Pet Sounds

Oil painting of my Bagel by me.

Inspired by my class project for blogging, Tony, a nature and wildlife photographer friend of mine, returned to his own blog after a 13-month hiatus. His topics vary from photography to politics, but it is apparent he enjoys writing about his pets. A recent post about his dog “Rebel,” and a memorial post about his beloved dog “Whiskey,” got me thinking of my own family dog “Bagel.”

Bagel was the coolest dog. He was playful and smart and he knew lots of tricks. He was an excellent guardian and an even better companion.

Bagel chilling out to some Beach Boys music.

One summer afternoon, I lay in the sun reading a Charles Schultz “Peanuts” comic book. It was one of the earlier editions where Snoopy still walked on all four paws like a real dog. Bagel lay in another part of the yard in the shade. Giggling out loud, I called him to come to me and he obediently wandered over to me. As he lay on the beach towel next to me, I put my arm around him and propped the comic book in front of his muzzle. “Look how silly Snoopy is being!” I said to Bagel as he touched the page with his nose, leaving a wet smudge. Laughing, I read the entire comic page out loud to him, pointing out the funny facial expressions Snoopy was making. Whether or not Bagel thought I was crazy, he never let on. My dog was very tolerant of much of my whimsy. 

So when my friend Sue wanted to hire me to draw a caricature of her daughter with her new Dalmatian puppy, how could I say “no” to a girl and her dog? The bond can be so strong between some people and their pets, that many owners want to memorialize their animals in any manner they can.

My friend David is a one of the best 4-color pressmen I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with. He is familiar with both my professional design work and my freelance illustration. I’ve done several independent jobs for him, from Christmas cards and calendars to designing a label for his homemade brew. But the most interesting work I have done for him was a commissioned sketch as a birthday gift for his mother. It was fun to work from the old school photos of David, but the most unusual element was the inclusion his beloved dog “Worf” smack in the middle of in the drawing!

Speaking of working from photographs, my colleague Scott recently contacted me about helping to spread the word about his freelance/side business “The Pet Sketcher.” It is a service he provides… um… sketching pets from photographs.

The whole idea behind Social Media is the act of being “social.” It is the active support of each member’s efforts to attain self-set goals. If you have moment to view Tony’s nature and wildlife photography on his flickr page or his web site, please do so. Check out “The Pet Sketcher” on Facebook to see the quality of Scott’s work. Leave a comment for them both to let them know how you found their online sites, and what you think of their work. 

Friends inspiring Artists. And vice versa.

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One of the important aspects in Social Media Marketing and Web design is to consider using words and phrases in the titles that will garner the most hits and increase viewer traffic to web and blog pages. What is the point of posting it on the Internet if no one is viewing it? 

So, if your search engine directed you to this page because you are a Beach Boys purist, and you were looking for Pet Sounds music, I’d like to say first: “The Beach Boys rock!” And second: “Mea Culpa” for blatantly testing the marketing tactics. I hope you enjoyed the post anyway! –CM