WHAT'S UP, DOG?

WHAT'S UP, DOG?
Hey there! Welcome to my blog. I'm a free dog living in Portugal and I write about my life as an artist and street dog. This blog is a way for me to have more of a connection with other dogs (and people), to share ideas, experiences and some of my art. I love to hear what others have to say so feel free to comment on any of the posts or to contact me via e-mail. If it's your first time here, you might want to check out my first post and read on from there. You can also have a look at my profile in the column to the right.
Tchao-wow,
Ruca
Showing posts with label self-portrait. Show all posts
Showing posts with label self-portrait. Show all posts

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Start the presses! I’m publishing a book!

Start the presses! I’m publishing a book!
This is the cover, a self-portrait.


That’s right. I’m going to be a published author! I’ve always LOVED books – all sorts of books. Books that tell a gripping story, books that introduce me to a different point of view, books with luscious illustrations, silly books, serious books, true books, false books.  And now one of those books will be my illustrated journal!

Of course I couldn’t do this on my own. I have always depended on the kindness of strangers and for this book I had the help of a stranger who has become a friend. I’ve mentioned her on this blog once before. She’s the dog-loving Canadian and it was actually her idea for me to publish my illustrated journals. Let me tell you, when she first suggested it my tail almost wagged right off my butt!

If you want to see more about my friend, she has her own website you can visit. www.kristawells.ca

Obviously this isn’t something I could have done on my own, even if I had thought of it. I am a pretty resourceful dog but there are just some things I can’t work around, the principal one being money: In order to publish a book there are expenses and I don’t think they take bones in lieu of people money. So not only has my dog-loving friend come up with the brilliant idea of publishing my work, she has also very kindly offered to deal with the money and logistics of it all.
I've never understood why people value this ...

... more than this.


If it was dogistics rather than logistics I could have taken care of it. But there were contacts to be made, people to confer with. Other people-y business-y stuff. Now, I’m pretty good at communication, but it is a two way street and there are some people who just don’t know how to communicate with a dog. This could have been a problem, but my friend was the interpreter when necessary. I just kept doing what I do and she took care of the rest.

“So,” you ask, “what’s going to be in this published illustrated journal?” Well dear blog readers, you will recognize a few of the illustrations but most of it will be all new to you. You’ll read more about my everyday wanderings, including a couple of very cool road trips, a close encounter with a famous movie star, observations on the absurdities of people, doggie soul searching, recipes for delicious snacks, sightings of rare birds… all illustrated in my mish-mash style of watercolour and ink, relief prints, collage, scribble, photographs, gouache, acrylic … Hmmm, is there a medium I won’t try?

Part of the published journal covers an intense period in my life, a period of searching for my roots. I’ve always known who my mother is, but until recently I didn’t really give much thought to who my father is. It’s not a question we dogs spend a lot of time chewing over. Readers will be able to follow my quest to find my father and consequently, the meaning of life. Intrigued? Stay posted and I’ll give a very loud bark when it’s available. Aurrrrrrrooooooooooooooooo!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

First post

So here it is, my first post. I'm getting into this whole blogging thing on the insistence of my bookstore friend, Rita, who is a pretty with-it dog. I will have to drink from that porcelain bowl of knowledge at numerous points along my internet/web/blog journey, I'm sure. I'm pretty naive when it comes to all this technology stuff, but Rita's a patient guide. And honestly, any excuse to spend more time with her is fine with me.

Rita's says I need to connect with more like-minded dogs (and even people) so that I can get a taste of the wider world. She says that sharing experiences, observations, opinions, and perspectives is healthy for dogs, and especially dogs who are artists. She thinks it will help make my work more universal if I'm able to put my experiences and observations in a world context. Sheesh, she can get pretty wordy by times. But I guess she's right. Time will tell.

So, if you've read my profile you already know that I became an artist gradually, starting with making random marks in the sand and progressing to the point I'm at now, keeping an illustrated journal of my life.
an assortment of my illustrated journals, made by me with my very own paws (and teeth)

As a taste of things to come here's a page from one of my sketchbooks (or illustrated journals - I never know what to call them).
self-portrait, relief print, ink and watercolour



You'll soon see that I do a lot of drawings or paintings of dogs, but I tackle other objects as well. I'm just trying to capture the essence of something I love or am affected by. Having a tangible representation (something on paper or canvas) of the object of my affection or interest allows me to re-visit my feelings for that object. It's a way of having that feeling available to visit any time I open up my journal or look at the painting. If I could keep all this in my mind's eye maybe I wouldn't need to do it on paper. But it's so much fun to draw and paint, I think I'm glad I don't trust my memory to retain all my experiences.

Well, now you know a little about me and what I'm up to. I hope you'll come back and visit and please leave a comment or send me an e-mail if you have something to say about anything I write or draw about.

Tchao-wow!
Ruca

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