Mar 13
Below is a list of the most popular dog names used by English speakers, compiled by Stanley Cohen, Ph.d. However, the name “Biscuit does not appear in the list below, but that is ok! Does your dog’s name appear below?
Happy Wednesday!
The weather here this past weekend was gorgeous! Doug and I decided to take Biscuit on an outing since the weather was so nice outside. Biscuit had a great time and his spirits were immediately lifted. We think that Biscuit is a bit tired of the colder temperatures preventing him from going on outdoor adventures! In any event, Biscuit had a wonderful time. Below are a few photographs of Biscuit at the Naval Academy and Biscuit sauntering around downtown Annapolis — Biscuit even sat on the State Capitol building! Enjoy!
Happy Tuesday!
Mar 11
Interview with Dana Atnip, Illustrator
Recently, I had the opportunity and pleasure of interviewing Dana Atnip , an illustrator living in Michigan. Dana Atnip illustrates dogs and other animals. Some of her work is displayed below and you can visit her website and blog to view more of Dana’s work. Dana also is heavily involved with dog rescue as she also works at the Michigan Humane Society.
KATHERINE CARVER: What were your beginnings as an artist and when did you realize it would become your chosen form of expression?
DANA ATNIP: For me, it’s always been art. I started drawing in nursery school and never stopped!
KATHERINE CARVER: Did you study art formally?
DANA ATNIP: A little bit is genes (I come from a family of artists) and a lot of it was self-taught; drawing and practicing every day! I did attend Macomb Community College for my two degrees in art. Although it’s a community college that have an amazing art program with very talented professors.
KATHERINE CARVER: How do you describe your style?
DANA ATNIP: While I hesitate to say it’s a “Disney” style, Disney was one of my largest influences. I spent a lot of time growing up drawing my favorite Disney characters as well as comic strip characters such as Garfield, Peanuts, Calvin & Hobbes, and Bloom County.
KATHERINE CARVER: What was the impetus that inspired you to begin illustrating dogs and other animals?
DANA ATNIP: I always leaned towards animals in my drawings. For me, drawing the human figure was always a tough challenge. To this day I still feel I struggle when drawing humans, but I still attempt it.
KATHERINE CARVER: How have your own dogs influenced your artwork?
DANA ATNIP: Oddly enough I didn’t spend a lot of time drawing my own pets, although my first cat, Boo-Boo, did make it into a comic strip that I had created in the 90’s. However my female Rottweiler, Thorn, I just used as a model in a greeting card I illustrated.
KATHERINE CARVER: What does “being creative” mean to you?
DANA ATNIP: I think that everyone is creative in their own right. I have heard people say that they are “terrible artists” and then see them create amazing work. Everyone is an artist by birthright; it’s in our genes. Even our earliest ancestors painted on cave walls!
KATHERINE CARVER: What is the most challenging aspect of being an artist?
DANA ATNIP: Having the time, lol. I work full-time (not as an artist) so drawing is a luxury for me right now. Some days I just don’t have the energy.
KATHERINE CARVER: What inspires you to keep going and what keeps you motivated?
DANA ATNIP: The love of creating keeps me motivated. I feel so alive when I’m drawing or painting. I couldn’t give up if I wanted to!
KATHERINE CARVER: What is the most rewarding and satisfying part about being an artist and creating art?
DANA ATNIP: Anytime that I can make someone smile or laugh I feel is the best accomplishment. If my work can brighten someone’s day or make them feel good, then I feel that my work is done.
KATHERINE CARVER: Looking back on your accomplishments, to date, what are you the most proud of?
DANA ATNIP:
Anytime that I can make someone smile or laugh I feel is the best accomplishment. If my work can brighten someone’s day or make them feel good, then I feel that my work is done.
KATHERINE CARVER: What are you working on now?
DANA ATNIP: There are several projects that I’m working on now. I have a few children’s picture book manuscripts that I’ve written that I would like to submit to agents once I have some finished artwork to send along. I also have several greeting cards that I would like to submit for consideration.
KATHERINE CARVER: What artists inspire your work?
DANA ATNIP: There have been so many over the years! I mentioned Disney earlier. Carl Barks was a cartoonist who worked for Disney and wrote and drew the Donald Duck/Uncle Scrooge comics for 25 years was one of the most talented cartoonists to date. Jim Davis, Berkeley Breathed, Bill Watterson, Gary Larson, Charles Schultz, Tim Burton, Sandra Boynton, Chuck Jones, Don Bluth…my favorite artists are all cartoonists.
KATHERINE CARVER: What advice do you have for aspiring artists?
DANA ATNIP: Draw everyday. Nothing will make you improve faster than the physical act of actual drawing or painting – even if it’s just sketching. And if you want to draw digitally, you still first need to know how to draw on paper with a pencil.
KATHERINE CARVER: How can people view your art works?
DANA ATNIP: My latest work can be found on my website at www.danaatnip.com.
KATHERINE CARVER: In addition to making art, how did your adventure in animal rescue begin?
DANA ATNIP: I have always loved animals. Even as a child I could relate to animals better than people, lol. Animal welfare has been improving all over the world in the last few decades thankfully. I am happy to help animals in any way that I can. I started volunteering for the Michigan Humane Society right out of high school, and that later turned into a – job.
KATHERINE CARVER: If you could give pet owners’ one piece of advice, what would it be?
DANA ATNIP: Spay and neuter your pets, and look to rescues and shelters to adopt (sorry, that’s two!) There are so many amazing homeless animals that are waiting in shelters right now for you to come and adopt them. As an adult I have adopted all of my pets from the Michigan Humane Society: 2 dogs, two cats, a fish, a canary, and countless rats (rats need better PR, they are AMAZING critters!) I have also fostered probably a hundred or more animals over the years. I have many friends and family that have adopted my foster animals, or I have paired them up with others.
KATHERINE CARVER: What advice can you give to someone who might be considering getting involved with an animal shelter?
DANA ATNIP: I can’t think of any shelter that doesn’t need help somehow. Volunteers are a vital part of any shelter. Some people walk dogs, some brush cats, others may clean cages, do laundry and dishes; others help with adoptions or fundraising. And any shelter always needs foster homes to help care for sick or injured animals. Wherever you live, there is probably a shelter nearby. Check the internet for a shelter near you!
Please visit Dana Atnip’s website and blog.
All images are courtesy of Dana Atnip.
You can read additional interviews here.
I have been working on creating my own “Life Mission Statement.” I have never formally drafted an individual mission statement before, and I am not yet done drafting my mission statement; however, I have found these prompts, questions helpful, if you are interested in creating your own life mission statement. Most businesses have mission statements, so why not have individual life mission statements?
A personal mission statement is a written culmination of values, roles, objectives, self-reflection, and self-evaluation. It has the flexibility to change as you change and the ability to keep you focused. I believe that we all are blessed with unique gifts. Importantly, the expression of our gifts contributes to a cause greater than ourselves.
Here are some prompts/questions to help you get started with crafting your own personal life mission statement.
1. What makes you smile? (Activities, people, events, hobbies, projects, etc.)
2. What are your favorite things to do in the past? What about now?
3. What activities make you lose track of time?
4. What makes you feel great about yourself?
5. Who inspires you most? (Family, friends, authors, artists, leaders, etc.) Which qualities inspire you, in each person?
6. What are you naturally good at? (Skills, abilities, gifts etc.)
7. What do people typically ask you for help in?
8. If you had to teach something, what would you teach?
9. What would you regret not fully doing, being or having in your life?
10. You are now 90 years old, sitting on a rocking chair outside your porch; you can feel the spring breeze gently brushing against your face. You are happy, and are pleased with the wonderful life you have been blessed with. Looking back at your life and all that you have achieved and acquired, all the relationships you have developed; what matters to you most? List them out.
11. What are your deepest values?
12. What were some challenges, difficulties and hardships you have overcome or are in the process of overcoming? How did you do it?
13. What causes do you strongly believe in? Connect with?
14. If you could get a message across to a large group of people. Who would those people be? What would your message be?
15. Given your talents, passions and values. How could you use these resources to serve, to help, to contribute? ( to people, beings, causes, organization, environment, planet, etc.)
Mar 6
Interview with Bryce Dishongh, Artist and Owner of Coat and Tails — Custom Pet Portraits
Recently, I had the opportunity and pleasure of interviewing Bryce Dishongh, artist and owner of Coat and Tails, a pet portrait business, which he runs from his studio in Austin, Texas. Bryce creates very neat turn-of-the-centry portraits of dogs in a vintage style. Some examples of Bryce Dishongh’s work is shown below and Bryce also takes commissions.
We are going to Commission a portrait of Biscuit — Biscuit has to first decide what he wants to wear for his special portrait!
KATHERINE CARVER: What were your beginnings as an artist and when did you realize it would become your chosen form of expression?
BRYCE DISHONGH: From an early age I knew that girls were into artists, so I immediately wanted to be one. It just worked out that I was better at drawing than Math or English.
Though drawing was always a necessary mode of self-expression, I didn’t start taking it seriously until I was 27. I’m 30 now. I spent a lot of time exploring safer and more profitable routes of professional development so I could buy things like organic dog food.
KATHERINE CARVER: Did you study art formally?
BRYCE DISHONGH: No, but I did take a drawing class in college. I have a master’s degree in the vastly exciting field of Technical Communication.
KATHERINE CARVER: How do you describe your style?
BRYCE DISHONGH: Coat and Tails is fairly style-driven. Almost all of the portraits I’ve drawn recently are a mix of 1800s portrait photography (like tintypes) and storybook illustration. I base the portraits and designs on Victorian or Edwardian conventions because they’re usually high-brow, formal, and proper; by contrast, dogs, especially those wearing clothes, are anything but. I aim for high-brow form but low-brow content.
KATHERINE CARVER: What was the impetus that inspired you to begin drawing and illustrating dogs and other animals?
BRYCE DISHONGH: I guess first and foremost, I’m better at drawing animals. But also, I love animals, dogs and cats in particular. They’re hilariously serious.
KATHERINE CARVER: What does “being creative” mean to you?
BRYCE DISHONGH: I once thought it meant actually sitting down and making stuff, but that part is just the vehicle. Being creative happens in the seconds or moments when I’m away from the paper—like when someone is talking to me and I’m not listening, or when I’m running with my dog Bess—and I have a vision and my ideas breed. The rest is just working away to achieve that vision.
KATHERINE CARVER: What is the most challenging aspect of being an artist?
BRYCE DISHONGH: Sticking with one style, especially when a client wants something else.
KATHERINE CARVER: What inspires you to keep going and what keeps you motivated?
BRYCE DISHONGH: I don’t really struggle with motivation. I’m pretty restless. There are a lot of things I want to do.
KATHERINE CARVER: What is the most rewarding and satisfying part about being an artist and creating art?
BRYCE DISHONGH: Since I do a lot of custom pet portraits, I like the client’s reaction. My clients are usually really, really into their dogs, so it’s a pretty exciting sort of unveiling for them to see their pet illustrated. It’s satisfying to create that for them.
KATHERINE CARVER: Looking back on your accomplishments, to date, what are you the most proud of?
BRYCE DISHONGH: I’m really proud of Coat and Tails. It’s the culmination of everything I’ve learned about making stuff since I started three or four years ago.
KATHERINE CARVER: What are you working on now?
BRYCE DISHONGH: Coat and Tails is my primary focus. At the moment I’m really excited about a line of prints and tee shirts that are faux-Victorian advertisements for products that dogs would like. So far I’ve done Squirrel Sausage and Raccoon Steak. Currently working on Toilet Water.
KATHERINE CARVER: What artists inspire your work?
BRYCE DISHONGH: I have a huge crush on Maxfield Parrish and the Golden Age illustrators. I am also really into turn-of-the-century children’s book illustrators like Walter Crane, John Neill, and Charles Robinson.
Probably the most inspiring for me nowadays is mcbess, who is a total game-changer in the illustration world. He’s so infectious, so alive and wiggly; it’s tempting to replicate his style, which is something I have been guilty of. He’s also a brilliant marketer, and I’ve also learned a lot about that from him as well.
KATHERINE CARVER: What advice do you have for aspiring artists?
BRYCE DISHONGH: Don’t exhibit work, on the internet or otherwise, until you have narrowed down the framework in which you want to work and will consistently work.
Find a memorable name and create a brand out of it. Try not to work for free unless you’re 100% sure it will help you.
Watch other artists and learn from them.
KATHERINE CARVER: How can people view your art work?
BRYCE DISHONGH: You can view my work on my website, www.coatandtails.com and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Coat-and-Tails-Pet-Portraits/128628673951387.
All images are courtesy of Bryce Dishongh.
You can read additional interviews here.
Mar 5
I really enjoy the work by Anna Dibble, an artist. For thirty years, Anna Dibble has exhibited her work in fine art galleries, designed sets for operas and plays, and created characters for licensing programs. Her career also includes years of working as an artist and writer for television and film studios in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City. Among the companies she worked for are Disney, Sesame Street, Hanna Barbera, and Marvel. Her inspiration comes from her dogs, Pepper and Radar, her background in animation, and all the wild and domestic animals, that she lived with when she was growing up inVermont. Below are some of Anna Dibble’s art works. Enjoy!
Please be sure to check out Anna Dibble’s Esty shop. Also, be sure to check our Anna Dibble’s Dog Cards!
Images are courtesy of Anna Dibble.
Below is a photograph of little Biscuit sniffing around just as it began snowing. If you look closely, you can see some of the small snowflakes on Biscuit’s fur coat!
Biscuit is doing well. He recently began taking his thyroid medicine as he has been diagnosed with an under active thyroid. In addition to his thyroid medicine, Biscuit currently takes the following medicine/supplements daily –medicine for his kidneys; medicine for his ear; Glycoflex, a joint supplement for his arthritis; Wellactin, a nutritional supplement; and Royal Canin prescription food. Biscuit loves his Greenies Pill Pockets that we use to give him his medicine/supplements! At times, Biscuit has taken to even picking out the pills and supplements out of his Greenies, in order to get more Greenies! We take Biscuit back to the vet in a month for blood work and urinalysis to check all of his levels. Doug and I strive to be diligent and stay on top of all of Biscuit’s medical needs to ensure he gets the best medical care.
Biscuit seems to have more energy than usual, and he is even running/galloping at times! — perhaps it is due to the new thyroid medicine he is taking!
Happy Friday!
biscuit's space | The blog of photographer Katherine Carver 