Beetle

Beetle

U.S. High Point Field Trial Cocker in 2012 

5" X 7" pen and ink

2013

Klyde

Klyde

Chocolate Labrador Retriever

5" X 7" colored pen and ink

2013

Casey and Hans

Casey and Hans

Italian greyhound and Doberman

10" X 8" colored pen and ink

2013

Princess

Princess

Jack Russell Terrier

5" X 7" colored pen and ink

2013

"I received Princess today. It came out wonderful. You did a beautiful job. I know Sue and Joe will be very pleased. Thank you for the colored note cards and book markers. That's definitely an extra touch."

~Pam

Marcellus, New York

Missy

Missy

Shih Tzu

7" X 5" colored pen and ink drawing

2012

Shingles

Happy Labor Day!

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!




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

San Francisco Photo Shoot

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!

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.

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.

Catching Up

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.

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

Mystery Dog

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.

A Lion in Designer Dog’s Clothing

Riley Panto

10" X 8" pen and ink

2009

“This is our pet, Riley Panto,” wrote Laurie, Riley’s person. “A little rascal, two years old. Riley is a designer dog, ShihTzu Maltese. We named him Riley because he howled like Wiley the coyote on the first few nights. And we did not want to call him Wiley because our nieces and nephews would have trouble saying it. Riley is the perfect name. I am sending a few photos. My favorite is on the rock wall. We have seen so much of your work and are fascinated with it. Looking forward to seeing your magic with Riley.”

When Laurie and I debated a horizontal vs. a vertical portrait, Laurie chose horizontal. “He is not a very tall dog,” she wrote, “so he acts more horizontal than vertical.” Riley may be vertically challenged, but, what he lacks in stature, he makes up for in personality. He looks to me like he has the self-esteem of a lion. I hope I’ve captured that quality of supreme self-confidence in his portrait.

Laurie is well-pleased with it: “Leslie, I absolutely adore the drawing of Riley !!!!!!!!!!!!”

Wew!