Painting Pups: When Dogs Let Loose on Canvas

by Laura Vogel (Subscribe to Laura Vogel's posts): Oct 8th 2009 @ 11:00AM Filed Under: Dogs, Pet Training

Dogs plus art usually equals kitsch -- velvet tapestries of hounds playing poker or paint-by-number illustrations of big-eyed pups. But the upcoming "Gone to the Dogs" exhibit -- opening today in New York City -- will turn you into a true believer that canines can be Cezannes.

The show features pooch portraits done by humans, along with art created by dogs -- and demonstrations of puppy Picassos in action. We talked to the owners of the three doggy Gauguins featured in the show to learn about their artistic process and style.

Ziggy with his paintings. Photo: Jeffery Werner, incrediblefeatures.com

Ziggy the Painting Pekingese
Ziggy, a five-year-old Pekingese, is an actor and painter based in San Diego. Elizabeth Monacelli, a classical violinist, has owned Ziggy since he was a pup.

"I initially got Ziggy as a show prospect, and within six months, he was halfway to a championship. But the show ring made him very cranky, so I retired him," Monacelli tells Paw Nation. "Ziggy has always loved to play with cardboard paper towel rolls, and one day, I said, 'It looks like he's painting!' " And with that, Monacelli found a whole different career for Ziggy.

"This started as a training exercise," says Monacelli. She attaches a paintbrush to the end of a cardboard tube with a rubber band, dips it into nontoxic acrylic paint for her artist friend, and then stands back. "We taught him to pick up a paintbrush and approach a canvas, breaking the act of painting into its components and devising commands for each."

Ziggy knows how to signal when he's ready to create. "We have a paint box with all of his supplies in it, and he'll go right over and sit on top of it when he's ready to work," Monacelli says. Similarly, when he determines a piece is done, it's done. "He'll drop the brush, turn in a circle, and run out the door," says Monacelli.

When asked what moves her pint-size Picasso, Monacelli says that music spurs Ziggy's creativity. "I've done several experiments. When we don't have music on, he's not as inspired. I've tried playing Chinese music -- that's the heritage of his breed -- and that seems to really get him excited to work."

Finally, says Monacelli, "Many people ask me if I think Ziggy knows what he's doing. I am absolutely sure he does. One day, I went to wash the paint brushes, and I came back in and Ziggy was looking at his painting, his tail wagging like crazy, and he had no idea I was watching him. He's proud of what he can do!"

Ziggy's paintings have sold for as much as $500, though most are in the $150-200 range -- quite a bargain for a non-human work of art.

"The 18 Saints of Tillamook Cheddar" Photo: F. Bowman Hastie

Tillamook Cheddar, the Terrier who Watercolors

Tillamook Cheddar ("Tillie" to her gallery assistant/owner F. Bowman Hastie) is a 10-year-old Jack Russell Terrier who lives and works in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. Her medium is a watercolor block -- 20 sheets of watercolor paper laminated together and nontoxic wax-based paints.

"When Tillie was a few months old, she clamored onto my lap and started scratching the paper I was working on," Hastie tells Paw Nation. "She was making marks, but they weren't visible, so I started using carbon paper to record them. She was always very zoned-in to what she was doing from the very beginning. It definitely has something to do with her genetic need to dig, as a terrier."

Hastie was as surprised by Tillie's artistic tendency as anyone would be -- it wasn't his intention to raise a painting dog. "I just thought it was very cool I still don't understand why she does this," Hastie explains, "but it's very clear that she knows."

Indeed, watching Tillie as Hastie prepared her work supplies (over the years it's evolved from carbon paper to a piece of vellum paper coated with oil-stick paint rubbed onto a watercolor block wrapped with clear Mylar) she was completely transfixed. She shook and whined as he prepped, obviously anxious to get a hold of the pad. Once the terrier starts "painting," very few things will distract her, although if Hastie isn't watching, Tillie loses interest fairly quickly. (He surmises she is partly motivated by his attention and praise.) Usually it's the dog that's the muse, not the other way around!

Tillie usually works for 10 minutes, clawing it frantically, biting the edges, propping it up on her dog bed/pillow to hold it steady. Tillie's claw marks create potent lines of color; where she's dug and bitten, there are divots in the paper, giving the art texture. If past sales are any indication, the price of the work will yield a figure in the thousands -- not bad for a half hour of work!

Suddenly Sammy

Sammy's "Fetch a Pail of Water" Photo: Mary Stadelbacher

Canine artist Sammy was originally trained by Mary Stadelbacher, president, founder, and lead trainer at Shore Service Dog s in Maryland, a nonprofit organization that trains assistance dogs for people with mobility disabilities. "All of my guys are rescues. Some I get really early on, others are much older," Stadelbacher tells Paw Nation. "The old saying that you can't teach old dogs new tricks is completely false."

Stadelbacher has taught many of her dogs to paint, but Sammy was a real natural. "Far in advance of the first session, each dog had to know many commands -- to grab onto something, to hold onto another location, and to 'go paint,'" says Stadelbacher. "They will keep going as long as they are being encouraged. They love it!"

Stadelbacher explains that she clearly delineates painting as a "fun" activity, as opposed to their assistance jobs. "A dog working for a handicapped person has to obey every command every time, so you can only train them with affection and verbal praise [rather than with treats]." Painting is different, she says, "That's one of the few things that I do give them treats for."

All of the proceeds from the animal artwork that Stadelbacher sells goes right back into supporting the Shore Service Dogs. When asked if she believes her dogs know what they are doing when they paint, she says, "They know if they've done something good when they are done. Their tails are wagging and they are obviously excited."

"Gone to the Dogs" opens October 8 and continues until November 7, 2009
Denise Bibro Fine Art, Inc.
529 West 20th Street, 4W
New York, NY 10011

Check out our gallery of other animals who paint.

Tags: animals who paint, AnimalsWhoPaint, dogs who paint, DogsWhoPaint, painting dogs, PaintingDogs