. I'm glad to report that he was pleased with the portrait. Here's another pose.

Peaches on Pickles

More Color Work In Progress

2011-06-19T09:49:00.000-07:00

Kahlua in progress

Kahlua and Keira

8" X 10" colored pen and ink

2011

Arrow

5" X 7" colored pen and ink

2011

My Furry Nephew

2011-06-06T04:17:00.000-07:00

Riley

8" X 10" pen and ink

2011

Riley is a bit of a goof ball in real life, full of silly pranks and comic antics. He's a white, not a golden, retriever, and his favorite past time is to find mud puddles and loll in them. On one walk alone he might sample ten mud puddles, the muddier the better! You can imagine what this does to his beautiful white coat, and what my sister-in-law, Sue, a meticulous housekeeper, has to say about that. Riley's nickname is "Mud Bug." Evan, my brother, and Sue wanted a more serious pose, however, for this portrait. So here's Riley, the Magnificent, the Noble, the Wise, and the True!

San Francisco Photo Shoot

2011-05-19T06:41:00.000-07:00

Jackie

8" X 10" colored ink

2011

Tom and I spent two weeks in California in April visiting family and friends. While there I had a photo shoot with Jackie, a small mix-breed rescue dog with a great big personality, on Baker Beach in San Francisco. A line of multi-million-dollar mansions overlooks the beach and the Golden Gate Bridge provides a spectacular background. I'm hoping all Jackie's Bake Beach buddies will fly me back out to California for another photo shoot and more PenPets portraits!

Two Kitties in Color

2011-04-03T06:52:00.000-07:00

Missy

7" X 5" colored pen and ink

2011

Charlie Brown

5" X 7" colored pen and ink

2011

These two kitties were fun to conceive and draw in color, especially their eyes--green and golden! Here's how Pam, their person, describes them:

Missy was a little diva. She liked to boss ole Charlie Brown around and she would talk your ear off! She loved to tell you a story or give you her opinion. Charlie Brown is very quiet and laid back. He’s a big old softy.

April Fools!

2011-04-01T09:29:00.000-07:00

Fu Manchu Whiskers

2011-03-28T09:53:00.000-07:00

Rainy

5" X 7" pen and ink

2011

Wegman Watch Out!

2011-03-23T07:21:00.000-07:00

Xena and Zachariah

7" X 5" pen and ink

2001

William Wegman isn't the only Weimaraner artist in town. These are my first.

American Water Spaniels X 3

2011-03-12T05:00:00.000-08:00

Boy, Georgia, and Princess

8" X 10" colored pen and ink

2011

"OH MY GOODNESS! IT IS WONDERFUL! I LOVE IT!

Boy is absolutely wonderful. He looks just like I remember him. Princess, I look at her face and I know it's her without looking at her collar tag! My dear old Georgia, it IS her! I see my wonderful doggies, and smiles and tears of remembrance. Thank you!"

~Mary from Cedar, Minnesota

A Couple of Cool Cats

2011-03-02T10:13:00.000-08:00

Cali and Earl

8" X 10" colored ink

2011

I love this description of Cali and Earl from Nancy, their person: "Earl is a one-year-old long-haired tuxedo that I adopted from the Greater Cat Resuce. He was feral but now owns my home. Cali is an eight-year-old Calico who has accepted her adopted brother with the grace of an older woman." Perfect!

A Spectacular Springer

2011-02-24T03:55:00.000-08:00

Abigail Elizabeth Garafalo

Abby

8" X 10" colored ink

2011

Abby, a Springer Spaniel, lived a long life and she was well loved. A loving, loyal, and playful companion, Abby liked drinking water from the bathtub faucet and she trained every member of her family, including Grandma, to cater to her need for fresh bathtub water.

Triplicate

2011-02-20T06:33:00.000-08:00

Magic, The Boss (left)

Hopkins, The Kisser (top)

Sam, The Devil (bottom)

10 X 8 colored pen and ink

2011

These three little live-wires--two Yorkies and a Shih Tzu--keep things hopping in their household. They also fill it with a lot of love.

Lulu in Living Color

2011-02-16T03:27:00.000-08:00

Lulu

7" X 5" colored pen

2011

I don’t think my color portrait of Lulu is destined to appear in the book I’ve illustrated – “All My Dogs: A Life” by Bill Henderson. So I’ll give you a sneak preview of Bill’s favorite. Bill thinks Lulu was a mismatched mixed breed: “She was about eighty-five pounds of shagginess. Perhaps a committee had pieced her together–a German shepherd face, floppy dreadlocked Afghan ears, a golden retriever body. Her face and muzzle said ferocious, her eyes indicated kind, her tail wagged like a puppy’s for friend and stranger alike.”

Lulu in Life

I think Lulu may have been a noble Leonberger, a German water dog created by Mayor Heinrich Essig of Leonberg in the 1800’s by crossing Newfoundlands with St. Bernards. Whatever flavor Lulu was, she was Bill’s love. “I have known few animals,” he writes, “–and fewer humans–with such a natural, unself-conscious dignity. She accepted me and I her with no question. We walked and thought in tandem.”

Eustace Tilley Dozen

2011-02-15T03:49:00.000-08:00

The New Yorker finally announced the winners of its Eustace Tilley contest in the February 14 & 21, 2011, issue--all twelve of them. Guess what? MY Eustace Tilley was not among them. I suppose my Steig Larsson/Lisbeth Salander slant was not New Yorkish enough.

Eustace Tilley with a Dragon Tattoo

Click here if you'd like to see a slide-show of the chosen twelve.

Dolce & Gabbana Showcases PenPets

2011-02-07T03:53:00.000-08:00

PenPets moved into the world of high fashion this week with an interview in Swide, the online magazine of Dolce and Gabbana of Milan, Italy. I was interviewed by Peter Pan, a handsome black Labrador retriever, who writes a regular column for the fashion magazine.

I owe this all to Yigit Turhan, my favorite student from the Koc School in Turkey (I taught high school English there from 2001-2003). Yigit went on to college at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey, then to graduate school at Universita Bocconi in Milan, Italy. He's been on an upward trajectory ever since and is now the creative genius behind Dolce and Gabbana's online presence--Director of Digital Marketing. And he's not even 25 yet!

Thank you Yigit!

Let it snow . . .

2011-02-02T08:47:00.000-08:00

Let it snow,

Let it snow!

Another Color

2011-01-30T15:22:00.000-08:00

Lexi

5" X 7" colored pen & ink

2011

I'm having fun with my new colored inks. Lexi is a whippet-hound mix rescued from Alabama by the Coastal Humane Society of Brunswick, Maine. From the looks of it, she's settling in just fine in her new home.

Kitty Heaven

2011-01-25T16:27:00.000-08:00

Kitty

5" X 7" pen and ink

2011

Although Kitty lived most of his long life in Worcester, Massachusetts, he spent one glorious summer here in Maine at his grandperson Nancy’s camp—catching mice, stalking bats, and bedeviling squirrels. Nancy, my sister-in-law, thinks nothing of throwing a cat in her car and driving six hours from Central Massachusetts to Downeast Maine for the summer. She likes the company of cats and she’s convinced that the cats like the good life in Maine. The exhilaration of dispatching rodents all summer long compensates for the humiliation of the long car ride for the cats. And Nancy’s cabin benefits from their rigorous vermin extermination campaigns. Nancy has brought three cats to her summer camp, just down the drive from our house—Kitty, Gregory (her own cat), and Boomer (another grandcat).

Gregory

Boomer

Alas! None of Nancy’s consorts are still with us. They’re all in kitty heaven, which looks and feels a lot like the camp in Brooksville, Maine.

My Eustace Tilley Knock-Off

2011-01-18T07:26:00.000-08:00

Eustace Tilley by Rea Irvin, 1925

This Eustace Tilley was drawn by Rea Irvin, the magazine’s first art editor, for the cover of the first issue of The New Yorker, in 1925, and has returned for nearly every anniversary issue since. For the past two decades, the magazine has invited contributing artists to reinterpret this iconic dandy, and in 2008, 2009, and 2010, readers have contributed to the Eustace Tilley Contest. The magazine is hosting the contest again in 2011, with a twist: This year, it’s the Eustace Tilley Book-Bag Contest. To celebrate The New Yorkers's 86th anniversary, the editors have invited readers to create a book-bag version of their iconic dandy. Twelve winners will be featured in a slide show curated by The New Yorker’s art editor, Françoise Mouly. One grand-prize winner will get his/her design printed on a Strand Bookstore tote bag and a $1,000 Strand shopping spree.

So, with great expectations and a tip of my mohawk to Steig Larsson, the late author of the Millennium Trilogy (The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest) I’ve uploaded my portrait of the famous New Yorker.

Eustace Tilley with a Dragon Tattoo by Leslie Moore, 2011

Click here if you’d like to see my Tilley in The New Yorker’s Gallery of Contestants, and check out the competition while you’re there!

Fingers crossed!

Wapsipinicon Almanac

2011-01-03T12:21:00.000-08:00

My little woodblock hog has found its way into the Wapsipinicon Almanac. This stylish and classy publication is edited and printed by Timothy Fay on ancient letterpress equipment in Anamosa, Iowa. It explores rural and small-town life in the midwest in such well-written prose and poetry that it makes me want to move there. It's also illustrated with lovely artwork, mostly pen-and-ink drawings and woodblock prints. This issue’s cover features a scratchboard drawing by Nancy Lindsay of Stone City. Even the advertisements are works of art. I'm proud to see my hog illustrating "Not My Father's Packinghouse" by Steve Maravetz, "Another Chapter In The Gradual Extinction Of The Blue Collar Middle Class."

Woops!

2010-12-27T11:07:00.000-08:00

Mud-Bug

5" X 7" colored pen & ink

2010

I almost forgot this Christmas present I drew for Riley, my fur-nephew. He's a "white" golden retriever, although it's a bit hard to tell in this pose.

Here' Riley's brother, Logan, a Bernese Mountain Dog, reading the book I sent him for Christmas:

And Riley, looking a bit cleaner and oh-so studious, reading "Pierrot, Dog of Belgium," too!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T02:54:00.000-08:00

Christmas Commissions

2010-12-24T02:52:00.000-08:00

Anna Luzia

5" X 7" pen & ink

2010

Buddy

8" X 10" pen & ink

2010

Happy

5" X 7" pen & ink with color

2010

Drake & Ruger

8" X 10" colored pen & ink

2010

Extra Calendars!

2010-12-23T05:35:00.000-08:00

Cover

4" X 10"

This year's cast of characters.

Sample Page

Every year I pick the best of PenPets and make calendars – always a “Dog Days” calendar, sometimes a “Cats” calendar, too. I send them to the pin-ups’ people as well as to family and friends. It’s a combined Christmas/New Years card/present. This year I printed 50 too many calendars, I spent more on the color cover, and I paid a king’s ransom in postage. It’s made me reconsider this Christmas tradition. I don’t think I can afford to continue mailing out calendars. Maybe I’ll make a special card next year and leave it at that.

Meanwhile, I have 50 extra “Dog Days 2011.” Let me know if you want one ($10 + $1 for S&H) or if you have any good ideas about what to do with the extras. I have them for sale in two local stores.

Thanks!

Early Christmas

2010-12-09T13:46:00.000-08:00

I received not one, but two T-shirts and a bag in the mail today. They're from the American Water Spaniel 2010 National Specialty & Hunt Test held in New London, Wisconsin, last summer. The club celebrated its 25th anniversary with my portrait of an American Water Spaniel. I'm thrilled to have the T-shirts, and look who's commandeered the bag. Kinsey thinks it will be perfect for her Christmas trip to Massachusetts. Not that she's much of a bird dog, but she does terrorize the squirrels who raid our bird feeders.

Thanks Mary!

Book Promotion

2010-11-22T13:45:00.000-08:00

This just out in the November 11th East Hampton Star:

A Man and His Dogs

Bill Henderson of Springs, the Pushcart Prize editor, not only has a new “Best of the Small Presses” set to come out shortly, but in addition his autobiography has been accepted for publication by David R. Godine, the small, highly regarded publishing house in Boston. (Mr. Godine notably published the late Andre Dubus’s early books.)

“All My Dogs: A Life” chronicles, well, a life with dogs — 13 of them. It will feature line drawings by Leslie Moore, an artist who lives in Maine, where Mr. Henderson has a house. The publication date is April 5, Mr. Henderson’s 70th birthday.

As Bill says, "We roll!"

Poodle Power

2010-11-19T09:10:00.000-08:00

Holly & Dan

Standard Poodles

10" X 8" pen & ink

2010

Holly, a red standard poodle, gave me a perfect opportunity to try out more colored inks. Dan is actually tinted apricot, but I didn't have such a subtle hue. Both dogs had just returned from the groomers, thus the colorful scarves.

Here's what Holly and Dan's people have to say about them:

Dan and Holly are half brother and sister (different fathers) and you can really tell! Dan is big = 75 lb and confident and funny. Holly is a clinging barnacle and more timid. Both are avid hunters (the squirrels in the yard, which is 3 acres, come in 2 varieties - the quick and the dead). Holly is keenly aware of birds too - she would have been an excellent bird dog - very sight oriented. Dan smells everything and walks take forever with him if he goes on a leash.

They play well together and are absolute love-bugs. They love other people as well. They will crawl into bed very stealthily during the night and it is not unusual to wake up wondering why you can't move your legs or get the covers adjusted - only to find them nuzzling you.

Here's the photograph I used as a reference for the drawing.

American Water Spaniel

2010-10-19T06:59:00.000-07:00

I love to see how folks display my art work. Here's the portrait I drew for the American Water Spaniel Club Inc.'s Annual Specialty Show. I think it's beautifully framed, perfectly hung between two Chinese porcelain pheasants, and well lighted, too. A perfect setting for a bird dog! Isn't he pretty!

Here's a comment from the proud owner of the drawing:

"I won this beautiful picture at the AWSC INC. National Specialty and Hunt Test Weekend Saturday night auction. I managed to have the winning bid. Hooray!! I fell in love with it the moment I saw it. Such a fabulous job on the dog! I am glad Leslie likes the way he is displayed. I have had nothing but wonderful comments on this lovely portrait."

~Mary

Cockers in Color

2010-10-11T11:58:00.000-07:00

Sunny

Snook & Smudge

8" X 10" pen and ink

2010

Sunny, Snook, and Smudge are field-bred English cocker spaniels, all hunting dogs, all in competition, and all titled. Sunny, the grande dame, mother to Snook and Smudge, has three American Kennel Club hunting titles and was recently awarded Field Champion, a top honor in the hunting dog world. Snook and Smudge also have earned titles, but they have a ways to go before they catch up with their mommy.

I used three different colored inks on this trio--chocolate brown (or "liver" in spaniel speak), sienna (or "tan" in spaniel speak), and black. I'm thrilled with the way it turned out. Unfortunately, my laser printer doesn't print color pictures, so I had to make the greeting cards and bookmarks in black and white. Not bad.

Here are the two photos I used for the drawing. They were great photos of fabulous subjects. I loved doing this drawing.

I'm excited about drawing in color, so I'm off to find a good source of colored inks and hope that my next commission will be multi-colored.

Illustrating a Book!

2010-10-07T13:43:00.000-07:00

Lulu, Bill’s favorite

I spent much of this past summer illustrating a wonderful book called All My Dogs: A Life. It’s a memoir by Bill Henderson, the founder of Pushcart Press, editor and publisher of the annual Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses, now in its 34th year, author of four previous memoirs: His Son (Norton, 1981), Her Father (Faber and Faber, 1995), Tower: Faith, Vertigo and Amateur Construction (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2000), and Simple Gifts (Free Press, 2006), recipient of the 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Book Critics Circle, a friend, and a neighbor.

Here’s Bill’s tower on Christy Hill in Sedgwick.

He’s also built an octagonal writing studio and

a stone cathedral, the subject of his next memoir.

In All My Dogs, Bill writes “Many of my dogs taught me well. . . . Most of all they created home for me. From Philadelphia’s suburbs to the Maine seaside, home was where the dog was. In the years when I was dogless, I had no true home. In the golden dog days, I found family again.”

The book is due out next spring with David R. Godine, Publisher, one of the last remaining independent publishers in America, whom Bill brought by our house along with his son, Addison, last summer for an impromptu dinner of pasta with fresh tomato sauce from our garden. David writes in his 40th anniversary catalogue, “If you believe, as I do, that your work is the footsteps you leave in the sands of time, then every book you publish should contain the proof of that devotion and promise.” The Godine catalogue, which is a work of art itself, is full of beautifully designed books written and illustrated by illustrious authors, artists, and photographers. Bill Henderson will be right at home in their midst. I’m awestruck to be included.

I drew 13 dogs for the book. Of those 13 dogs, Bill only had one clear photograph of his favorite, Lulu. He had grainy shots of four other dogs—Trixie, Duke, Opie, and Max—which were helpful in getting a sense of their shapes and colors, but not clear enough for drawing purposes. He had two shots of Sophie, his yellow Lab, as a grown up, but he wanted a drawing of her as a puppy. He had no photos whatsoever of five of the dogs—Earl, Snopes, the Mayor of Bridgehampton, Ellen, and Rocky Raccoon. Rocky was not even a recognizable breed and, it turned out, almost defied description. I had to draw him three times before I got him right. Fortunately, I was able to take my own reference photos of Bill’s two remaining dogs—Franny and Sedgwick. But, for the most part, I had to start from scratch and cobble together composite portraits of many of the dogs in Bill’s life. It was a challenge, but Bill cheered me on in his exuberant, steadfast, and unconditional way. The book has a breed or mixed breed to please almost everyone—a spitz, a spaniel, a setter, two hounds, four retrievers, a terrier, a collie, and a Portie without papers.

Much as I’d love to show you my illustrations, I’m going to save them for when the book comes out. Here are a couple more photos of my subjects. I’ll keep you posted on publication dates, parties, etc.!

Sedgwick

St. Francis of Assisi (AKA Franny)

My Award-losing Woodcut

2010-09-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

One of my goals in life is to win the Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association’s (MOFGA) poster contest for its annual Common Ground Country Fair. The winning artwork not only adorns the fair poster, which is widely displayed throughout New England, but also decorates t-shirts, canvas bags, aprons, etc, and brings the artist $1,000 as well. Achieving this goal may take time. Over the years, I’ve submitted five pieces of art—one pen-and-ink drawing and four woodcuts—to the contest. All to no avail! Here’s a brief history of my saga.

For the 2006 poster contest, I submitted a pen-&-ink drawing, “Twitching Birch Logs.” I thought it was a shoe-in. The price of heating oil was sky high and the thought of cutting and then twitching ones own heating supply home with a team of hard-working horses was not only practical, but oh so romantic!

Twitching Birch Logs

8" X 10" pen and ink

2005

No go! The MOFGA judges discourage artists from using crosshatching as shading: “Very, very fine pen lines, spaced closely together in a crosshatching technique, are not cleanly reproducible on cloth,” they say. Not a good omen for this crosshatcher. I also didn’t know that 2006 was the 30th Anniversary of the Common Ground Country Fair. Here’s the winning poster:

I licked my wounds for two years, and then, after taking a woodcut workshop in the spring of 2008, I submitted two woodcuts for the 2009 poster contest. Again, I thought “Stimulus Package” had it all—both animal and vegetable as well of a foreshadowing of the financial crises to come. I threw in “Kate, a border collie” because each entrant is allowed to submit two pieces of art.

Stimulus Package

12" X 13" woodcut

2008

Kate, a border collie

12" X 6" woodcut

2008

No go again! A quick scan of the posters from past years tells you that they really prefer artwork in living color, not black and white. Here’s the 2009 poster:

I sulked the next year, until I got a call from MOFGA saying that they were dissatisfied with that year’s entries and asking me to resubmit “Kate, a border collie,” which had been, they told me, one of the top five finalists the year before. Aha! So, fueled with artistic enthusiasm, I not only resubmitted “Kate,” but sent “Arnold Schwarzenegger” along as well. Arnold’s person, Deborah Evans of Bagaduce Farm in Brooksville, even promised her friends at MOFGA that, if Arnold’s woodcut won the contest, she’d bring him to the fair for all three days to flex his muscles and press his fleshy snout to flesh.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

10" X 14" woodcut

2008

No go yet again! My friend Holly Meade, a fabulous woodcut artist from the next door town of Sedgwick, won the contest with her rampant rooster. I was happy for her.

This year, undaunted, I carved a multi-block, five-color woodcut—"Kate Strides Again"—and submitted it with high expectations.

Kate Strides Again

10" X 13" woodcut

2010

My rejection letter arrived in the mail yesterday. It’s the same letter I've received three times before. Only the prize winner’s name changes each year. The MOFGA folks have chosen a still life of fresh vegetables and canning jars by Dacia Klinkerch of Raymond, Maine, for the 2011 fair poster. They haven’t posted the winning artwork on their website yet, but I can’t help but feel that the dog lovers at the fair—and how many of those there must be!—will be disappointed.

Mystery Dog Unveiled

2010-08-02T04:41:00.000-07:00

American Water Spaniel

9" X 12" pen-and-ink

2010

The American Water Spaniel Club has finally unveiled the portrait I drew for their 25th Anniversary Specialty Show this month. Check it out on the home page of their website. My image will adorn T-shirts (short and long-sleeved) and sweatshirts, on sale now. I've ordered mine and will model it for you as soon as it arrives. The original drawing will be auctioned off at the Specialty Show. It was a fun project and I hope the T-shirts and the auction bring in lots of money for the club.

Catching Up

2010-07-31T06:43:00.000-07:00

You may think I’ve been goofing off all summer, swinging from a hammock between two shady trees, sipping iced tea, and reading Scandinavian mysteries. Not So! The Brooksville Farmers’ Market is up and running and I’ve had perfect attendance for the last nine weeks. One Tuesday morning I had a whole crew of assistants:

Peter (my nephew), Bella (my niece), and Bella’s best friend, Lucy

Note the new blue tent, the new PenPets banner, the new clear plastic card rack, the new "Welcome to Brooksville" T-shirts, and the new driftwood bookmark rack. It took eight markets to pay for all my expenditures, but it's all gravy now!

I’ve also mounted three exhibits of my work. In June I had a solo show, “Woodcut Critters,” at Mainescape, a Blue Hill garden center that also sells pet products, and now sells a full line of my PenPets greeting cards—like hotcakes, they say! At the end of June I showed seven woodcuts and pen-and-ink drawings at a group show, “Chosen Places,” at the Deer Isle Artists’ Association. Currently I have another solo show of 25 woodcuts and drawings at the Brooksville Free Public Library. Here are some shots from the opening.

Judy Madson (past President of the Library Board of Trustees) & Leslie

Leslie & Heather Tooker (current Co-President of the Library Board)

Leslie & Margie Van Dusen, Patron Saint of PenPets!

Speaking of the Brooksville Free Public Library, our Board of Trustees held its Annual Summer Book Sale on July 10th (I was in charge this year) and we made a whopping $1,700 selling used books from 9:00 AM until noon. Not bad!

I’ve also done two new PenPets commissions this summer:

Minnu & Dakota

8" X 10" pen-and-ink

2010

Jassie (short for Jasmine)

8" X 10" pen-and-ink

2010

And that’s not all! I carved a multi-color woodblock and I’m now illustrating a book, but more about these adventures later.

Chosen Places

2010-06-18T04:47:00.000-07:00

Three for Three

5" X 7" pen and ink

2010

Private Mooring

5" X 7" pen and ink

2010

Seagulls in Stonington

5" X 7" pen and ink

2010

I'm preparing for a group show at the Deer Isle Artists' Association at the end of this month. The theme is "Chosen Places." Here are three new drawings I've done for the exhibit. I love the way seabirds choose man-made places for their own purposes.

Bagaduce Lunch

2010-06-15T03:24:00.000-07:00

My artwork has made the front page of The Brooksville Breeze again! The Bagaduce Lunch--a seafood take-out restaurant--is something of a local legend, made even more famous by winning the James Beard "American Classic" award in 2008. It's been run by the same family for over 60 years. They rebuilt the building this year. Thus, the "Grand Opening." If you're ever in town, be sure to drop by for one of their famous lobster rolls or a basket of fried clams.

Look-alikes

2010-06-07T15:29:00.000-07:00

Some folks say that people and their pets grow to look alike. I could aid this metamorphosis by wearing my hair in pigtails to look like Kinsey's fabulous ears. Like this! I could also apply eyeliner darkly and practice my crooked smile.

Woodcut Critters & Bookmarks

2010-06-02T03:57:00.000-07:00

Busy, busy, busy! I have an exhibit of seven woodcut critters up at Mainescape in Blue Hill. It's a fabulous garden center that also sells pet products. This winter they built a state-of-the-art greenhouse and now have a lovely corridor between the old and the new building that they will use as an art gallery. My woodcuts are their first show! I carved this woodchuck especially for the gardeners.

Then the Brooksville Farmers' Market started back up yesterday. Check out the beautiful driftwood bookmark rack Tom made for me! It was greatly admired by my fellow vendors. The crafters set up inside our Community Center because it rained yesterday. The farmers were all outside because veggies like the rain! I'll have lots more new stuff to show you soon.

Cat, Pup, & Boot

2010-05-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

I haven't been totally twiddling my thumbs, just totally impatient with my slow-speed, dial-up connection to the internet. Here are two new woodcuts, my first in the year 2010. Yikes!

Cat's Paw

7X9 woodcut

2010

What Boot?

9X7 woodcut

2010

Where Have I Been?

2010-04-22T06:31:00.000-07:00

California

Smith Family Reunion

Our Maine Garden

Three Cats

2010-04-03T18:02:00.000-07:00

Jimmy

7" X 5" pen and ink

2010

Ivan and Violet

7" X 5" pen and ink

2010

Jimmy, Ivan, and Violet live together in Washington, D.C. "They all adore each other," Kristin, their person, writes, "but it is hard to find the three of them in one place simultaneously." Jimmy is 15 years old. The sleeping beauties--Ivan and Violet, brother and sister, orange and grey--are 1 1/2 years old.

Wife of Bath

2010-04-01T13:18:00.000-07:00

Here's my house on the cover of "Wife of Bath." To read more about this fabulous Maine literary journal and/or to order a copy, click here. Tom and I both have poems in this issue as well.

Steel nibs, a dipping pen, and bottled ink

2010-03-31T06:56:00.000-07:00

Steel nibs, a dipping pen, and bottled ink

This Old House

8" X 10" pen and ink

2010

Horse-drawn Sulky Plow

10" X 8" pen and ink

2010

I've been experimenting with steel nibs, a dipping pen, and bottled ink, instead of the felt-tipped Micron pens that I use for my pet portraits. I've also been drawing inanimate subjects, although I like to think that my lilting house and sulky plow, abandoned though they are, still breathe. My house is due to grace the cover of the "Wife of Bath" literary journal in April. I drew the sulky plow with sepia-colored ink on cream-colored paper. Tom painted a wooden frame brown and cut a cocoa-colored mat for it, and it looks quite lovely! It will hang on one of our walls.

Next I'm going to try cutting a quill pen from a feather, urged on my John A. Parks in his article "The Quill Pen: How to Draw with the Tool of the Masters" (Drawing, Winter 2010). Parks writes: "Looking back at the master drawings from the preceding centuries, we are struck by a lively warmth in the line, a delightful give-and-take between thick and thin, and a glorious sense that the line has a life and will of its own. A quill is a living thing--its wear is uneven, and its behavior can be erratic and capricious. It often obliges an artist working with the quill pen to take risks and adapt to accident and inconsistency." I think it will be good for me to work with an erratic and capricious pen, to take risks, to court accidents, and to embrace inconsistencies. Who knows what lively lines might be trying to escape from me!

Mystery Dog

2010-03-09T09:36:00.000-08:00

Recently I was commissioned to draw a portrait of an American Water Spaniel for the 25th Anniversary of the American Water Spaniel Club Inc. The breed’s specialty show will take place next August in New London, Wisconsin, where the American Water Spaniel originated. This is a “Made in America” dog! My drawing, which I finished last week, will be auctioned off to the highest bidder at the dog show and the image will festoon t-shirts and sweat-shirts sold during the event.

It’s been a fun project.

I had to go beyond my initial impressions of these dogs. At first glance, they are gorgeous—chocolate brown with coppery eyes, their faces framed by soft spaniel ears, crimped and curled like a Botticelli angel’s hair, and lit with coppery highlights that match their eyes. On second glance, there’s lots more to learn about the physiognomy of a champion. The American Kennel Club, arbiter of all purebred canines, stipulates the following points: "Skull rather broad and full, stop moderately defined, but not too pronounced. Muzzle moderate in length, square with good depth. No inclination to snippiness, The lips clean and tight without excess skin or flews. Nose dark in color, black or dark brown. The nose sufficiently wide and with well-developed nostrils to insure good scenting power. Bite either scissor or level."

Added to the challenge of translating these guidelines—flews? snippiness? scissor bites?—into a perfect portrait of the breed, I had to create a fantasy dog as well. The AWSC Committee in charge of the Specialty wanted the drawing to be as generic as possible, not identifiable as one particular dog. Consequently I was encouraged to produce an American Water Spaniel collage out of the slew of photographs I received from proud AWSC members. This was a tough one for me, as one of my trademarks is creating recognizable portraits of individual dogs. Undaunted, I chose an elegantly posed dog for starters, added another dog’s skull—“broad and full,” sketched in a third dog’s coppery eyes, darkened its nose and gave it the “good scenting power” of a fourth dog, buckled on a fifth dog’s collar, decorated it with a sixth dog’s tags, and wreathed the whole pastiche in Botticelli curls. Rest assured, I avoided snippiness at all costs.

So where is this fabled drawing? I CAN’T SHOW IT TO YOU! It’s top secret until August. But here’s one Specialty Committee member’s reaction to the portrait, just to pique your curiosity:

It is so beautiful it takes my breath away! I have a hunch that this is going to cost me big bucks if I am going to win the bidding war! The dog has such expression. Such intensity shows from the eyes, yet there is an expression of warmth or perhaps tenderness as well. I do love it! Thank you for such a wonderful drawing of our breed.

Smokey

2010-03-05T07:06:00.000-08:00

Smokey

5" X 7" pen and ink

2010

I don't know much about Smokey, except that he's a Bichon Frise, he's a sweetie (I can tell just by looking at him!), and that he travels in style in his own deluxe recreational vehicle. Lucky pup!

Best in Show!

2010-02-17T09:40:00.000-08:00

Kinsey

Not to be outdone by a passle of pure-breds strutting their stuff down the Westminster runway, Kinsey spent an arduous morning at the beauty parlor yesterday. Here's our little champion! It's all about ears in this year's "designer dog" class!

Here she is before all that "pampering."

Cuzco, Center of the Universe

2010-02-15T10:20:00.000-08:00

Cuzco

8" X 10" pen and ink

2010

Cuzco is a 13-year-old Border collie mix, with one brown eye and one blue one, and he’s lucky to be alive. He’s had five near-death experiences in the course of his long life, one that deprived him of the use of his hind legs, although it didn’t diminish his spirit in the least. Cuzco greeted me boisterously and enthusiastically when I went for a visit. He graciously posed for a slew of photographs, never taking his eyes off his people. It was difficult to say who doted on whom the most.

Here’s how Cuzco got his name:

“My husband I and our two children went to Cuzco, Peru, as part of our visit to Machu Pichu. All four of us fell in love with Cuzco. The energy in the city was vibrant and alive. Then we discovered the name, Cuzco, means both umbilicus and center of the universe. Cuzco was right in the middle of the Inca Empire, which stretched equally north, south, east, and west from that hub. When we found our beloved dog at the shelter six months later, it was easy to name him Cuzco, or center of the universe! That has clearly been his place for us over the past 13 years.” ~Vicki

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T10:13:00.000-08:00

Heartwood

Brooklin, Maine

14 February 2010

Zen, W.S. Merwin, and Old Dogs

2010-02-08T03:42:00.000-08:00

Treetop Zen Center

Last Saturday, Tom and I attended a poetry workshop at the Treetop Zen Center near Waterville: "A Day with the Zen of Emily Dickinson and W.S. Merwin" facilitated by Peter Harris, a Colby College English professor. Here's how Peter described the workshop: "Emily Dickinson never heard of Zen, but her poetry is shot through with Zen-like insights. Pulitzer Prize winner W.S. Merwin is a Zen student who shuns the label of Zen poet. We’ll read some of their poems, talk about what they have to offer, and write a little in response. No experience with Dickinson, Merwin, or Zen is necessary. Just bring pen and paper."

We read Merwin in the afternoon and this poem about an old dog had all of us ready to weep:

THE NAME OF THE AIR

It could be like that when the beloved

old dog finding it harder and harder

to breathe and understanding but coming

to ask whether there is something that can

be done about it coming again to

ask and then standing there without asking.

W.S. Merwin

Cuzco

I'll be drawing Cuzco this week, an elderly fellow who, although he's lost the use of his hind legs, still has a lot of life left in him. Doesn't he look like he's asking us something?

Two Lovely Lassies

2010-02-05T14:13:00.000-08:00

Meghan & Missy

10" X 8" pen and ink

2010

I couldn’t draw these two lovely lassies without harkening back to Sunday night episodes of Lassie on our black-and-white TV, my three brothers and I, crowded onto the couch in our pajamas, wiggling our drop-seat fannies, dangling our rubber-soled feet over the edge, elbowing each other, and eagerly awaiting Timmy’s next catastrophe and Lassie’s new heroism. Am I dating myself?

Brian & Leslie

1958

Missy

Missy is a purebred rough-coated collie, not unlike Lassie. “You might notice,” Terri points out, “that Missy’s nose is slightly bent to her right and her lower jaw is shorter than her upper jaw. Thus, her lower teeth always show as if she’s smiling.”

Meghan

Meghan was a collie/Brittany spaniel mix and—Alas!—no longer alive. “Meghan had a lot of collie characteristics,” Terri says, “but her ears could go up, out, or flop, whereas Missy’s ears always stand straight up.” Meghan was a happy dog; Missy is, too.

Again, I faced the challenge of bringing two dogs together—in this case, two dogs who had never met each other in real life—in the same drawing. My challenge was compounded by the fact that the photo references weren’t as close-up as I would have liked, the details not as clear. But I loved Meghan’s fly away ears in the night scene and Missy’s cocked head, skewed nose, and crooked smile in the couch scene. So I squinted and drew and remembered Timmy in trouble—yet again!—shouting “Get help, Lassie!” and Lassie bounding over hill and dale on her mission to bark some silly person into sensibility. She always saved the day—yet again!—in under 30 minutes. It was a fun week of drawing!

Best Buddies

2010-02-05T05:22:00.000-08:00

Marley and Kingsley

10" X 8" pen and ink

2010

Marley is a beagle/Australian shepherd/boxer mix adopted from the Humane Society. “He is a total lover,” his adoptive mother, Karen, reports. “He's never met a stranger. He likes to be within arm's length at all times, just in case there are pettings to be had. He's pretty mellow and would be content spending all day lying around with me.”

Kingsley is half Cardigan Welsh corgi and half Pembroke Welsh corgi—“the best of both worlds” says Karen. “He has a long tail but he's not quite as big as a pure Cardigan. He is the consummate little brother. If Marley is playing with a toy, Kingsley wants to play with that toy. If he gets it, he plays keep-away. It's only fun if Marley wants the toy, too. If Marley is getting attention, then Kingsley wants to get attention. Kings loves to play fetch and run. At the dog park, he likes to play with the big dogs, even though his stumpy little legs make it hard for him to keep up sometimes. And, of course, while Kingsley is running himself silly at the park, Marley is making the rounds among the people trying to find the person who will pet him the most. They're both very silly and sweet, and they get along really well—often giving each other tongue baths when they're lying on the couch together.”

It’s always tricky to incorporate two or more animals into the same portrait, and to make them look natural and dynamic at the same time. Karen sent me four photos of her fellows, all great ones. I focused in on this one immediately. I love the heads cocked left and right. All I had to do was to move the dogs closer together for a more chummy look. Since they’re both dark around the edges, I left the background white, but I had to cut off a bit of ear from each dog, Van Gogh style, in order to fill the frame with their faces. I filled the frame so well that I didn’t leave any white space for my signature. Hmmmm! I finally snuck it in on a swirl of fur, tipping my pen to Al Hirschfeld, the New York Times artist, who hid his daughter’s name, Nina, in his pen-and-ink caricatures, sometimes multiple times. Here's a self portrait with two Nina's that Hirschfeld drew at age 99! (He died in 2003 at 100.) I hope I'm still drawing such true lines when I'm that age!

Another PenPets First—Ferrets!

2010-01-29T11:01:00.000-08:00

Bonnie and Clyde

10" X 8" pen and ink

2010

Meet Bonnie and Clyde—a couple of free-wheeling ferrets designed just for getting into trouble! This dynamic duo lives in quite the commodious ferret accommodations—hammocks, tunnels, tubes, the works!—in Indianapolis. However, they frequently get the run of the house as well. Watch out! On the loose, Bonnie and Clyde break laws with as much impunity as—well—a couple of bank-robbers! Bonnie is the ringleader. She ferrets out the fun, while Clyde, who’s more mellow, watches her back. Not to be outdone by Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty, this Bonnie and Clyde have starred in their own YouTube flicks. Two of them! Click here and here to see them fight their ways out some incredibly tight spots. And, don't worry! These ferret flicks are cliff hangers, but nobody dies in the end.

Business is booming, so stay tuned for portraits of Marley and Kingsley, Missy and Meghan, and Cuzco. I'll leave you in suspense about the species.

Etsy Treasury

2010-01-17T05:56:00.000-08:00

Fence Sitter & Friend

One of my drawings has been included in an Etsy Treasury called "Goats, goats, goats!" chosen by Caitlin Sainio. "Like all your drawings," Caitlin wrote to me, "this one is fabulous, and that odd couple makes me smile everytime I see it." Hurry and check this Treasury out because it expires this Tuesday afternoon. I love the charcoal drawing by Mary Shira in the collection. See what you think!

Caitlin included one of my cat drawings in another Treasury last September. Thank you, Caitlin!

Sassy

2010-01-12T06:45:00.000-08:00

Sassy

7" X 5" pen and ink

2009

Here's Sassy! My first portrait of the year. I've not met Sassy and I don't know what breed, or combination of breeds, she is -- Boston Terrier? Boxer? Border Collie? Pitbull? -- but I feel sure that she's full of personality and pizazz. In a word -- SASSY!

Year-End Tally

2009-12-30T09:34:00.000-08:00

2009 has been a good year for PenPets, despite the economic downturn. I drew 32 PenPets commissions, two birthday presents, two Brooksville Breeze cover illustrations, and I carved one woodcut wedding present. Here’s the tally for PenPets drawings:

29 dogs

11 cats

1 out-house
1 Victorian toilet

3 houses
1 hamster

1 still life

1 bird
4 horses

I was so busy drawing PenPets portraits that I didn’t get in much woodcarving this year, only 5 woodcuts:

2 great blue herons

1 Haflinger horse

4 pigs

Woops! I almost forgot this little fictional pup, Katya, the tiny but intrepid heroine of my yet-to-be-published children's book Becoming Katya. She's my new year's baby.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T07:21:00.000-08:00

Two Tennis Ball Aficionados

2009-12-19T07:09:00.000-08:00

Sailor

5" X 7" pen and ink

2009

Bear

8" X 10" pen and ink

2009

I don’t often have the pleasure of meeting my PenPets subjects. Many of them are far flung. Some of them have died before I draw them. Thus, I was doubly delighted to meet both Sailor and Bear.

Sailor and I had a photo op on the lawns of the Ellsworth Public Library. He is an elderly gentleman and absolutely charming as only a Golden can be. He arrived for the shoot with his own prop, a favorite tennis ball, which he can no longer chase but which he cherishes just the same. He was cheerful, cooperative, and fabulously photogenic. I took 25 shots of him, all of them good ones, each one showing a different side of his personality. Here are a few of them:

Noble

Kind

Goofy

Playful

Faithful

Rita and I went with the faithful pose, hoping it would sum up every ounce of what makes Sailor special.

I met Bear, a huge and handsome German Shepherd, in the parking lot of Rooster Brother, a great kitchen shop in Ellsworth. Kerri warned me, as she swung open the back hatch of her Subaru, that some folks are afraid of Bear because of his breed and his size. But Bear didn’t live up to his ferocious exterior. He gave each one of us a sweet kiss on the nose and happily let me scratch his ears and compliment him. Bear is an oldster as well, with spine and knee problems. Although he can no longer chase his treasured tennis balls--doctor's orders--he keeps one near to paw at all times. Bear is a big-hearted fellow who talks to his people as if he were human. “He is not just our dog," Kerri says, "but a part of the extended family.”

Three Cats

2009-12-16T07:19:00.000-08:00

Harry, Teddy, & Dexter

10" X 8" pen and ink

2009

Candy and I had quite a time coming up with just the right combination of cats for her son Andrew’s Christmas present. Candy took over 60 photos of the three kitties and sent me a dozen of her best. We played around with five or six arrangements, all from separate photos, and finally came up with this one. Candy also put her heart and soul into her descriptions of the three cats. Here’s the gist of what she wrote. I hope it’s enough to give you the essential flavor of each cat and I hope I've captured their flavors in my drawing:

Harry, believe it or not, is 15 years old. He's the oldest of the cats. Andrew got him when he was in 7th grade as a reward for good grades. He was an only cat for 5 years and is the one Andrew is most attached to. Harry is like a dog. He's got such personality. People who hate cats love Harry because he is so sweet and gentle. He's at the door to greet you. He's a purrer and loves to snuggle against necks. He stays rather active, but not in a bad way. He loves to drink with his paws out of the kitchen sink faucet or bathtub faucet. He knows how to tell someone to turn it on so he can get a drink. This cat is part human, I swear.

Teddy is second in age, about 12, the photogenic one. He's Mr. Easy-Guy. Not a thing bothers him. He lumbers along at his own pace, never much one to hurry. He's only a lap-cat to Andrew. If Andrew lies on the bed or the sofa, you know Teddy will be right there, either right on the pillow or between his legs. Always. I love the pix of Teddy upside down; it is so Teddy. He so often is lying on his back, sometimes with his front paws over his eyes. I'm not sure it's useable for the drawing but I thought I'd send it along just in case.

Dexter, the youngest, is about 6 years old this year. He's Mr. Rambunctious. He's a tease to the other cats. Loves to play. He's always got his snout looking out the window. If the blinds aren't open for him, he'll ruin them by putting his face right through the slats so he can see outside. He loves playing with toys, tossing and pushing fluff balls around the wood floors and up and down the steps. Harry does this too. Teddy could give a hoot.

It's tough to make bookmarks (part of my packaged PenPets deal) of three subjects. I was pleased with my solution to this particular problem -- four separate bookmarks.

Ta-Da!

Happy Birthday Cousin David!

2009-12-14T04:02:00.000-08:00

Sadie

5" X 7" pen and ink

2009

Holly, my cousin David’s wife, commissioned this portrait of Sadie, their yellow Labrador, for his birthday today. Sadly, Sadie left David, Holly, and their daughter Ashleigh last Halloween. I had a chance to meet Sadie at a mini-reunion of Smith family cousins in Virginia Beach in October. Although Sadie had cancer and was surely not feeling her best, nobody would have known she was suffering. She was a gracious and open-hearted hostess, sharing her toys and her good cheer with all who visited her house that day. I know she is well missed.

In this morning’s Bangor Daily News, Anthony Anderson writes about why pet portraits make such welcome presents in “Consider Maine art as meaningful Christmas gift”:

Last Christmas my wife gave me a painting she had commissioned of my dog Angus. Angus was a big, handsome Airedale terrier that loved to ride in Saab convertibles. I lost him two years ago and miss him terribly. The painting of him standing on the back deck of the Saab allows him to always be with me, and I see him every day. I was overjoyed by the gift and will treasure it always. It is also a testament to how thoughtful my wife is.

I hope David is overjoyed with Sadie’s portrait and that seeing her every day will be a treasure for him, too.