Accidents Of Nature

SON-PUP

REMINGTON, June 2011

 

THREE OF A PERFECT PAIR

CORLEONE, September 2011

ODIE THE GIANT BEAGLE

FACE TO FACE

CORLEONE

CARLY

"A really companionable and indispensable dog is an accident of nature. You can't get it by breeding for it, and you can't buy it with money. It just happens along." -- E.B. White, The Care and Training of a Dog

SPEEDY

JIGGS

GWEN and her BLANKET

DAD, CAN WE KEEP HIM?

I've been drawing people since high school, but started drawing dogs in earnest in late 2009. I think they turn out better than human portraits, and I enjoy doing them more. People seem to get a lot out of these, which makes the work even more meaningful to me.

REXFORD, RALSTON and GRACIE

GRACIE

RALSTON

RIPLEYS

RIPLEY

Some of my best dogs are friends' dogs that I've never met, yet I've come to know them from looking into their eyes for four or five hours, by studying every curve of their bodies and trying to convey their personalities onto paper.

HANK

REXFORD

BAILEY, 12'' x 16'' February 2011. From a cel phone picture.

MOOSE

ROXIE

Some of my dog portraits end up becoming memorials. The pet has gone but its image remains. Some hang in living rooms, family rooms, bedrooms. I get a lot of satisfaction from knowing that people can still greet their pets every day in this way.

CORLY'S BALLS

CORLY PUPPY

EMILY and CORLY

CHRISTMAS CORLY

There have been trillions of great words written about dogs. Some of the best are at http://www.dogboston.com/blog/famous-dog-quotes-page-1/


But the piece below is the absolute best. I found these words more than a year ago, but I don't remember where. A friend had found an old dog and taken him in. He has now moved on. I kept these thoughts because they are so right. Tell me, please, if you know the writer.

HANK and BELLA

They cost relatively little to adopt and to care for. They are seldom ill.
They ask for so little and give back so much. They appreciate what is important and ignore the small stuff that drives humans crazy.

BELLA SUNNING

CHRISTMAS BELLA

CORLY and BELLA PLAY

Their expectations are realistic. They don't worry about how they look or smell. They don't lie, they don't try to hurt our feelings. They don't betray us. They will sit by us, kiss us, comfort us, and listen to our problems, without asking anything in return.

They'll protect us and our property, keep us company when we're alone or under the weather, play with us and eat our leftovers if we let them.

MOCHA

All they ask is to be fed, kept warm, and be allowed to be a part of our life and love us.

No 401K, savings account, or CD will give you the return on investment that a four-legged friend will, one who will love you for nine or twelve or fourteen years and stay in your heart forever.


Contact hankbonesman@embarqmail.com for details about a sketch of your best friend. It's not really work.