Meredith Gilmore Dog Portraits & Animal Art

More Dog Portraits

Meredith — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 22:17:31 +0000

Here are some more dog portraits I’ve done over the past year or so.

Welcome

meredith — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 21:45:55 +0000

Welcome to Dog Artist Blog

Thanks for visiting. If you’d like to comment or have an enquiry, please Contact Me

RSS Feed

Meredith — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 02:29:43 +0000

Hi and thanks for visiting my Blog.

For those of you who’ve been asking about an RSS feed, it’s up and running now.

Best wishes, Meredith Gilmore

Dog Portraits

Meredith — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 08:10:19 +0000

Dog portraits……… would you want one on your wall?

The trend towards immortalising a pet has developed significantly in the past 20 years or so, through photography and art, or a combination of the two. Of course it’s a personal choice as to whether you would want a picture of a dog or other animal on your wall. Not all pet owners do – some because they just aren’t interested, and others because they say it’s too sad to see their beloved pet after it’s gone.

But I believe it also depends very much on the portrait itself. Not just whether the photo or artwork is to your liking, but also whether the artist captures the character or essence of the animal, so matter how lifelike or well done the dog portrait is.

This is the challenge of the dog portrait artist. To capture the character and feeling of the animal, so the emotional connection with the owner is a positive one overall, and gives a deep sense of satisfaction all round.

My aim is to produce the highest quality dog portraits I can, while keeping my prices affordable.

Have a look at more dog portraits in the Gallery on this website, and see if my interpretations are something you are drawn to. To find out more, including prices, please Contact Me.

Get in touch if you’d like to know more. Thanks for visiting my Dog Artist Blog.

Dog Art and the Human-Animal Attachment Bond

Meredith — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 04:18:19 +0000

Family pets, especially dogs and cats, provide components of attachment that contribute to people’s emotional and social well-being. They may also provide ongoing comfort, help reduce feelings of loneliness during periods of adversity, stress or grief, and provide humans with an opportunity to nurture others. The value of protecting and maintaining this bond has implications for a wide range of social policies.

This is a very brief summary of research findings from Pets, attachment, and well-being across the life cycle by Pat Sable Social Work; May 1995; 40, 3; Research Library pg. 334

http://mnickey.com/Pets_PDFs/Pets_Attachment_WellBeing_LifeCycle.pdf

This article was published in 1995, and there are many more like it since. While findings like this are starting to be taken seriously around the edges of social policy, I think there’s a way to go before decision-makers really get some of the potential long-term effects in areas like health, crime and social welfare.

What’s all this got to do with dog art? Good question!

I’ve felt this bond, especially with dogs, in various forms and to varying degrees since I was a young child. I studied animal behaviour as part of my arts degree (behavioural science major) back in the seventies. It has always been a strong interest, and it’s only in the past ten years that this interest has begun to coincide with my work in a direct way, though my art. The image of a favourite pet, or an animal we feel a strong bond with, can trigger positive memories and feelings, helping us through the good times and the bad.

A few years ago I wanted to rekindle a favourite memory of the kelpie cross pup, Heidi, we had when I was about seven years old. So I did an artwork of me and Heidi based on a black and white photo my Dad took at the time. Heidi was the first dog we had in our family when I was a kid. The memories and the things I learned from that experience had a profound impact on my life.