(R)egrets, I've had a few

colour pencil sketch from my journal

(R)egrets, I’ve had a few.  Should I start to list them all? I think not. No point crying over spilt Milkbones ™. Let me just say that I regret not posting more often on my blog.

I enjoy the exercise of putting my thoughts into words, and documenting bits of my life. But sometimes life actually gets in the way of documenting. It’s a catch 22 of sorts. If I had nothing going on, there would be nothing to document. But when I am busy involved in things that might be worth documenting, I have no time or energy to do so. Ah, well.

So here’s a bit of catch-up (not to be confused with ketchup, which would be quite messy if I actually tried to feed some to you via the computer screen).

My book, DOG-EARED JOURNALS – art and observation from a dog living in Portugal, has been available since November of 2013. 

back and front covers of my book

Wow, how did I not make a big post about that?! Mainly because distribution is the problem. Since it’s self-published, there are tricky bits to work out if I don’t want to give it away for nothing. I could list it on Amazon, but until I fill out some complicated forms (which make me tuck my tail between my legs), listing it there is out of the question. I would receive about 82 cents per book if someone were to buy it through Amazon. The U.S. government would make about six dollars and then Amazon would pocket the rest.

So for now, my dog-loving Canadian friend Krista sells them from her studio in Nova Scotia (and by mail to North American customers). Go to www.kristawells.ca for more info. For my local friends, she recently re-stocked it in my favourite Portuguese bookstore, Livros da Ria Formosa in Lagos (home of my best friend, Rita).  It’s also available as a digital book from www.blurb.com.

Speaking of my dog-loving Canadian friend, it’s time I made a confession. She is actually my alter ego. I know, I know, some of you have probably already guessed this by now, but I just wanted to set the record straight.  My mind and soul is split: half human, half dog. For the sake of continuity and the suspension of disbelief, I will continue the charade of writing this blog from my dog’s eye view. It forces some interesting perspectives, which might never happen if I simply write from my human point of view. Just play ball, okay? Thanks.

So that’s it for now. My two selves are working on a fundraising event to be held here in Burgau early in April. The proceeds will benefit dog shelters in Portugal.  I’ll let you know details in my next blog post. Tchau-wow!

afternoon quickie becomes marathon

How does an afternoon quickie turn into a marathon? Allow me to explain.

It was mid-afternoon. 3:00. I hadn’t been doing as much sketching as I would like to have been doing. I thought “I’ll just do a quickie. Or several quickies.” Não é um problema. So first I looked through the stash of photos I’ve taken lately. "Hmm… here’s one of three friends in Vale do Boi."

over-exposed

But the photo was pretty crummy. Over-exposed. “Well, I’ll just do a quick fix on it. Perk it up a bit,” I said to myself. (No one else was there to talk to.)

touched up

That’s a little better. Honestly, I didn’t think I’d be able to salvage it, but it’s okay.

“Now to get down to business. Hmmm. Pencil first? Or straight to pen?” Well, I started with pencil. “I’ll just rough in the basics, then switch to pen.” But I got a bit carried away with the pencil. Then I thought, “I’ve put so much into this it’s going to look strange if I ink in all those pencil lines. It’ll be too busy.” Some of the pencil lines were indicators for where shading or colour values change. “I guess I’d better use coloured pencil to take advantage of all the details I’d sketched out.”

So, three and a half hours later (yeah yeah, I’m slow) I'd managed to turn what was meant to be a quickie - or several quickies - into a full afternoon of cross-eyed, mind-numbing, pencil-pushing productivity.

one of my friends in Vale do Boi,
coloured pencil, 17cm x 16cm

Now I really need a nap! Then a coffee.

I can fall asleep anywhere.

Fire hydrants are to dogs what notice boards are to people.

It has come to my attention that some people wonder why I write in English when I’m a Portuguese dog. Of course, this question comes from a person. A dog wouldn’t have to ask.

You see, we dogs communicate using and interpreting body language, smell, and intonation. Since the electronic media have taken over the world, curious dogs like me have adapted in order to communicate with dogs beyond our actual physical location. Yes, we have used other means before, and continue to do so.

fire hydrant sketch, colour pencil

Fire hydrants are a perfect example. They are to dogs what public notice boards are to people. If we want to leave a message for someone and it’s not too personal (because any dog who comes along can smell it) then the fire hydrant is the place to do it. If I was to arrive in Lagos for a pre-arranged get together with Rita and she wasn’t at the bookstore where she said she'd be, then the first place I would check would be the nearest fire hydrant to see if she’d left me a message. One sniff of the fire hydrant would tell me that Rita was waiting for me at the News Café. Of course we leave messages in other places besides fire hydrants, but those are usually found just by chance.

But back to the question of communicating in English. Why English and not Portuguese? Well, two reasons really. The first is that English is the people language that I’m most familiar with. This comes from being a free dog living on the streets. Most of the people who pay any attention to me are English - either English people who have moved here or people on holiday. Even those non-Portuguese people who come from a country where English isn’t the primary language still speak English here. It’s the language in common with the most people – expatriates, holiday makers, and people working at bars, restaurants, shops, museums …  It’s all around me, so that’s the easiest for me to use.

The other reason for using English is that I’m trying to reach out into the wider world and connect with other dogs (and people too) who don’t necessarily speak Portuguese. If there is a language that is common among us then it’s likely to be English. For anyone who doesn’t speak English, I’ve provided a translator tool near the top of the blog so the whole blog can be translated into the language of choice at the touch of a button. Magic!

Of course I realize that I could make this a video blog and use body language and intonation to communicate with dogs all over the world, but until the technical whizzes figure out how to transmit smell over the internet, video communication would lack the subtlety necessary to communicate coherently.

the fine art of communication

And besides, it’s kinda fun having people take part in this as well. I don’t think they could ever learn to communicate fully in our language. For one thing, they really seem reluctant to partake in a good butt sniffing. Oh well, their loss.

This speaks volumes!

yoga for dogs

illustrated journal sketch - colour pencil

Gorda is a collared dog who wears no collar. She lives in Burgau. She likes yoga and fresh garbage. And not-so-fresh garbage. She is one very happy-go-lucky dog and will hang around with anyone (dog or human) who gives the slightest indication that her company would be welcome. Aren't we all like that in a way?