Buddy

No time!  No time!  Isn't that what the White Rabbit said in Alice in Wonderland?  Or maybe it was We're late, we're late!  Well I've felt like that this past week and a half.  Down a hole!

We had our annual selection day and I seem to get involved with loads of administrative functions which eat away at Time.  So I haven't been visiting anyone in blogland and haven't done any blogging myself.  What little time I had, I did some painting!   Isn't that what we're supposed to do?

One of the smaller paintings I did was of Buddy, a cute looking, short legged Cocker Spaniel looking for a home at DARG.  Carrie Jacobsen who runs the blog of Art for Shelter Animals, wrote a lovely piece on DARG and put Buddy's picture up as well.  Have a look at the site.

But here's Buddy, a little fellow unable to be kept by his owners.

A Dog Challenge

How can I resist challenges like last month's one on James Parker's Windows to the Words blog?  Especially when it involves DOGS!

This is a beautiful dog owned by Laura Rowe.  Unfortunately I don't have her details or a blog address for her, or the name of this beautiful dog, but she did one of my Katie in return.

Here they both are -

Laura Rowe's Dog

Katie

Man's Best Friend

I think my favourite subject to paint is still dogs.

I love dogs.  I love all animals, but especially dogs.  There is something so special and wholesome about them especially when treated properly.  Their inherent goodness comes through when you are good to them and even when badly treated, like the dogs at DARG, they are still so forgiving.  And I believe the same is true for an organisation in America, the Port Jervis/Deer Park Humane Society who sent an appeal through the Art for Shelter Animals blog for artists to paint portraits of their shelter animals to help raise funds. This link is to Sheila Tajima's blog, and Carrie Jacobson who also plays a major role.  Please have a look - maybe there's a face there that you'll want to paint.

I did a portrait of Cocoa - the chocolatey/reddy brown coat was a definite appeal, plus that gorgeous face!  Even Pit Bulls are special.  Ask Cocoa!

  

and some time ago, I did this small one for DARG.  This is Tammy who was abandoned by her owner, but fortunately has recently been adopted!  Bless you Tammy, enjoy your new home.

Lion the Dog (in watercolour)

In the suburb of Hout Bay there is an 'informal settlement' that goes by the name of Imizamo Yethu, which roughly translated means 'through collective struggle'.  The settlement is made up of shacks and the residents are primarily Xhosa speakers from the Eastern Cape who have made the trip to Cape Town looking for a job and a better life.  There are also immigrants (legal and illegal) from northern parts of Africa.

Imizamo Yethu is a hodge-podge of people and cultures and despite desperate hardship there are also little gems that can be unearthed.

Lion the Dog is one of them.  

He used to live on the dusty street even though his owner made sure he had fresh water and a meal of some sort.

But Lion the Dog was getting old and his joints were feeling stiff and sore, so Hilary Barclay*, a former nurse and animal lover, decided that he needed a kennel.  Through generous donations, Lion now has shelter and warmth and loves his kennel so much, he "only comes out of it to eat, pee and pooh!"

*Hilary Barclay, a registered nurse and dog trainer, started an animal sterlisation programme in Hout Bay's IY township in 2004 to uplift the animal welfare of pets in this community.  To date they have sterlised over 1000 pets and have thus gone a long way to curbing the animal population.  The original black and white photograph for this pic was taken by Mia Davila who is the publicity and liaison person at DARG.

Xena the Pitbull

 I still occasionally do the odd painting for DARG, but not quite as often as I would like.

This is Xena and DARG think she's about 5 years old.  In the blurb they say she was rescued 2 years ago after being burnt on her back with hot oil!  Amazing how people think that these poor creatures don't feel pain.  She was adopted but was returned after her new owner decided to move without her.

It is a bit of a problem when people return to places like the UK where dogs and cats have to be quarantined for 6 months before going to their new home, so sometimes I guess it is best to try and find a new home for the animal.

Apparently Xena is "adorable, super playful, super affectionate, super cuddly, loyal, protective and strong.  Belly rubs are a must!"

Puppy Love

James Parker's blog Windows to the Words was the inspiration for this painting.  He has posted a number of pics of 'look-a-like' kids and their pets, included a rather nice poem, and given us a month to do the painting.

Now, I'm always late with these challenges!  But I so loved this delightful couple, I had to finish it in a morning.  So I'm probably one of the first this time.

The dog presented quite a challenge at first.  Just one black mass but after figuring out that a couple of brush strokes in the right direction would give the impression of fur, a dab of colour where the nose and eyes should be and voila! a dog appeared.

Check out James' blog to see the other pics he's posted.

Now for something completely different.  As most of you know, I love two sports codes - cricket and rugby.  Last night I went to the cinema for the first time in about 3 years because I just had to see the movie Invictus on the big screen.  Directed by Clint Eastwood, it's about our past President Nelson Mandela and past Rugby Captain, Francois Pienaar.

We went along with a bit of trepidation because I've seen American productions depicting South Africans with the most awful accents, but Matt Damon with his Afrikaans accent and Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela were magnificent!  And so many memories of the games, of the flypast by the Boeing 747, of the game against the French where we thought the players were going to drown in Durban and the incredible New Zealander, Jonah Lomu!

If you haven't seen it already, go along to have a look-see and enjoy the wonderful photography of my home town of Cape Town.

Our much loved past President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela

handing the Webb Ellis Trophy to Captain Francois Pienaar

A Home Wanted

As I haven't done anything for DARG for a while now, and as they have so many new dogs and cats up for adoption, I thought I must really do another painting.

This is Sledge.  He is a cross Husky something and was apparently abandoned by his owner.

It always amazes me how human beings can be so callous about their fellow creatures.  We domesticate them to such a degree that they become totally reliant on us for all their needs, and then idiots like this owner decide they don't want them anymore!

I believe we share this beautiful planet with our fellow creatures and our intellect does not give us dominion and lording rights over them.

I hope Sledge finds someone who will care for him.

Real and Fictional Dogs

I wouldn’t know how to act without a dog.

As a toddler, our family dog, Mitzi, used to accompany me on my walk around the block with my dog and buggy. (I think dad finally put a lock on the gates so I couldn’t get out of the yard on my own.)

In later years, a succession of dogs came through my life. I can’t seem to be without one as the house always seems so empty and quiet without a dog around.

Not surprisingly, my fictional characters always have pets, too.

In Searching for a Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery, Sam and her bff Lita gladly take care of a friend’s new Dachshund Petey. What makes Petey special is not only his boisterous, fun (and nosy!) personality, but the fact that he was also adopted from a dog shelter.

For Sam and Lita, who don’t have pets of their own, Petey offers them the chance to enjoy the companionship of a dog, who also happens to help them solve a mystery, too. Who says Wishbone is the only dog who can have fun?

** Nov. 1-7 is National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week. Started by The Humane Society of the United States, the event honors the 4,000 animal shelters across the county serving an estimated 6-8 million homeless animals needing shelter each year.

**Buy: Searching for A Starry Night

** BUY: Searching for a Starry Night at QUAKE

Tiggy and Selection Day

This is a painting done for a friend whose little dog, Tiggy is very special.

She's quite elderly but I am greeted with such enthusiasm by both her and her 'sister' Abby.

I just love Tiggy's whiskers and the way she looks so poised, almost as if she was deliberately posing for the photograph.

Yesterday (Saturday - it is now early Sunday morning here in SA) was a hectic day. We had our society selection day for our Annual Exhibition which is held at the Sanlam Hall in the beautiful Kirstenbosch Gardens. I am on the South African Society of Artists (SASA) committee and besides running around from one end of the hall to the other, was responsible for the computer work! Me, who's not that fantastic with computers, is deemed to be the computer expert! Oh dear.

It all went very well even though it was a long day and we had just short of 600 paintings submitted, a record. The judges were put through their paces, and it was a fascinating experience watching their marks. There are three judges and each judge gives his or her own mark without knowing what the others are doing. Apparently this works in England and we have adopted it here.

I was lucky enough to have one painting submitted, my still life, but the other two didn't make the cut. Maybe next year.

Kiera

This is Kiera. She is a 4 year old cross Pitbull whose best activity is to watch TV on the couch with some biscuits to munch!

Kiera is a DARG dog, and according to DARG, she's a great companion, bonds well with people, is love-starved and is a real softie. I guess that's quite hard to believe from a Pitbull, given the bad reputation they've got over the years.

But like all protective breeds, if they're treated properly, they will be great companions. The Pitbull reputation has been brought about by unscrupulous owners using them for fighting purposes. So, there is no such creature as a bad dog, only a BAD OWNER.

I hope she finds the loving home she so deserves.

Carlos

Carlos is an elderly gentleman(dog) who lives in an historic house in Constantia, one of the first wineland areas established in the Western Cape.

My sister was doing her dog/housesitting with Carlos and two of his pals whilst their mom went overseas to the UK.

I met him when she brought him round for a visit. He is practically blind and quite deaf, but he still loves life, and very definitely, FOOD. Put your hand near him and it's snuffle, snuffle, looking for tidbits to eat.

I don't think he's going to be with us for much longer, but as his doctor says, he's happy and in no pain, so let him enjoy his twilight years in the luxurious comforts of the Constantia greenbelt.

A Dog called Khaya

Another painting of a young dog from DARG.

Khaya and her companion, were left to fend for themselves and were picked up wandering on the N7 highway just outside Cape Town (the main West Coast Road). Both youngsters, Khaya is a cross Husky Lab, were obviously just dumped as people become less and less able to feed and care for them.

An unusual name, Khaya is the Zulu (and Xhosa) word for 'home'. And the good news is that both Khaya and her "sister", Ujo, have just been adopted. I'm hoping that the new owners will donate to DARG for Khaya's portrait. Fingers crossed!

Daphne

Meet Daphne.   She is one of the older residents at DARG, the animal rescue group that I have done a couple of paintings for.  

This initiative, which was started by Sheila and Carrie, has taken on a life of its own in the USA. Hopefully it will progress to other countries across the world.

Daphne has been with DARG for some time now, and the hopes of her being re-homed are quite remote.  It is scary the number of animals that are 'discarded' by people - they currently have a whole host of puppies that have been rescued and one puppy pitbull that is deaf.

I always feel so sad when I see the faces of all these lost animals.  Thank goodness for organisations like DARG and thank goodness for people like Sheila and Carrie who give people like me an opportunity to help them.

Wharf

Well this is my first contribution to the Art for Animals blog.

His name is Wharf and he comes from the Hout Bay based organisation, DARG (Domestic Animal Rescue Group). I don't know very much about Wharf, but from his name would imagine he was found wandering round the docks.

DARG have a policy of never putting a healthy animal down and as a result, there are a few dogs and cats who have been staying at the centre for some time. Wharf is one of them, a sweet faced eldery dog who is looking for a home to retire to. Hopefully my little painting will help him find his 'forever' place in the sun!

Emma

This is Emma. She was my friend and companion for 8 years before she went to doggy heaven 6 years ago. She had bone cancer and when she broke her leg, there was nothing the vet could do for her. I miss her still and get a little teary eyed when I look at her inquiring expression.

She discovered squeaky toys late in life and this little pink one was HERS. It seemed to be the only one that wasn't destroyed, maybe because it was a little bit spiky.

This painting of Emma is also my warm-up for Sheila's Art for Animals blog. I need to take photos and get down to painting the unwanted dogs that people throw away. Watch this space!

Stig and Yoshi

A few weeks ago my sister did some housesitting for a family who lives in Steenberg. Diana (my sister) is a dog trainer and she gets these requests from people who mainly need to have their animals looked after. This particular family have just become parents to the most delightful little (monsters!) Pugs called Stig and Yoshi.

Their curiosity knows no bounds and when Diana brought them over for a visit on the way back from wherever they'd been, they had the cheek to bark at our Rottweilers! Jesse and Katie (the Rotties) couldn't believe their eyes - just as well there was a security gate between them!

Yesterday I had a visit from a Pug lover, Nancy and the Fatties (check it out - she is involved in Pug rehabilitation) and just for that I thought I would post the painting I did of Stig and Yoshi (Stig in orange, Yoshi in blue) - I'm starting to use bigger brushstrokes and layering paint and because I met these two, I so enjoyed this painting. Hope you do, too.