OSCAR ATE MY MUFFIN

And Just Like That...

The first warm days of spring never fail to inspire a craving for ice cream cones (Oscar and I are pretty big fans). Coincidentally, those teasingly mild temperatures also tend to coincide with a rather important event on the spring calendar - an event that fully supports the procurement of aforementioned ice cream, going so far even to demand sprinkles... that's right, it's BIRTHDAY-time, friends, and this year, for one big red dog, it was something special...

This year, on the cloudy 27th of March, 2015, Oscar-dog turned one year older. And this year, the Beast turned TEN. 120 months have passed, roughly 3,650 rotations on the earthly axis, and countless hours of beloved company have been enjoyed since this stubborn, steady, remarkably clever (and shockingly handsome) canine rocked into the world. And you know what? He just. keeps. getting. better...


He may nap a bit more loudly, and romp a little less; he may require more frequent fine-tuning, and his drool is still a mess... But his patience has only grown longer, his old-dog-wisdom is real, and when it comes to loyalty and focus - let's just say... there's a reason why my dad recently remarked, "You know Oscar is really like a weathervane - whenever I need to know where you are, I just look at which direction he's pointing!". If that's not devotion, folks, I don't know what is.

10 years young, this incredible Beast is wearing his age like the fine gentleman he's always been, and I count myself blessed beyond compare to have him always by my side.

Happy Birthday, my sweet boy - here's to many more.

Sleeping Positions...

Like any good Ridgeback, Oscar is a sneak and a clown and a stubborn mule when he wants to be, but due to many years of training, he also has excellent manners. One of his most endearing qualities is his refusal to climb aboard furniture until he has been invited to do so by a human (he can be overt to the point of hilarity about his interest in being up where the people are, but he won't so much as lift a paw onto upholstery without express permission). For his first 6 or so years, he wasn't ever given a chance to leave his place on the floor - it's only been somewhat recently, really, that life shifted for both of us, and I decided to amend our long-standing house rules...

I wrote about the circumstances leading up to this event - and leading Oscar onto the bed - in an autumn issue of the Somerville, MA-based arts publication, Inkseed, and while the full text is too long to post here, the accompanying illustration (above) and following excerpt should nicely sum up what has become a heartfelt topic for both Oscar and I.

"And then it happened. At the end of a particularly long, anxious day, with all traces of order seemingly evaporated, I looked at him, looking at me… the evening hour paused… and I asked Oscar up onto the bed. 

If there is such a thing as a doggie double take, that was Oscar’s response. Incredulous, wary of being fooled into a trap, and listening to all his years of training to the contrary, he resisted (which mere months ago would have earned him a cookie on the spot). But I had made up my mind, and repetitious reassurances finally got him to leap up.

He likely spent that backwards night just waiting for the jig to be up; a dog that typically snores through even rugged nudges, his great head would pop up nervously every time I shifted. But I - like a lonely puppy in it’s first night crated solo will snuggle into the beating heart of a blanketed alarm clock - I wrapped an arm over him and let the steady metronome of Oscar’s breathing focus my own. I had broken a rule six years faithfully upheld, but in the midst of a great, grueling sea change, leaving the predictable in the past seemed imperative to moving forward.

...Over time, a new nighttime pattern took shape. There were kinks to work out, of course: invisible boundaries were determined to contain “sleeping dog sprawl”; a bed cover was appropriated to keep gritty paws off beloved quilts; and adherence to a new rule - dogs OFF the bed when the human rises in the morning - was required practice. But this novel routine was all ours, it belonged exclusively to Oscar and I, and tucking myself in beside velvet ears and the occasional groan of a beast settling into sleep became a beacon of comfort at the end of each day. Likewise, when anxiety gripped my chest tightly enough to startle me from sleep way ahead of my alarm each morning, I had a grounding wire to reach for beside me. My restless fidgets were met with sleepy brown eyes, and a yawn full of teeth who’s only concern was the hour of breakfast."

Change can be so good for the soul... All that being said - Oscar is not permitted to share the covers with me every night - nor does he want to! Amusingly, he has been known to refuse an invitation, in favor of his own (quite lavish) sleeping arrangement. I suppose, if dogs really do take after their owners, the battle of two bed hogs wears on the both of us sometimes...

At Long Last, Say Hello to...

Big news, dear readers! After many years of requests for prints and artwork from (or just in the general style of) this website, Oscar and I have finally collected our ducklings and stocked the virtual shelves of a proper online print shop! Though it be small, it contains a mighty handful of artworks that I'm very proud of: all prints are meticulously produced using archival quality inks and papers, and each one is hand-signed.

Making this shop debut extra special is the inclusion of a brand new, limited edition, hand-printed POSTER! My first screen-print - and boy is it a gem...


We know it's a crazed time of year, but if you've been following the Old Man Beast and I for this long, you already know you'll like what you see - so come visit! And if you've got a dog lover on your "nice list" this year, look no further for a great gift! All prints ship flat, so they're ready for framing or display.


Here's hoping you enjoy studio/animaux as much as we enjoyed bringing it to life... Be merry out there, dear ones, and happy holidaying!

~ N-zed & O-Town

Drawing All Dogs (And Inspiration)

It's not hard to deduce that my heart belongs to one dog, and one (big, red, lazy) dog only, but when it comes to drawing, I'm far from exclusive. If I've got a sketchbook in hand, you can bet the awkward bob of a passing poodle, or the smushed-in mug of a pug will appear somewhere on a page; mixed breed or pure, plucky puppy or geriatric, I'll bliss out at the chance to draw them all. In addition to good practice, impromptu portraits of furry friends and strangers can become useful reference and inspiration for future projects as well. Case in point - meet Charlie and Henry!


Charlie and Henry, both rescues, belong to some good friends down south. I only met them in person a few weeks ago (during which time I sketched the sleeping beasts at the top of this post), but this past spring, working from photos, I incorporated Charlie's shaggy face into a commission for a pet magazine based in the UK (good reference photos for me are always key to great finished work, but good reference photos of animals in my personal orbit provide an added narrative bonus, and make the end result that much more personal).

The fully illustrated article, titled "The more the merrier?", appeared in the summer issue of My VIP magazine and explores the effort involved in managing multi-species households. My artwork graces both a title page and a double-page spread. Charlie (who isn't, in reality, a social butterfly himself) seemed like an appropriate ambassador for a paragraph on how to carefully introduce two dogs in order to ensure a successful first impression, and perhaps more importantly - to avoid fisticuffs (let's just say, Oscar and I have a little experience in this department...). 



Notice that handsome Dane on the title page? He's inspired by a few local friends as well! The beautiful brother and sister pair, King & Storm, were the subjects of a 13 Project post from a few winters back... when it came time to anchor my title page composition with something solid and sculptural, how could I resist the urge to use a likeness of these steely grey muses?


*Since this is a dog blog, I won't go into detail about a certain feline acquaintance who also earned a cameo in this set of illos, but for the record (D&K, take note), sweet old Monty... he's in there. So you see, you just never know where inspiration sits twitching it's ears...

The Great Sleeping Studio Beast

Oscar, of course, has a bed in the studio next to me. Most of the time he sleeps on it, though sometimes (especially when the summer air gets unbearably hot) he sleeps around it. On the day pictured above, he chose to sprawl directly where I needed to stand... fine by me - I just crossed my fingers that he wouldn't startle at something and leap up underneath whatever project I happened to be crafting.

I often refer to the Beast as my studio muse... and when a napping position like the one here begets an afternoon of inspired sketching, it's not hard to see why:

You Are What (Color) You Eat

Eight Years Ago Today...

... this gorgeous Beast said hello to the world. Three months later "Ricky" (yeesh, right?!) rocked into my life... and within a week of becoming "Oscar" he had launched his modeling career by doning an XL baby tee and posing in front of the lens in the Zutano photo studio (where I spent many wonderful years as a designer). The boy had swagger from day one, and an undeniable talent for pulling off ridiculous costumes with debonair seriousness.

Today also proudly marks the one-year anniversary of this blog...! A pretty satisfying feat in numerous ways, and a project that continues to unfold in increasingly thrilling directions. I might bring the brains and talent, but there's no question that Oscar Dog is the heart (and giant, cast-iron stomach) of this operation. Today, I celebrate 8 phenomenal years of beautiful canine inspiration, along with 365 days (and 60 posts) of dog-blogging escapades.

We're planning our annual celebration for this weekend (follow-up birthday post to come), but for now, on this bright March day: Happy Birthday, my sweet, sweet, couldn't-be-more-wonderful boy - here's to many more years of influence and adventures...

Testing, Testing...

Sometimes you just need to muck around with materials and try things out... and when your studio muse is Oscar, your tests often end up as portraiture: This is a colored pencil drawing with a watercolor overlay.

Shutterpup: Ty Foster Photography

Thankfully (for the breed) Rhodesian Ridgebacks are still unusual enough that it's a special day when I come across one out in public. Even more unusual is the chance discovery of a fellow creative who also considers a Ridgeback among the world's best artistic muses. I stumbled onto the fine work of Connecticut photographer, Ty Foster, through a flickr album of his handsome and humorous RR, Tech. One enthusiastic photo comment led to an email conversation, and this fall Ty was able to swing by the studio in between client shoots to grab an impromptu session with the Beast and I. It was an honor and a treat, and the proof of Ty's dedication to his craft is clear in the resulting images... 


I'm not a real fan of the camera (as if it weren't painfully obvious), but Oscar - in true Ridgeback fashion - looked like a cool million dollars in every frame... once again... as usual. From the inside of the studio, to the afternoon sun of the loading dock, this dog just doesn't take a bad photo... And the combination of clear skies and great venue made for a thoroughly successful event. *If you peruse Ty's online portfolio, you'll see he has a real fascination with weathered, worn and otherwise distressed industrial objects and architecture - thus the Fringe facade made for a stellar backdrop...


To see more of Ty's beautiful dog portraits, check out his online portfolio at TyFoster.com, or have a peek at his blog of current projects (he's working on a pretty crazy-cool series right now called "Dogs Ink" - I won't ruin the surprise by describing the theme!). And if you want to meet the infamous Tech - he's got his very own (almost) flickr album...

And in the spirit of collaboration and shared inspiration, today, dear readers, you can find a sister post, featuring an illustrated feature by yours truly over on Ty's blog! Having used Oscar for his own photographic inspiration last month, Ty gave me the green light to use Tech as the subject of an inked portrait of my own design... I wasn't able to meet the smooth criminal himself this time around, but I had AMPLE amazing reference to work from - a sneak peek is below - to see the rest, rock on over to TyFoster.com!

 

Studio Snoozing, Vermont Style

As evidenced by a regretful absence of regular posting, the approach of autumn has found the Beast and I positively swamped by a multitude of projects (flowers and bats and patterns, oh my!), commitments (I've officially re-entered the world of academia!) and activities (oh... to be revealed!) - not at all a bad situation, though it has resulted in a noticable impovershiment of blogging time. The last month or so has been particularly insane... To escape the crazy, I packed up the pup and fled to Vermont for the weekend... our forever home sweet home.

It was a drizzly, damp weekend, and hunkered down in front of a carefully curated still life, with a vintage box of charcoal and kneaded erasers between us, my dad and I (my artistic impulse is actually genetic) thoroughly blissed out to the sound of rain drumming on the tin roof, and a large dog softly snoring in the corner. Heaven. On. Earth.