Chico and Buddy

Chico

Chihuahua

7" X 5" pen and ink

2012

Buddy

Terrier Mix

7" X 5"

2012

Fall Drawings, 2011

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

Kaly in Kolor

 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

 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

My Furry Nephew

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! 

Wegman Watch Out!

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

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 Spectacular Springer

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

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.

Woops!

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!

American Water Spaniel

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

 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.

Mystery Dog Unveiled

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.

Cat, Pup, & Boot

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

Cuzco, Center of the Universe

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 Birthday Cousin David!

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.

Tanner

Tanner

7" X 5" pen and ink

2009

I became more and more smitten with Tanner as I drew his portrait. He emerged from the blank page as that perfect combination of strength and sensitivity. He’s handsome, too! Noble even. And his steady gaze cuts right to my quick. I’ve never met Tanner, but I feel like I know him.

I met Tanner’s person, Bob, on a flight from Norfolk, Virginia, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I was wearing a PenPets T-shirt. (I’ve been experimenting with T-shirt designs. Talk about self promotion!)

Next thing I knew, I was penning in Tanner’s bedroom eyes and feeling my heart go pit-a-pat.

Bob has since told me a bit of Tanner’s story: “Tanner is now six and a half years old. We got him at the Kennebec Humane Society a year and a half ago. He was brought in accompanied by a rottweiler. When the rotty went, Tanner’s personality blossomed. He has a huge ‘play’ gene and blasted around with wild abandon.”

I’m glad to know that my heart-throb is a fun-loving fellow as well!

Gypsy

When I first saw this photo of Gypsy, I thought she was a big, yellow Labrador, the backyard, all-American variety.

I was wrong on many counts.

Gypsy is a HE, not a SHE. He’s small, only 25 pounds, not big. He’s brown, not yellow. He’s of mixed and mysterious origins, not labradorish at all. Finally, he’s from Israel, not New Hampshire.

Teaches me to profile a dog!

Regardless of sex, size, color, breed, or country of origin, Gypsy looks quite cozy snoozing in his leafy bower. The wrinkled muzzle is, as I am told, a part of his character. He must be snarling at the rabbits he’s chasing in his dreams.

 Gypsy

7" X 5" pen and ink

2009

A New PenPets Dog

Clancy

8" X 10" pen and ink

2009

I think Clancy's eyes say it all. He's a Soft-coated Wheaten Terrier and a total sweet-heart. Can't you tell?

Triple Scoop

Cinnamon
Strudel & Oscar
8" X 10" pen and ink
2009

Three doxies
Three flavors
All delicious!

All three doxies were rescued. Cinnamon came from a puppy mill where she had countless litters and lost all her teeth. Thus the little droop in her lower lip. The trio is now living the good life in Tennessee.

We took down the DIAA exhibit last night. There were five sales, none of mine. Tom and I came home and cracked open a bottle of good wine to console ourselves.