Dog artists

There isn’t a dog on earth that doesn’t understand the process of art making. That’s why they don’t let up while one is working.

On Instagram I saw a meme that asked ‘is your cat trying to murder you?’ Well that’s the domain of cats. Mine is actually a kitten so we’ll wait to find out. But a house is not a home if there aren’t animals making shit in it, when they should be outside being… just animals.

We shouldn’t expect them to be little humans, but we have constructed our pets into mini versions of ourselves, so we even expect them to comprehend our problems. I try to resist that, mainly because I see a defenseless creature that shouldn’t have to carry human burdens.

There is a belief that the reason animals are so extensively used in cartoons, and animation, is that they challenge social norms. They destroy things and embark on hazardous relations that would make human characters in the plot look violent and bad. But somehow we forgive their behavior in the cartoon world where they are given permission to be totally eccentric for the sake of entertainment.

In this way, artistically we have constructed animals into the worst of ourselves. And that is why I keep the violence of cartoon animals out of my artwork. I try to use colour, text and line to indicate drama or darkness.

I want my cartoon creatures to love life, and I hope they appreciate it.