Dan's Pet Portraits: Duffy the Westie

Monday, September 12, 2011

Duffy the Westie

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Here's how it works...

Welcome to my blog! I am an artist working from my studio in beautiful Muskoka, Ontario, Canada.

Based on the fact that you're exploring my blog, you're a pet person. To date most of my commissions have been from dog and cat lovers, but that doesn't rule out any other animals. Many of my portraits have been done in memory of a beloved and missed pet.

I work in watercolours, usually to an 8 x 10 size and I require 2-3 weeks to complete the finished portrait. My pets hang lovingly in many homes in North America and abroad; many as gifts. Referrals from happy customers make up a good portion of my business.

In order to capture the true personality of the pet, I would need 4-5 close ups to show coloring, eyes, etc. Profile or full face work best. If your pet has a favorite toy, include that as well. These may be sent to my gmail account as low resolution jpegs. Upon completion, I will forward a scanned low resolution copy for your viewing.

NEW LOWER PRICING!

Each pet portrait costs $115. Canadian funds, which should be forwarded as a money order or cheque after previewing the jpeg sent. I ship in photo envelopes to anywhere in the world at your expense, usually around $10. for envelope and postage.

I hope you enjoy my samples as much as I did creating them.

Pet Poetry from Dan

Our Puppy Taja

It’s so very hard to say goodbye
to a part of our lives that we’ll treasure forever.
Thank you for the memories and all the goofy things you did to endear
you and bond you to the four of us with such a strong love.
Thank you for giving back so much more than you ever received
and for protecting mom when we couldn’t be together.
Thanks for your curiosity and for warding off the furry creatures
of Loon Lake with your never ending battle to keep us safe.
Thank you for being a gentle soul and a mother to all your toys.
Thanks for being there and comforting us when our days were long and
troubled and for your happy ‘It’ll be okay’ smile that lit up our lives.
Thank you for all the years of unconditional love.
Thanks for your patience as we stumbled through the good and bad times.
Thanks for picking us up when we were down and for stubbornly
taking us for walks when we thought we were too tired.
Thanks for being the straight man for so many of our jokes.
It has all passed much too quickly as good things do.
Thank you for being a lady and for being our Taja.
We’ll watch for you leaping and pouncing in the clouds.

Dan Blix 2000 © Dan Blix 2004

Betsy The Newfie, ( Queen of the Lake )

It’s something quite different, It’s a level apart,
When a cute, furry puppy entangles your heart.
You train her, refrain her, maintain her with care.
And love her, and scrub her, clean her teeth if you dare.

She runs and she plays and explores in the woods.
Doesn’t listen as closely as you think she should.
You told her you’d scold her, but it’s a lost cause.
She chuckles, you buckle, she shows you who’s boss.

And when you’re feeling down and blue,
She understands just what to do.
She comes over slowly when she sees you cry.
A velvet paw wipes the tears from your eyes.

With leash in her mouth, she silently talks.
‘I’ll cheer you up, let’s go for a walk.
Don’t seem me uncaring, don’t seem me too bold.
I’m just returning your love double fold.’

She perches and searches on the little blue boat.
She’s Queen of the lake in her wind swept coat.
Keeps her subjects in line with a bark that says ‘Stay.’
As they kneel at their docks, bow their heads and obey.

Some Queens live a long time and some just a while,
All giving their love for your laughter and smile.
The sharing, the caring we feel with our pets,
Lasts a lifetime no matter how short that it gets.

Dan Blix / Loon Lake 1998 © Dan Blix 2004

Buttercup

She pads down the street, no direction needed
chasing a beast, but we just can’t see it
When she returns, she stays away
Keeping her secret for another day
Buttercup, where do you go
when you catch your prey
Will you curl up tonight content with today?

Dan Blix, 2002 © Dan Blix 2004

A Dog's World

‘If I only Had Thumbs’ / A Dogumentary

It’s 6:00 am, and I’m rarin’ to go...and I mean RARIN’ to GO! I’ve gotta' head for the bushes and these bozos are still fast asleep. I know they don’t like me talking to them this early, but I’m desperate! Maybe a friendly little lick. Well that didn’t work; how about a low-key whine... Aw, c’mon guys, I really gotta’ go! You’re leaving me no choice. I’m goin’ for the heavy artillery...BARKBARKBARK!! Well finally...a response! I’m good to go, just as soon as I scrape them off the ceiling, dress them and track down their slippers. I’m the only one who knows where they are. A little game I play to clear their heads and develop their problem solving skills.

These are my adopted parents. I’m quite proud of how quickly they pick things up and how well they've adapted to my lifestyle. I selected them over two years ago. I knew when they walked through the door that if every dog has its day, well… this was mine!

Humans can be pretty thick and often think they’re in charge, but I think I selected well. They have no idea how the game is played, and we would certainly like to keep it that way. Allow me to enlighten you. Contrary to popular belief, we make the choice of how and where we wish to spend our lives and with whom we prefer to spend it. Keep what I am about to tell you in the biscuit box. We don’t need them knowing this stuff and having it work against us in the future. After all…it's all about generations.

When humans first appear at the kennel, shelter or our birth parents home, we size them up pretty quickly. Are they in decent enough shape to give us the exercise and play we need, or plump and slow, remote-controlled slugs? Do they have friendly eyes? Are they young enough to grow with me? Do they have other charges; other dogs, cats or human offspring? Where do they live? Lifestyle is very important to us. Are they snappy dressers or all about sweats and tank tops? Don’t get me wrong here...there are plenty of dogs that prefer a slow moving lifestyle and who could care less about appearance, but not this pooch.

Once we’ve made our first impression and have quickly and expertly sized up our prospective life partners, we are forced to make somewhat hurried decisions. We must trust the instincts of the many generations of our breed and the tools they passed on to us.

This is how it works. Once we make eye contact with, and size up our prospect, we must act intuitively and quickly. If we don’t like what we see, a low, aggressive growl will deter most applicants. Angry eyes are good! Indifference is also a valuable tool. An angry BARK could seal it. As a last resort, we may go to the guaranteed ‘lunge with bared teeth’ routine.

Should we approve of our first impression, we go immediately to sweet and cuddly. Happy, laughing eyes with a playful personality, should work. Face and ear licking are very good, but we use our in-bred instincts here! Even some of the most adorable prospects might not appreciate that personal touch. Pathos often works! We never, and I mean never, have an accident while we’re choosing, unless of course, we wish not to make a stellar impression.

I don’t mean to be dogmatic here, but it’s very important that we don’t let on, even for a moment, that we are the ones in control. We act cute and lovable and spunky, but never to the point of disobedience. If we do feel they are catching on, we have been coached by our birth parents, to smile with our tongues out and cock our head to one side. Seems to break up their train of thought and endear them even more.

I chose well! My adopted parents have been relatively easy to train; a tad slow in the morning, but they’re coming along. They’ve learned to read me well and most orders are accommodated with a little thing I call BEM. A simple informative Bark, Eye contact and Motion. A little trick passed on by my mother to be taught to our human adoptees early in our relationship. All that is normally required is a single short bark that causes one or the other to glance my way. Once our eyes meet, I simply trot to my water or food bowl, stand by the door, pick up a ball or whatever else I determine important at the moment that adds to my pleasure and keeps them on their toes. Occasionally you may have to take more assertive action with an angry 'wake-up call', kind of bark!

If I had thumbs, I'm sure I wouldn’t need them as much. I often dream of opening doors on my own and cans of my favorite treats, without BEMing them.

Although they are kind of cute and fun to play with, sometimes they can be disobedient, distracted or quite annoying. This doesn't happen too often, and whenever I get hot under the collar, I have to remind myself, that they’re only human.

Well, I see they have energy to burn, so I’d better take them down to the park and run them around for a while. I try and take them to the park twice a day to socialize them with the other humans. It improves their communication skills and gives them a bit of a workout, while offering me the chance to catch up with old friends and meet new ones. All in all, a great way to spend some quality time with my loved ones.

Our time at the park is almost up and I’m dog-tired, and so hungry I could eat a horse! Time to leash them up and head for home. Catch ya’ on the flip side!

Dan's Pet Portraits