Drawing and Painting Dogs

Bella, by Louise Lambert

I have recently taken up sketching again, and the other day decided to try and draw Bella. Even though she was asleep, she kept changing position slightly, which wasn't very helpful. The trouble is I can only really draw her when she's asleep; she's not really up to 'sitting' for long periods! I could of course have taken a photograph, but that would have been less of a challenge, even though many artists have to resort to the camera in order to get a good likeness. A local artist I know takes commissions for pet portraits and only works from photographs.

Yorkie on Log, by Michaela Kelly
www.art-by-kelly.co

Way back before cameras were in common usage, artists did not have the luxury of taking snaps to capture their subjects in fixed poses. This made painting animals particularly challenging. Victorian artist Briton Rivière (14 August 1840 – 20 April 1920), specialised in painting animals and in an interview published in Chums Boys Annual (No. 256, Vol. V, 4 August 1897), he explained some of the practicalities of painting both tame and wild animals: "I have always been a great lover of dogs but I have worked at them so much that I've grown tired of having them about me. However, you can never paint a dog unless you are fond of it. I never work from a dog without the assistance of a man who is well acquainted with animals..... Collies, I think, are the most restless dogs....greyhounds are also very restless, and so are fox-terriers..... The only way to paint wild animals is to gradually accumulate a large number of studies and a great knowledge of the animal itself, before you can paint its picture....". (Source: Wikipedia)

Riviere's life would have been so much easier if he was alive today, but I doubt if the paintings he produced would have been any more realistic!

Sympathy, by Briton Rivière (1877)

The Long Sleep, by Briton Rivière (1868)

If you're interested in learning how to draw dogs, check out this helpful step by step tutorial. I'm certainly going to give it a try, using a photograph as my source obviously! 

Posted by Louise

The Healing Power of Dogs

Since they first became domesticated thousands of years ago, dogs have helped us in so many different aspects of our lives - hunting, herding, pulling loads, protecting, assisting police and military, and acting as guide/assistance dogs for the blind, disabled and deaf.

Dogs are first and foremost pack animals, which makes them great team players so they have readily taken to the jobs we have given them. But aside from these 'learned' skills, they have a natural instinct for helping other members of the pack or family without the need for any kind of training. Which is why over recent years we have come to value them for their innate ability to provide us with emotional support as well. Ask anyone who owns a dog, and they will recount many instances of how their much loved pooch has helped lift their spirits in some way or another.

There are many organisations around the world who work with dogs to bring comfort and psychological healing to people. Here are a couple in the UK that I have recently come across.

Pets As Therapy
Goal: to provide therapeutic visits to hospitals, hospices, nursing and care homes, special needs schools and a variety of other venues by volunteers with their own friendly, temperament tested and vaccinated dogs and cats.

Today there are currently around 4,500 active PAT visiting dogs and 108 PAT cats at work in the UK. giving more than 130,000 people, both young and old, the pleasure and chance to cuddle and talk to them. The bedsides that are visited each year number a staggering half million.

Dogs For Depression
Goal: to highlight the healing benefits a dog can offer in recovering from depression. Their premise is that "dogs can help symptoms of depression because they are pack animals and instinctively form close bonds with other members of their 'pack' or family. By their very nature, they will help provide emotional support to other members of their pack by being loyal and affectionate companions."

Dogs for Depression's twin goal is to promote the rescue and adoption of abandoned dogs and encourage dog welfare.


Has a dog brought comfort to you in some way? Why not share your story with others by posting a comment.

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