so, long time no posting. How is everyone, thanks for reading the blog, and thanks a lot for posting comments!
I’ve been very busy with various work aspects and so the blog has got a bit behind. Please feel free to comment on areas that you would like to see blogged about, in the field of ”pets…. and ART!”.
I’ve just taken our clinic dog for a walk… he really enjoyed sniffing everywhere…
is there such a thing as ‘the art of scent, or smell’?
Can smells be an art form, if so, whats a Monet or a Picasso??!!
Here are a couple of fun links.
“please stop to smell the art”
anyway… what do you guys think about odors…. is it crazy… or can smells be an art form? ;)
Its becoming clear to me that as well as veterinary surgery being an art, in fact there are many artists in veterinary medicine.
Some say that the skill needed for surgery is similar to the skill needed to paint. Or perhaps some vets love of animals and nature then allows him or her to connect well with things, to do paintings and artwork-
who knows.
Here is a great link to an art show which was promoting an animal disease- and where all the art was done by vets. Please check it out!
People ask veterinarians this very commonly-
why should I spay my pet?
With every operation, there are a combination of advantages and disadvantages to be carefully weighed up. The decision made must be an informed one.
For some operations, such as this one you mention, neutering a female dog, the advantages heavily hugely outweigh the disadvantages, but the choice to do an operation of course must still be a carefully considered one.
The advantages line up approximately as follows:
Rereduce risk of unwanted pregnancies.
Reduce or eliminate the risk of breast cancers in female dogs. Breast cancers are common in elderly female dogs who have not had this operation, and they can be life-threatening.
Eliminate the risk of testicular cancer in male dogs, which again can be life-threatening.
Reduce the risk of prostate disease (including prostate gland cancer) in male dogs
Reduce the aggressive behavior of male dogs.
Stop female dogs getting “false pregnancies” (=”pseudopregnancies”) where they believe they are pregnant but in fact they are not- although their breasts do swell up with milk.
Stop any chance of female dogs getting womb infections (a “pyometra”). This is a life-threatening disease which is common in older female dogs which have not had the neutering operation.
Stop animals running away (females when they are in heat, to find a mate, and males when they smell a female dog who is in heat/season).
There are also some negatives.
To see the whole discussion, and add any comments, please go to where this discussion originated, the Pet Doctor Forum, on this thread….
Did you get a chance to see these great animations by
Aardman Animations?
Check them out below:
They are an excellent illustration of what inspired us to start the Pet Doctor Forum as we realised that animals really do need a voice….
Part 1:
Part 2:
What the reviewers say:
“It works, largely because most of the interviews seem selected to be not wacky but low-key and conversational. Am I proud of laughing? No, but I don’t care.”
James Posiewozik, Time.com
“Each juxtaposition of voice and creature, even or especially the most unexpected, creates something wonderful. The domestic version, which like it s predecessor is made by Aardman Animations, is every bit as good as the original. While the animation is masterful – beautifully timed and fully attendant to character, even when a character is merely listening – what makes “Creature Comforts” valuable is the unscripted, and unscriptable voice of the people.”
Robert Lloyd, LA Times
“Hilarious feat of animated clay. Four Stars. So if it took until the second season for an American version of “The Office” to approximate the quality and charm of the British original, how long will it take for an Americanized “Creature Comforts” to prove itself? About five seconds. The series, ‘featuring the voices of your fellow Americans’ finds just as many eccentric regional dialects here as in England, and uses them hilariously from the start. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so quickly and loudly at a new TV series. And it just keeps delivering gold – even from a goldfish who is heard complaining of her latest medical malady. “Dry skin,” she says while floating in her goldfish bowl. “Can you believe it?”
New York Daily News
February is Pet Dental Month, in the US. Its organised by the The American Veterinary Medical Association who estimate more than 80 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats have oral disease by the time they are three years old.
ive seen a lot worse than this
The message is “go to the vet and let them check you pet’s teeth.
When you see the vet in Pet Dental month, there are lots of things that the vet will look at, apart from just the teeth.
Here is a list of some things which the veterinarian may be assessing, when they look in your pet’s mouth.
Of course, there are many benefits apart from these for a check up, as the vet will always check the whole body and not just look in the mouth!
1) bad breath. Can be a sign of dental decay, but also if the Kidneys are not working, the breath occasionally becomes bad also and so thats one thing the vet will be trying to rule out.
2) rotten teeth. These can be painful, or even cause an abscess. Bacteria around rotten teeth which are neglected for a long time can get into the bloodstream and cause further complications in some circumstances also.
3) broken teeth- any broken teeth can be painful or perhaps decay more quickly so they need to be discovered and regularly assessed.
4) tongue- check for ulcerations which could be symptoms of a virus, or other disease.
5) soft palate- young dogs can in rare cases be born with problems with the roof of the mouth, so the vet will check here in a new/ young dog.
6) growths- its possible to get lumps and growths within the mouth, either on the gums or even on the tongue, so the vet would be able to see if this was the case.
7) pale gum colour- a sign of low blood concentration which could be a sign of a problem.
8) too many teeth- sometimes baby teeth don’t fall out, then the mouth is too crowded and more prone to food sticking between the teeth and then the teeth rotting. So if the teeth have not fallen out by 6-12 months of age, the vet usually recommends these to be removed.
9) holes in the teeth- at specialist clinics its possible to do fillings although this is very rare still due to the high cost, so big holes are normally an indication that the tooth must be removed to avoid pain.
10) gingivitis- vet will check for redness/inflammation along the gum line, meaning that the gums are sore due to bad mouth hygiene- normallly requiring a dental procedure at the clinic to clean the teeth.
11) tartar- lots of brown/yellow lumps on the teeth, basically its a more solid form of plaque, again the vet needs to remove it.
12) recessed gums- a sign of severe disease in the mouth.
13) bleeding gums- also a sign of severe mouth disease.
I like lists. Want any more PET LISTS? let me know.
This list is not fully exhaustive… see the associated thread on the Pet Doctor Forum to see if it has been added to?
As a veterinarian, people ask me all the time about what these things are.
“It might be a problem with Alfie’s anal sac’s” I say
“what the heck are they?!!” they reply with a puzzled look on their face, as if I have just insulted them.
Well, these glands with a horrible name, are also in a horrible place- right next to the bottom. And to the bane of vet’s worldwide, they don’t simply just get on with their job of being a scent marking sac…. oh no, they often regularly decided to get ‘bunged up’ with sludge, a bit like leaves in the gutter… and who’s job is it to clear the gutter…. oh its mine, Mr Veterinarian! 
Anyway, on a more serious note, these glands do have a role, and they can get some problems. I’m sure every dog owner and every vet has stories to talk about these glands!
Check this recent thread on the Pet Doctor Forum to see what they are in more detail.
So,
when pets have operations, they often are sent home with big collars on…
people often know that their friend’s pet has seen the vet, because they see them wandering around with a bandage on their leg, and a huge white collar around the top of their head.
“can your dog eat with that huge thing on?” you ask them? “it makes your dog look like an alien!”.
Well, what are they for, and why?
This recent thread on the Pet Doctor Forum explains in some detail what they are used for and why. But what do you think of them?
Would it be better to use something else to do this function instead of a collar? If so, what?!!
Feel free to comment on your thoughts- on the comments page of this blog. (Or see the thread link above, and get involved in the conversation there….)
image courtesty of Twitter
So, what is everyone talking about-
well, twitter has been big and growing rapidly in the human Medical field for the last 12 months plus… but, what about in the veterinary and pet fields?
Here is a link to a great discussion thread on the Pet Doctor Forum about Twitter in Human Medicine.. and it includes a list of all human medical bloggers.
Can anyone comment (on my blog, comment button below) about vets using twitter?
I’m on it, are you?!
I know its currently used in- job searches, news,… but what else? let us know here!!
I’m a veterinarian, people always ask me the same questions.
People I meet in bars for the first time say ‘so, you must really like animals then?”.
Men never really bother with this and usually go straight into the line “oh, you guys are so expensive, what a good job, you earn loads of money eh?”.
Sometimes people ask vets “so are you in it for the money or the animals then?”.
Anyway, the answer is of course as a vet I love animals, (and actually the salary isn’t that great).
Anyway, whatever we discuss, its always fun to see what people say when I tell them I trained as a vet.
The next line usually is direct to a question about their pet, and some kind of advice. While its a tad frustrating to be asked about work stuff on my evenings out, its still a good ice breaker, and it helps me remember what an interesting career I have had.
So, anyone with any interesting pet questions, please post them up here!
So, why did I become a vet? Of course, it all stemmed from a love of nature and animals. I was hugely into science and nature since primary school, and enjoyed afternoons of ‘nature study’ in the park next to the natural history museum in London, as a small child.
Actually, I can remember wanting to be a vet from about 13 yrs old, although other people tell me it was from about 8 yrs old.
So, thats where it all started!
- In february 08 I was representing www.portraitxpress.com (the bespoke art company I run in my spare time) at The National Wedding Show in Olympia, London, UK, for 3 days.
The national wedding show (see www.nationalweddingshow.co.uk) is the UK’s number one wedding show, for couples planning to get hitched. From over the moon to the honeymoon, from your dream dress to the world’s most romantic resorts – there’s nothing quite like the National Wedding Show to help you make your big day everything you’ve imagined. It’s all laid out for you under one roof – dresses, groomswear, occasionwear, accessories, photography, flowers, honeymoon destinations, venues, cakes and much, much more. It’s a brilliantly useful, inspirational and fun day out. So, Portrait Xpress exhibited for the first time there this year in February 08. They had a stand where they displayed a number of examples of their hand-painted wedding portrait paintings. A real buzz was generated at the stand, and dozens of couples were standing around, imagining what a portrait painting might look like of their wedding day. A number of people asked about our Portrait Xpress gift vouchers, which can be used … and could even be put on the wedding Bridal List of ‘wished for’ items for the bride and groom. A competition was also run on the stand which was very popular, and one lucky couple won a free painting. There was also interest from some of the Uk Wedding press.
Sorry for the self- promotion, I’m British so I’m not good at it!
But I want to shout out how Portrait Xpress has been working with charities this year!
In November 2008 we will help sponsor ‘Peak to Fong’ an event by Hong Kong Dog Rescue charity, in Hong Kong.
Portrait Xpress are proud to be donating gift vouchers for a personalised pet painting worth 1000 HK Dollars for the winning dog/owner who makes it down from the Peak of Hong Kong, to Lan Kwai Fong in Central. And 5 x $100 vouchers to the 5 runners up!
Portrait xpress are running a new pet painting campaign for winter 08 and throughout all of 2009!
Our pet paintings are now displayed in a number of Pet shops in Hong Kong, and also many London (UK) Veterinary Clinics.
We really want to brighten up gloomy vet clinics so that the animals all get better! What is better to do this than with a bright fresh pet painting of your favourite pet?!!
Paintings are each unique hand-copies of client’s pet PHOTOS.
All paintings are100% hand painted
Order via email/ online web shop
The Paintings are fun and colourful and the client can choose to customise them in many ways.
so waht have pets got to do with art anyway? well, if you have ever looked into a cat’s eyes I dont think you need to be asking that question, animals are often art/beauty in motion, and watching a cat move can be as fascinating as watching a painter complete a painting.
I got interested in both art and animals at a young age, and Im sure there is some kind of connection although I can’t really put my finger on it.
As a veterinary surgeon, I know that my lightness of touch in surgery (and enjoyment/skill in surgery) is related to the sensitive dexterity I need if I am painting a painting, or doing a sketch. So, transferrable skills.
But is there more to it than the fact both skills (surgery and painting) require manual dexterity? who knows….
yes you, look at me!
many people ask me why do paintings or sketches of people or pets and not just a photo?
well, photos are great and Im an avid photographer (okay when i have the time) but I think there is something more unique about a painting. Also, sure we can manipulate photos a lot nowadays on photoshop, but a painting is done by hand so every one is unique- you cant beat that as a gift or as a personal memory to keep.
So, Im keen on promoting artwork!
In an ideal world, Im a traditionalist, so the person or pet should sit in front of the artist and the portrait be done over a few days or weeks. BUT, who has this time anymore? so, I think portrait paintings from photos are justified, as long as they are 100% done by hand with no printing or any cheating involved.
To be honest, using a reputable artist or company, the client also has some fun-
they can help tell the artist in what style to do the painting, they get a great painting even if their own artistic skills are not great, and they can request changes to the painting before its finished.
They can change the background or the contents of the painting- its so flexible!
Here is the original photo.
watch out or I scratch the sofa!
There are many styles of paintings you can do if you are doing paintings.
This is pretty obvious I guess. But, if you order a bespoke painting tailor-made to your design, you can chose the style also.
One style that artists can do is impressionistic, where its a loose interpretation of the original image or design. For example, George Bush can be painted as follows- this is just slightly impressionistic.
Alternatively, things can be painted much MORE losely, or much more of a direct style.
See www.portraitxpress.com for details, look at the gallery there, and at the different styles.
Note also, that the painting can look different depending on what type of canvas is used. Ask the artist for a very smooth canvas if you want a relective/shiny surface or an image very similar to a photo.
Ask for a real canvas with a rough, more open weave texture, if you want a more natural feel to the painting.
If you are using a good artist then they should guide you through this process and be very hepful in helping you chose what style to paint your painting, and on what type of canvas. Really you should be able to get a great impressionistic painting (if that’s the style you like) made from your photo. If you like other styles (eg Dali), tell your artist, they should be able to paint it for you in a different way!
Good luck!!
Hello everyone! As you know, as well as having great fun running my bespoke artwork site www.portraitxpress.com, (selling paintings of pets and people copied by hand from your photos), Im also a veterinarian day to day ocassionally- this was what I spent 5 years at University in England training to become.
So, today I want to talk a bit about my work as a veterinarian. Lots of problems that pets get are because of silly things that their owners do, much like as in the world most of the problems are created by humans, fighting and killing each other and starting wars and so on and so forth.
Well, with pets its a similar story im afraid. In the wild, animals tend to eat certain foods, depending on what type of animals they are.
Carnivores like dogs tend to mainly eat meat (I guess a wild dog example could be something like a wolf or a jackal?). Anyway, they must eat meat, and scavenge for other things. Certainly they dont have a luxury diet.
Anyway, as pets, as well as eating dog food, lots of people like to give dogs treats also. One thing people give is rice (which I dont think wild dogs would eat much of?!!!!).
grrr! Im WILD!!!!
Here is a painting of someone’s dog, just as a sideline!!
Okay, so eating Rice, NOT GOOD. Why?
Well, it makes your urine a bit alkaline and then this pre-disposes dogs to getting STONES in the bladder.
Obviously thats uncomfortable, and so then the dogs have a problem going to the toilet. Owch!!
So, as with all of life- practice balance in all things!!
Don’t give your pet too much HUMAN FOOD ie food for people, as otherwise by mistake you could give it a few medical problems.
Have a great day! Matt.
okay, Im sure its food. Preferably stinky unhealthy food which will then make them vomit and diarrhoea all over your house.
If however, you want a present which may last a little longer than this and you can have as a life-long memory, why not have a personalised piece of pet art?
What’s this, i hear you asking ? (or not, if you are a regular reader to this fairly new blog).
Okay pet-art can take many forms.
One form is dog footprint stepping stones. This is basically stepping stones for your garden, in the shape of dog paw prints.
I personally prefer something I think is a bit more UBER-personal, a personalised pet painting!!!
Basically here you take a quick cute snap of your pet with your digital camera/ mobile phone/ other amazing gizmo…. then you upload the photo onto the website.
Then, artists will HAND PAINT this into a great portrait of your pet.
Oh, and for something quite irrelevant, check out these great pet (and people) footprints in the sand.
Why not take some photos like this of your dog’s footprints, and then send the photo (well, send, or actually you can upload it also on-line) to Portrait Xpress and then their artists can PAINT this into a amazing painting, in vivid detail.
Because its a painting and not just a photo, it doesn’t matter if the original photo was small or blurred, a good painting can still be made.
Also, the painting can be made into a ‘Christmassy’ style.
So if you want to add mistletoe, reindeer, snow, carol-singers, its all possible!
Have a great day everyone.
Paintings come in many forms, today I want you to have a look at this traditional oil painting. Tell me your thoughts! Do you like it? I do.
Landscape and Cattle, ca. 1823 by R.R. Reinagle, R.A. 1775 - 1862
A great oil painting by Reinagle, which you can see in the RA in London, probably my most favourite gallery in the world!!
So, it shows some great British scenery, an idyliic rural scene.
Reinagle trained under his father Philip Reinagle RA, and also travelled extensively in Holland and Italy where he studied the masters of the Dutch and Italian Schools. On his return to London he became friendly with John Constable although the rivalry between the two landscape painters possibly contributed to a later souring of their relationship.
Reinagle showed this painting to Constable before it was presented to the Royal Academy but Constable commented that ‘It is such art as I cannot talk about -heartless – vapid – and without interest’. What a cutting review!!
Constable’s opinion was perhaps somewhat embittered by the fact that he himself was not elected to the Academy for another six years. Reinagle’s picture is skillfully composed and, although influenced by Dutch masters such as Ruisdael, is clearly inspired by the landscapes of Gainsborough as well.
Today I want to tell you about a great artist and personal friend I know called Damian Fennel. I include a photo here of one of his works.
He produces amazing artwork, especially sculpture. He says the following as his rationale for being an artist.
“My fundamental desire is to experience exquisite centredness of being. It is an inner stillness and it has the quality of tapping into an immense power source. I access this primarily though meditation and contemplative practices derived from the nondual philosophy of Advaita Vedanta. This experience of centredness has always motivated my work, and in the past two years has informed an evolving body of work that examines the feminine expression of underlying essence and the breathtaking potency that seems to emanate from it. I see the artistic process as a challenge to find form for this formless essence, a silent enquiry into deeper understanding of it and a vehicle for engaging with it as much as possible.”
- sancho-panza
Wow, I have some great paintings to tell you about this month. First I want to show you some work from an amazing UK artist, Matt Stollar. He does some awe-inspiring portraits which really are something different. I won’t tell you too much today, but here is an example to get your taste buds working!! Contemporary paintings by a young talent. Incredible!!! I will keep more of his paintings coming!
These are something else! WOW. We love it, hope you do too!!!!
painting by matt stollar
To continue with showing you a little more about Matt Stollar’s art, here is some of his work. His portraits are very striking and also the other thing is the size of his works, very large! Ie often far bigger than life-size. )This can be seen on the video here and also in one of the images below. Again he’s a friend of mine (from School in the UK), and as ever I will try in the blog to aim at PERSONAL content for readers and also INNOVATIVE items also. If you want any more details about where you can see Matt’s art, or purchase it, then message me and I will pass him your details.
See the bottom for a wikipedia definition. But essentially, its a print. Nowadays its tended to mean a Fine Art print of a painting, onto a canvas- so the print looks like a painting.
Its a great piece of technology with some good uses- but I personally am not a big fan.
I only like hand-painted art, as I think Giclee is a bit of a cheat! But that’s only my opinion…. what’s yours? At Portrait Xpress artists, all the art is done 100% by hand. Sure, its copied from people’s photo’s (thats the only way that you can get a painting made for USD 100 and it enables someone in Alabama to paint someone’s portrait in Yorkshire) but it’s still 100% hand painted.
What do you think of Giclee? is it good or bad? The useful thing about it is that Fine Art prints all can be printed to the same standard, which ensures easy quality control I guess.
Well, Wikipedia can tell you that Giclée (pronounced [ʒiːˈkleɪ] “zhee-clay” or /dʒiːˈkleɪ, from FrenchIPA: [ʒiˈkle]), is an invented name (i.e. a neologism) for the process of making fine art prints from a digitalink-jet printing. The word “giclée” is derived from the French language word “le gicleur” meaning “nozzle”, or more specifically “gicler” meaning “to squirt, spurt, or spray”[1]. It was coined by Jack Duganne, a printmaker working in the field, to represent any inkjet-based digital print used as fine art. The intent of that name was to distinguish commonly known industrial “Iris proofs” from the type of fine art prints artists were producing on those same types of printers. The name was originally applied to fine art prints created on Iris printers in a process invented in the early 1990s but has since come to mean any high quality ink-jet print and is often used in galleries and print shops to denote such prints.
Hi, if you are in London get down to Frieze Art Fair – it takes place every October in Regent’s Park, London. The fair includes specially commissioned artists’ projects, a prestigious talks programme and an artist-led education schedule.
Frieze Art Fair features more than 150 galleries from around the world, providing visitors with a unique opportunity to see and buy art by the world’s leading artists.
Tickets + 44 (0) 870 890 0514
One Day – Sat / Sun: £25
Concessions: £15
Neil Gall The Mirror 2007 Collage 22x18cm
Chinese Contemporary art. Very topical in the art scene in recent years. A field in which China is exporting something new and original, not poisoned pet foods or scandelous Milk issues.
But don’t listen to me, instead hear an audio file “The China Experience” at the bottom of this linked page by the Frieze Art Fair, where Carol Yinghua Lu (Writer, Curator and Contributing Editor, frieze magazine brought together three key players in Chinese contemporary art to discuss the impact of the country′s political, financial and creative conditions on its artists, critics, curators and gallerists.
Be warned its over an hour long though, so sit back and enjoy!!
I like some contemporary Chinese artists. These small inserts below are by Feng Dakang, and are part of a series called The Homeland. So it shows that Chinese artists can be very original….
The “Homeland” series of paintings by Feng Dakang are melancholic and thematically poetic. As the artist is obsessed with architecture, decay and destruction, he paints buildings in a state of ruin or demolition. Yet, these twisted and damaged structures are wonderfully delicate.
News- The finalists of the 2008 Sovereign Asian Art Prize will be auctioned at a charity dinner on Wednesday the 29th October at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Hong Kong.
!!newly updated!! Click here to see my other posts on some of the 2008 entrants, artist Suroso Isor, Terra Bajraghosa, Robert Langenegger.
Now, Here are some works by previous winner, UTTAPORN NIMMALAIKAEW.
Its not cheap at HK$25,000 for a table of ten or HK$2,500 for single tickets, but will be an incredible evening for those who can go!
If you are cant’t afford this, or don’t have the time to attend the 29th October but still wish to place a bid on one of the 30 artworks, its still possible to place a bid on the 30 artworks.
You are able to view all the 30 artworks who are finalists for the Sovereign Asian Art prize, here.
To see the exhibition in person, you can preview them at the Landmark on 21st- 26th October, but you can only see them if you could be interested in placing a bid! For a personal preview of the paintings please contact the organisers on +852 2542 1177.
Okay, so I cant afford to buy anything! But I still enjoyed looking at the upcoming art!!
Regarding the previous winner- Nimmalaikaew’s works start from a canvas backdrop that is set inside a deep casement, and that is then lightly veiled by multiple layers of thread and netting. The artist paints (as well as prints with an Ink Jet) not only on the canvas but also on the thread and netting in order to create shimmering portraits and figurative scenes. He actually creates a depth of field that goes beyond three-dimensional space. At a thematic level, his present work expresses a deep reverence and love for family.
Nimmalaikaew spoke of his work in an interview with Jonathan Thomson of Asian Art News shortly after being presented with the Sovereign Asia Art Prize at a Hong Kong ceremony:
It took me quite a long time to develop my concept. The layers help represent the complexity of life and relationships and all of the stages of life. The actual technique started with a mosquito net and things seen through the netting. I intentionally draw the threads through the netting and leave them drooping to suggest a life flowing, of aging, and physical degeneration. It is part of my concept that people have to look through my work, not just at it. People have to see my work and experience it…. It is impossible to replicate my work in a photograph.from “Inevitable Cycles,” (July/Aug 2006) 16 Asian Art News [Interview of Uttaporn Nimmalaikaew by Jonathan Thomson]
Scientists at Imperial College, London, recently found that pugs in the UK are so inbred that although there are 10,000 of them, it is the equivalent of just 50 distinct individuals. Now I had to laugh when I heard this story, although sadly its actually very bad for the dogs.
Steve Jones, professor of genetics at University College London, said: “People are carrying out breeding which would be first of all entirely illegal in humans and secondly is absolutely insane from the point of view of the health of the animals.
“In some breeds they are paying a terrible price in genetic disease.”
To be honest, pugs are quite cute, as you can see from the photos below.
look into my eyes and tell me you love me!
UK RSPCA chief vet Mark Evans was interviewed recently and he said-
He said: “The welfare and quality of life of many pedigree dogs is seriously compromised by established breeding practices for appearance, driven primarily by the rules and requirements of competitive dog showing and pedigree dog registration.”
As a trained veterinarian, yes I have to agree with him- overbreeding of pedigree dogs has serious health risks and so I prefer a mongrel any day, much healthier…….. but hey its up to you.
There should be more regulation of the pet trade however, I think this is becoming obvious worldwide.
Ok- for the fun side, here are some PUG GIFTS!!!!! for all the pug lovers out there.
First we have PUG mouse pads! click here to view
Then we have pug paintings from photos, go here to see a site which does pet pop art and other pet portrait paintings.
Ok, you can buy pug umbrellas, see here
My favourite has to be what we do below, PUG POP ART- this is 100% hand painted from a photo of your pug.
pug pop art
okay… Im hooked on the pug theme, here is some more!! Not ‘proper art’ but lets not be so stuffy eh!
Now don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy the soundtrack to the video, 90′s Euro-Pop is great!
See the first post I wrote about pugs for more sensible pug news and pug artwork!
Oh, and is it pugnatious or pugnacious, or are both ok? please comment!
notice I didn’t say exhibitions. Exhibitions here are often dull as dishwarter in my opinion….. due to the fact most people in Hong Kong care little about culture, and the government caring even less….
However, do keep an eye out, for shows and events here, as they do occasionally have some good stuff there! A case in point are the 2 events below (actually see here they do have more talks, if you can speak cantonese or mandarin chinese). These are both saturday afternoon talks in English there. I hope you can make it- enjoy!!
1st- “Hong Kong Art: Open Dialogue – Looking for Antonio Mak” Open Forum (English)
Antonio Mak being a famous HK artist…
Moderator: Mr Tam Wai Ping (Director, ARTMAP)
Speakers: Mr Tang Hoi Chiu (Chief Curator, Hong Kong Museum of Art),
Ms Valerie C. Doran (Guest Curator)
2008.11.22 (Sat)
2:30 – 4:30 pm
2nd- Meeting the Challenges of Visual Culture to Art Education (English)
Prof. Paul Duncum (Advisory Professor, Visual Arts Division of the Department of Creative Arts and Physical Education, The Hong Kong Institute of Education)
2008.12.06 (Sat)
2:30 – 5:30 pm
Okay, here is a fun video of a labrador puppy being painted (from a photo) by one of the artists at portrait xpress. Enjoy.
tyr⋅an⋅ny
Thats how you say it.. How do you define it?
| 1. | arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power; despotic abuse of authority. |
| 2. | the government or rule of a tyrant or absolute ruler. |
| 3. | a state ruled by a tyrant or absolute ruler. |
| 4. | oppressive or unjustly severe government on the part of any ruler. |
| 5. | undue severity or harshness. |
| 6. | a tyrannical act or proceeding. |
However, when sculptor Damian Fennell creates the below work of art about it, we believe he means Tyranny as a mental state… where one’s body and one’s mind is behaving under the fear of a tryant. Up to you to interpret who or what the tryrant is!?….
Tyranny made in 1999
direct plaster
h50 x w45 x d45 cm
tyranny
okay, a couple of paintings today about crashes…. seeing as global stock crashes are ravaging the world this week.
This is painted (this week!) by
Moise Levi Financial & Trading Coach
Brussels, Belgium
its going down down down
This one isn’t really about the stock market (let me know if you know of any good stock market related art!!!) but it is about a CRASH and it does involve A LOT OF MONEY!!!
Green Car Crash
This one is by Warhol.
Warhol said “Art is what you can get away with,” and the late, great artist’s paintings are still getting away with a fortune. Sold last year by Christie’s, his painting Green Car Crash (Green Burning Car I), from the Death and Disaster series, this went for $71.7 million dollars. The painting is based on a photograph that appeared in Newsweek magazine from June 3rd, 1963. The photograph depicted the end of a car chase, when a 24-year-old commercial fisherman in Seattle flipped his car, hit a telephone pole, and was ejected from the car forcefully enough to be impaled on, but not immediately killed by, a climbing spike. The mangled car burns in an otherwise mundane residential setting — there’s even a guy crossing the street like it’s nothing special. Seventy-one million for a green-tinted painting of a random photograph, however… that doesn’t happen every day.
For another idea, a PORTRAIT painting of Bernanke might be pretty cool, Portrait Xpress artists can copy any image/PHOTO you send them by hand into a painting- and can do it in any style, eg change below into pop art, put him in a field with US dollars falling from the sky all around him, whatever you like. So you can have cool original art for your flat SO SO easily!!
bernanke
Have a good weekend!!
Here are some great art images of Obama. See my previous post ‘why not just a photo‘. What do you think? Yes Im sure these are computer graphic work and not real art (like the hand-painted stuff I prefer to promote) but they still are quite powerful images.
see here for how to convert a photo to a painting.
Today I have been reading an interesting blog which I feel should be mentioned here. Im learning more about blogs, and as I search the web for interesting things, I want to keep you abreast of them.
Tyler Green edits and writes Modern Art Notes, the most-read blog about visual art. He also writes regularly for numerous magazines.
In 2005 the Wall Street Journal called MAN ‘the most infuential of all visual arts blogs’. Two years later the WSJ said, “You won’t find a better-informed art writer than Tyler Green.” In 2008 the Washington Post named Green one of the capital’s “young and influential” arts figures.
Now, I would love to be able to produce a blog like this, but its not really my aim- I am not a professional art critic- in fact I just want to blog a little to inspire more people to practice art/photography, to realise there are some cross over areas in all fields (eg my parallel interests in animals and art), and ideally promote my portrait painting business in a way where I can be educational/entertaining, without being too commercial. I hate lots of art critics although I love art, and I know lots of other people feel like this and get put off by some art critics rather false, wordy, analysis of art.
I like the MAN blog because its fairly simple to read/navigate, and is daily updated. What do you think?
However, this MAN blog is quite enlightening so have a look at it if you get a chance.
To give you a brief biography, Green attended the University of Missouri, where he majored in journalism. Green regularly lectures about art, including at George Washington University, Detroit’s College for Creative Studies, the Maryland Institute College of Art, Virginia Commonwealth University, and at Artissima, in Turin, Italy. Green was the art critic for Bloomberg News from September, 2004 until September, 2005, and the Washington-based critic for Artnet Magazine from March, 2003, through August, 2004.
So, today for example, on the MAN blog they are discussing Yukinori Yanagi’s USA & USSR artwork.
This artist is a guy who uses ants (ok somehow unintentionally I have found myself back at the art/animals area, involving ants, although that wasn’t deliberate I assure you) to move around coloured bits of sand, so disturbing the original sand pattern and creating a new ‘art’ form. Crazy stuff eh, if you have not heard of him before…
On November 14-16th is an exhibition in the cultural centre in TST, photos by Cathay Camera Club. I will tell you more about this great club another time (of which I am a member).
cathay camera club exhibition
With global stock markets reeling, people are paying a lot of attention to the ups and (mainly) down’s of the stock market. Today I looked at the two images below, and wondered….
are bloomberg market data tracker screens, the new art for this century? have we lost the creative ability to inspire new artists? is all we care about finance and the markets? what is the future for art?
art gallery 2.0???
( traditional art gallery )
well, today I thought about blogging about artists using blood (there is a crazy artist who makes self portraits out of his own blood) but its so distasteful, that you can go and read about that yourself if you like. I thought about blood …given that the stock markets are dropping 10% region today in many places in the world… so everyone is seeing red.
Anyway, on a more uplifting note, what I did decide to write about is elephant dropping art!!
I have long known about paper made from elephant droppings, in Thailand, but I had forgotten about the artist who uses elephant dung in all his artwork!
First, here are some of his paintings. By Chris Olifi.
no woman no cry
holy virgin mary
afrodizzia
For example, this last pieceAfrodizzia, is made 96x 72 inches, is on linen, and is made from paper collage, oil paint, polyester resin, glitter, map pins, and wait for it………………..elephant dung.
Best known for his paintings using elephant dung, Ofili remarked during a radio interview at the Turner Prize award ceremony (about ten years ago), that the important thing was to know whether art was “good art or bad art” and not whether it contained elephant dung. He is, nonetheless, reported to have used this ingredient in all his works so far (almost a guarantee of authenticity), the original smuggled in from Africa, with subsequent needs coming from London’s Zoo and dried in an airing cupboard. He won the Turner prize for his “inventiveness, exuberance, humour and technical richness in painting”.
Another great quote I like is, he says ‘the way I work comes out of experimentation, but it also comes out of a love of painting, a love affair with painting.’ fantastic!
He is a British Born artist of Nigerian origin, and his works are available to buy online and in a few galleries.
So, if you afford it, go buy one.
If you want to have the fun yourself, go do a painting.
And if you don’t know already… for those people who can’t paint but want a personal painting, without the elephant poo (sorry!) then check out my commercial site Portrait Xpress for bespoke art from your photos. Have a good day!
there is an interesting exhibition currently still on (but just for a few more days) at The Pacific Asia Museum…..
Its about Asian values, and their role in Asian art. This is a theme I hope to return to more later. Confucianism is thought to be a basis for Asian values, see here for a great summary of a talk which can give you an interesting summary of asian values and the 21st century..titled …
Rethinking Confucianism: Asian Values and the Global Ethics of Human Rights and Responsibilities by Prof. On-cho Ng of the Pennsylvania State University.The exhibition I want you to see if you can is called
Confucius: Shaping Values Through Art
Confucius: Shaping Values Through Art, explores how Confucian values have permeated East Asian culture.
titled- the four sons of filial piety
The Pacific Asia Museum has a collection of over 14,000 works of art including paintings, prints, sculptures, ceramics, jades and textiles from all over Asia and the Pacific Islands, and a research library containing more than 7,000 reference volumes relating to Asian and Pacific art and culture. It is located at 46 North Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena California 91101
I can’t go (I dont live in the US!) but if anyone reading does, please tell us how it was!!
Note, the Pacific Asia Museum also has some great podcasts, see here.
“When you start with a portrait and try to find pure form by abstracting more and more, you must end up with an egg.”
There spoke Pablo Picasso.
A portrait is a painting, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this reason, in photography a portrait is not a quick snapshot, but a composed image of a person in a still position.
A portrait usually shows a person looking directly at the painter or photographer, in order to most successfully engage the subject with the viewer.
The art of the portrait flourished in Roman sculptures, where sitters demanded realistic portraits, even unflattering ones. During the 4th century, the portrait began to retreat in favor of an idealized symbol of what that person looked like.
One of the best-known portraits in the Western world is Leanardo da Vinci’s painting “Mona Lisa” which is a painting of an unidentified woman.
the mona lisa
The world’s oldest known portrait was found in France in 2006 and is thought to be 27,000 years old.
If you want a portrait painting made of yourself, nowadays it can even be done from a photo!
as Portrait Xpress can do, as well as other artists.
The 
Sovereign Art prize winner for Europe was announced a couple of days ago, it was won by Nadia Hebson.
Sovereign Art prize winner for Europe was announced a couple of days ago, it was won by Nadia Hebson.Hebson makes several specific types of art work, most recently: intense, romantic and darkly atmospheric seascapes and shipwrecks. She also does some portraits…. see below!!
Born in 1974 in Romsey, UK, Hebson studied at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and The Royal Academy of Arts, both in London. Currently the Artist in Residence at Durham Cathedral, she was also awarded a Derek Hill Foundation Scholarship earlier this year and spent three months studying at The British School at Rome. Hebson has exhibited internationally and was selected for this year’s Jerwood Contemporary Painters exhibition. She has previously been the recipient of an Arts Council Award and Duveen Woman Artist Award. For the last four years, she has lived and worked in Berlin where her love of middle European writers has developed.
Hebson commented:”I am absolutely ecstatic to be awarded the Sovereign European Art Prize, especially by such a distinguished panel of judges, whom I can’t thank enough. My painting of a shipwreck does appear quite prescient in the light of recent events! However I was genuinely surprised to hear that I had won with such a dark and romantic image. This award is, for me, the icing on the cake in a year of unprecedented experiences and I would like to thank all those who have supported me in getting this far. “
Valser- the winning painting
crying
Th winning picture is very gloomy and melancholic, her main inspirations are mostly art historical.
See here for nadia’s website. I personally prefer her portraits, but perhaps I would given that I run a bespoke portrait painting business.!
See here for my previous post about the sovereign art prize.
Here are some pet paintings (original photo’s then final paintings) by Portrait Xpress artists. Certainly the original photo’s are good… but you can see that the Paintings make a great gift/ memory! And the beauty of paintings rather than prints, is that so many alterations can be made, up to the person who comissions the artwork.
original photo (labrador puppy)
original photo
final painting
final painting
another photo
original photo
and the painting
the finished painting!
see my previous post for a video of one of these being painted, to show you its 100% by hand, no printing or any funny business!!
Have a great day.
To provide a bit of balance after my Obama pop-art pictures, here are some of John McCain- I must play fair after all! Down the bottom is a statement by McCain’s team on his stance on the Arts.
To see the Obama art, click here to see my previous post!
To give credit where credit is due, these are from www.allposters.com and not by my artists in any shape or form.
“John McCain believes that arts education can play a vital role fostering creativity and expression. He is a strong believer in empowering local school districts to establish priorities based on the needs of local schools and school districts. Schools receiving federal funds for education must be held accountable for providing a quality education in basic subjects critical to ensuring students are prepared to compete and succeed in the global economy. Where these local priorities allow, he believes investing in arts education can play a role in nurturing the creativity of expression so vital to the health of our cultural life and providing a means of creative expression for young people.”
Finally here’s a photo- as the above pop art images are a bit boring in my view, here at least is a fairly good photo. Click here for my previous poston why I prefer paintings/sketches to photos. My artists (see them in the “important links”) can paint photos 100% by hand from any photo in any style.
A must see- Yoshitaka Amano’s art is exhibiting in the Art Statement’s Gallery in HK for a few more weeks. Click here to read a little about the man. I include an interview from him below..
Really the guy is incredible, he has done artwork over such a wide range of medium’s. You may know him best from the illustrations of the characters in the “Final Fantasy” computer games. Here are some of his illustrations.
Here is a great link to an interview with him about “a day in the life of Yoshitaka Amano” . I have summarised a couple of the more interesting questions, below…
When did you realize that you wanted to be an artist, not in the sense of it as a hobby, but more as a profession and a way to make a living? YA: When I was fourteen, I went to see my best friend, who had moved to Tokyo — I was still living in Shizuoka — so I went to see him. And I knew about Tatsunoko and I felt like I wanted to join Tatsunoko, so I brought a piece of my art, and I went to see their office and left the piece behind. After I came back to Shizuoka, Tatsunoko had sent a note saying they wanted to hire me, and that’s when I joined Tatsunoko and that’s when I realized that I wanted to draw and paint as my career.
How hard has it been to be accepted by the fine art community? It’s a pretty snobbish community, especially towards those who’ve worked distinctly commercial medium, like comic books, animation, video games and many of the genres you’ve explored in your career. YA: I always like something new. Like, animation back then was new too, so games, etc., these are different places where my art is released, but I myself don’t change. So my core doesn’t change, and as an artist, I’m completely responsible for my art. So sometimes my art comes out in a game, but the game doesn’t sell, so my art isn’t reflected in a good way, and that’s a sad thing. But what I think is that I am solely responsible for my art, so I’m not concerned which path I channel it through. If it’s something new, then I am interested. So if it’s animation, or games, or some new medium in the future, I would be happy to put my art into it. I’m not sure if there’s any criticism, or if I have any frustration with the fine-art community, at least not that I’m aware of. I’m still a newcomer in the community, but as long as I’m doing something new and something different. By doing this, there’s always the possibility that there’s someone somewhere might be criticizing me about it. But I don’t care that much, in fact I would be happy to accept it because it means that I’m doing something new. The other day I went to Rome and saw Michaelangelo’s art, and there was a huge line for two hours to see his art. When I saw the whole line, I felt strongly that art has a strong power to attract people and to move the world, and I knew that I had to be responsible for my art, not just now, but ten years from now, forty years from now, I must be responsible for my art.
And, here is some of his more recent works! Amano started experimenting with traditional Japanese Sumi-e method on Japanese papers, incorporating fluid, spontaneous brush strokes with comic images. Later, those drawings are transformed into canvas and aluminum works that are highly regarded in art world.
Amazing inspirational artwork. Have a great weekend- Matt
The Royal Academy of Arts (one of my favourite Galleries, in London) was founded by George III in 1768. Governed by artists to ‘promote the arts of design’ the Royal Academy was the first institution in Great Britain devoted solely to the promotion of the visual arts and to raising the standing of art, artists and architecture.
Yes, its actually goverened BY ARTISTS! The eighty governing artists – Royal Acadamicians- are all practising painters, sculptors, engravers, printmakers, draughtsmen and architects. On reaching the age of 75 they become Senior Academicians and so form vacancies for Membership. Elections are held annually and new Members are nominated and voted in by existing RAs. All Members are required to bestow an example of work to the Royal Academy before receiving their Diploma signed by the Sovereign, and these works form part of the RA’s Permanent Collection. Interesting huh!
For example, David Hockney (the artist who painted below) is one of these people.
David Hockney RA, Wheat Field near Fridaythorpe, August 2005
Anyway, some great stuff on there currently- including a contemporary art exhibition. Its called
GSK Contemporary and its on 31 Oct 2008 — 19 Jan 2009
In 6 Burlington Gardens, but also run by the RA. Many new artists there, one cool artist exhibiting is
Antony Micallef and here is one of his pieces below…. enjoy!
by........Antony Micallef
- open ended
ever been lost in a maze as a kid? see Richard Serra’s new art at the Gagosian Gallery, in London- you can get lost in his art!
The American sculptor, who will be 70 next year, has been wrestling with steel since he was 17. In those days, he was working in the steel mills of California, his home state. When he began to produce work of his own, he was classified as a minimalist. Not any more. As the years have gone by, Serra’s brutishly engaging steel sculptures have grown bigger and bigger.
The three large pieces that stand at the centre of his new show at the vast Gagosian Gallery in London must have been very hard to move- a logistics art in itself. Once, a man died when a Serra fell on him.
See here for a great interview with the man.
Below (the smaller image) is the image that Suroso Isor has entered for the Asia part of the Sovereign Art prize. Click here to see my previous post on this prize.
He was Born in Pemalang, January 1, 1983 and has studied art in the Indonesian Art Institute Yogyakarta. He has received several awards such as Gold Medal from Museum Sejarah Jakarta-2003, Gold Medal National Healthy Cartoon – 2003, Gold Medal Poster Kependudukan Nasional-2003, Gold Medal Poster Kependudukan Internasional, New York, USA- 2004, and many others. He has also participated in many group exhibitions since 2005 in Indonesia.
This one above is a watercolour, as is this one. Actually- watercolour is my FAVOURITE MEDIA I hope to show lots more watercolour artists in the future!
okay, click here to go and vote on your favourite artist!! At the Sovereign Asia Art Prize official home page.
They include finalists from…Australia: Bundit Puangthong, Chris Wake, China: Collette Fu, Hou Yan Yan Hong Kong: Caroline Chiu, Chow Chun Fai, Man Fung-Yi, Gretchen So, Peter Steinhauer, Angela Su, Anothermountainman India:Seema Kohli, Indonesia:Terra Bajraghosa, Suroso Isur, Saputro Uji Handoko Eko, Japan: Yu Hara, Maiko Sugano, Noriko Yamaguchi Korea: Dongi Lee, Lim Taek Malaysia: Chan Kok Hooi, Hoo Kiew Hang, Myanmar: Mor Mor Philippines: Robert Langenegger Singapore: Mee Ai Om Taiwan: Chiu Chien-Jen Thailand: Jaratsri Prasongdee, Laura Spector, Sirat Ubolyeam Vietnam: Le Thiet Cuong
I will continue my reviews of the artists and some of their previous works…you can also see work from the last years winner, and some of the other finalists, at my earlier post.
Here is the artwork from one of the finalist Robert Langenegger of the Phillipines…
- competition entry piece above
If you want to read an interview with this artist, see here.
for those who liked my Obama in Portrait art post which showed some Obama artwork, and I was trying to encourage people to get themselves painted in a pop art style by the cool painters at portrait Xpress, here is something more for you!!
In fact, there is a whole Flikr group dedicated to “obama street art”!!
An entire blog has sprung up entitled The Obama Art Report!!
The recent months have seen a street movement in support of Obama, which the presidential candidate’s campaign itself has embraced!! Obama for Artists (the store on the obama website) features art and merchandise donated to the campaign by artists to raise money for the movement.
Its incredible to have a presidential Candidate who has inspired such an outpouring of creativity, the effect on voters is yet to be seen I guess….
if you liked the THERMAL CAMERA IMAGES taken in the series life in cold blood then you will love these too!
Animals yet art, woooohooo! Don’t try and tell me thats not art!!
The thermal camera was used to reveal how marine iguanas use the sun to power their underwater lives. Cold ones that have just returned from a dive show up as black on the golden, sun-baked rocks.
hopefully like me, you realize obama actually is the second coming. If you are a cynic however, enjoy the cartoons below!!
Don’t forget, the artists at Portrait Xpress can also turn your portraits into a cartoon!
reptiles are amazing, look at their colours, they are just not meant for the boring human world where we are all various dull shades of colour! White/black/brown etc, oh how dull people’s skin colur is!
I mean the vividness of the reptiles colour hues and intensity of colour is just incredible! owch!!
photo by goooflex
photo by Nino de Bari
photo by Bill Adams
photo by Farl
and look at this one… okay it isnt really a snake but it looks like one! art in nature!!
photo by Matthew Fang
I really encourage you to have a look at the recent reptile TV series on the BBC, life in cold blood. Click here for some online clips. Click here to see my previous related post on thermal camera photos.
Of course, you can convert any reptile photo into great artwork- even as a painting (?!) using artists such as those at Portrait Xpress.
Have a great day!
eyes: the window of the soul. What do you think of these windows? What a portrait series!! What feelings do they inspire? desire? wonder? fear? awe? give me some comments!!!
photo by ashley rose
So the eye is beautiful. See my previous photo series on eyes. Window to the soul and all that…. What about the retina? can you see the art in that? This is the organ which captures all the photos to create the visual imagery we see in the world… in itself, I think the retina looks pretty cool too whenever I look at it..
photo property of richard mason
photo by kschimmel
This last one is a photographic image of the nerves and blood vessels at the back of the eye. Incredible stuff eh. Can you tell me which of the top three is a human retina??!
Fractals look amazing to me. This is art-in-nature at its best!!!
A fractal is generally “a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is (at least approximately) a reduced-size copy of the whole.
photo by Brett Wilde
photo by gripspix
photo by gripspix
See here for a great Flickr set of fractal photo’s.
The Royal Watercolur Society is the oldest watercolour society in the world, established in 1804, and is second only to the Royal Academy of Art in importance as an art society.
It exhibits twice a year at the Bankside Gallery, 48 Hopton Street, London SE1 9JH.
A great new exhibition is coming up- check this out!!:
The Poet and the Painter
13th November – 30th November 2008
“JMW Turner believed that poetry and painting flowed from the same font, and twenty Members of the Royal Watercolour Society, in collaboration with the Poetry Society, explore this common bond. Celebrated poets, including Roger McGough, Polly Clarke, Kathleen Jamies and James Kirkup are working directly with artists to create new and exciting work.”
The exhibition is being curated by David Brayne RWS.
Click here to see a link to some of their upcoming events!
Here is a painting by one of their artists, Francis Bowyer.
I love watercolour, check this old one out………..
this is a post I have meaning to write for a long time. Its involves art…. and an animal!
“Death in the mind of someone living” the shark art-piece by Damien Hirst.
How do we interpret this? One concept is, if you bend down and peer through its sharply jagged teeth, you’ll be looking past the pure white mouth at the large black hole of its throat. It’s a reasonable visual metaphor for the crossing-over from life to death that we think will never happen.
Also, the viewers imagination is focused on the pickled sharks jaws; the jaws of death stopped in motion, suspended in time. So the shark can’t attack you, its been suspended in time… so your death is not coming now, it will come later…
If you have other interpretations, let me know here!!
So is that what art always is, a visual metaphor? Yes, in a way. Although sometimes art is just for art’s sake and there is no need for any metaphorology.
To be honest, my idea of art involves freshness and a concept of something seeming alive, and I see art in nature and animals, so Im not hugely keen on the idea of animals in formaldehyde as some kind of art.
However, Damien Hirst is certainly very innovative so I repect that, and by shocking the public he helps create debate about art and other interesting subjects, which has to be good.
This shark pictured below is given the title:”death in the mind of someone living”.
Apart from the crazy price this fetched, one interesting point is that actually its not the same shark as in the original art. When asked is this is an issue, the artist said:
“”It’s a big dilemma. Artists and conservators have different opinions about what’s important: the original artwork or the original intention. I come from a conceptual art background, so I think it should be the intention. It’s the same piece. But the jury will be out for a long time to come.”
I guess I agree with him, but what are your views?!
the artist, above, with the artwork titled.
todays post is on one of my all time favourites, the Natural History Museum: in London. Actually my primary school was very close so I have happy memories of many visits as a child. Here are some images of the outside of it (the main entrance) and of the dinosaur in the main hall. In-cred-i-ble!
The building itself is a piece of art, and a real treasure trove of beauty and science.
The foundation of the collection was that of the Ulster doctor Sir Hans Sloane (1660–1753), who allowed his significant collections to be purchased by the British Government at a price well below their market value at the time.
Work began on this building in Kensington in 1873 and was completed in 1880. The museum opened in 1881, although the move from the previous building was not fully completed until 1883.
Both the interiors and exteriors of the Waterhouse building make extensive use of terracotta tiles to resist the sooty climate of Victorian era London. The tiles and bricks feature many relief sculptures of flora and fauna, with living and extinct species featured within the west and east wings respectively.
This explicit separation was at the request of Mr Richard Owen, appointed Superintendent of the natural history departments of the British Museum in 1856, and has been seen as a statement of his contemporary rebuttal of Darwin’s attempt to link present species with past through the theory of Natural Selection. Clever hey?
The central axis of the museum is aligned with the tower of The Imperial College, london and the Royal Albert hall and the Albert memorial further north.
” Dippy ” — is a 105-foot (32 m) long replica Diplodocus carnegii skeleton, situated within the central hall. The cast was given as a gift by Andrew Carnegie the Scottish American industrialist, after a discussion with King Edwars VII, then a keen trustee of the British Museum. Carnegie arranged for the cast to be created at his own considerable expense of £2000, copying the original held at the Carnegie Museum.
The pieces were sent to London in 36 crates, and on the 12th May 1905, the exhibit was unveiled, to great public and media interest.
The dinosaur quickly became an iconic representation of the museum, and has featured in many cartoons and other media.
Nowadays, its very easy to get a portrait made of your self, or your family, or your pet.
In the old days, traditionally, you needed to sit many times in front of the artist, to get a painting made. This is still probably the best way to do it, however its very time consuming and also very expensive!
Good on you if you have the time for all the many trips to an artist’s studio… it will be fun, but it’s not so practical nowadays! However, portrait paintings are still a very desirable thing to have: a great piece of art that can be treasured for ever, and it is highly personal also.
Most busy professionals, and corporate companies, are now chosing portraits of themsleves or their staff to be comissioned by a reputable artist, from a photograph of the client or clients.
One group of artists which are very experienced in this, are the artists at Portrait Xpress . (The information and entertainment on this blog is actually written by a staff member at Portrait Xpress, so we are biased !- there are other companies or private artists also, so please shop around! But we are sure that you will not find another company which has such good quality or service or a better price).
See here and click PAINTING SAMPLES/GALLERY (the button on the left) for some of the artist’s past works.
See here for a fuller explanation of how to order, using just your digital image.
And see here for an explanation of different customisations which can be made to the painting, or different styles you may like to have the portrait painted in.
We hope you will pass this information on to anyone who may be interested in a Portrait Painting!
Have a great day.
reptile’s are amazing. I particularily love the colours and details of their skin. Here are some photo’s below. Im not alone in finding the beauty in these, seeing as snake skin has been used in clothes/shoes for many centuries. Read here about snakes scales on wiki!
The last one actually is a photo of reptile skin as seen microscopically. You like it? Pretty cool stuff I say!
to do a good life-drawing, you need to have a good idea of anatomy. (Click the links to see the definitions).
I guess this is a thread linking my interests in art and animals- as obviously to understand the workings of a body, you need to understand how it is made up. And in a similar way, to make a good painting or photograph, you really have to understand the make-up of its composition, ie how the human or animal body is constructed, if its a portrait.
There have been some amazing paintings and sketches done of Anatomy over the years…
these last 2 are by Da Vinci.
Mosaics. Here are some nice ones below.
Mosaic is ‘the art of creating images with small pieces of colored glass, stone or other material.’
See wiki for some history!
Nowadays, people like to take photo’s in a mosaic layout, because it looks pretty fun way of grouping pictures together. See here for a good Flikr set of mosaic pictures: where each picture is a mosaic of many photos!
See here for some mosaic from the romans, on the BBC website.
Ive also found an interesting blog on mosaic contemporary art.. check it out!
In fact, the internet is a bit of a mosaic nowadays.. if you think about it
photo by digithill
photo by Mitatos
Flames and fire are incredible, they are needed for life, they are needed for rebirth.
What a feeling it inspires. No im not a pyromanic, but just looking into the light of a flame is a meaningful experience for most people! Live waves, it has immense power, a threat of danger, but yet an inner beauty. Fire regenerates in one way, by providing a catalyst for opening seeds, in nature.
Fire art is art involving flames. It can be people juggling with something on fire, or more aesthetic art pieces.
One real art using fire, is glassblowing. I love the ‘liveness’ of this art, how visual it is!!
See here for a link to some pieces in glass made by a Uk glassblower. Here is one piece.
Its a bit fancy for me, but maybe you like it?
Okay, and I have one REAL GEM for you.
See this Flikr set… and type GLASS into the search panel, to see some amazing glass blowing pics. This photographer also has a site at http://www.allyeska.com/ but I prefer the Flickr for the search function.
Have a great day. Fire! Friend or Foe?
If you live in Hong Kong (okay, lots of readers don’t, but hey some of you do!) the have you heard about Digital Light Craft?
This venture is a workshop for budding photographers, ran by some of the most experienced and best photographers living in HK.
A fun one is the Flash/Glamour Workshop.
This will appeal to those of you who are more comfortable with your cameras and want to learn some more specialized skills involved in shooting with flash and other light sources in a studio setting.
Ike will go over the various light sources available and discuss the reasons for choosing one over the others and how to use it to its best advantage. He will also discuss lenses and related camera equipment as well as filters and gels. Directing models and how to get the poses and expressions that best suit the project.
This will be followed by a practise portrait session using different lighting sources, during which Ike will be helping fine tune your approach and technique.
Before wrapping up for the day, Ike will answer questions about the shoot and the upcoming model shoot.
Sunday morning will involve photographing models under different lighting conditions. The models will have 3 outfits each.
So…. interested?
If so, go along!!
Its run by Keith, he says
“I have decided to put together a workshop based on the lessons I have learned about digital photography over the last 6 years or so. Combined with the relevant lessons learned while shooting with Film SLRs before that I hope to share some of the joy that Digital Photography has brought me with others looking to capture a slice of their lives in Hong Kong. Let the digital light shine!!”
Amen.
pinkfire: by amy solovay
The more I look, the more art I find out there inspired by FIRE. I guess this is not suprising given that fire is one of the basic components of nature and this planet.
But I have yet to find a painting which captures what a photo like the one below does. I guess this is because art is usually used to simplify and distill things into simple emotive images… so flames don’t really require simplification as they are already so weak yet so fragile, so simple….Im still looking for a powerful fire painting though!!
Okay.. Ive got it now.. the better Fire Paintings are historical really, rather than simply an ‘artistic interpretation of fire”. Such as paintings of the GREAT FIRE OF LONDON.
See here for the History of this and a famous picture by an unknown artist.
photo by opimentas
LIVING ART…
ive found an interesting website which gives details on some interesting art exhibitions about nature. Check out their exhibitions here.
“Living Art’s exhibitions aim to raise awareness of the beauty and wonder of our natural heritage, both in the UK and globally, while at the same time championing the benefits of the natural environment to our wellbeing and the need to protect and conserve that environment.
The exhibitions take an innovative, responsible and, above all, we hope entertaining approach.”
Also, check this, if you want to buy a topiary elephant for your garden?!!
And see this great blog about ART HELPING ANIMALS.
So, I was inspired by the ant art I discussed in a previous post (go check it out, on my site), what other living art is there?
Well, here is some art which is for sale, BY ANIMALS IN A ZOO!!!
The pictures here are just a bit of fun, not related to the links by the way…
My idea of a pig portrait is something like the picture below…
This is a watercolour by PAT WEAVER, of Dade City, Florida.
Its fairly similar to the kind of work Portrait Xpress Artists do as comissions of pets, from a photo.
This is art, and I like it. What comes below- really, this ain’t art.
I heard today about something very strange…. “pet art” by a Belgian Artist in China.
Belgian conceptual artist Wim Delvoye currently (Nov 08) employs workers to tattoo pigs in an “Art Farm” at the outskirts of Beijing, China. Delvoye has staff consisting of local farmers to raise the pigs.. and professionals to tattoo them with cartoons or symbols. The pigs would then be displayed at art exhibitions and their skins sold to collectors after they were slaughtered.
Very wierd, and actually I dont like it- putting a tattoo on a live animal has got to hurt, and even if they are sedated, it seems pretty cruel. From a veterinary perspective, this seems very unnecessary and quite sick. Any comments?
Christmas is coming…. time to think about presents for your pets!!
Nota good time to buy a pet however, remember “a pet is for life, not just for Christmas”. I saw one person with a new 1 month old puppy last week, and really some people have no idea about the commitment involved to have a pet.
However, for all the great pet owners out there, its time to start planning a Christmas present for your pets!!!
One Uk survey a couple of years back indicated that nearly three quarters of pet owners (70%) will buy their pet a Christmas present.
So, what to buy??
One suggestion I have, if you have not heard about this already or already have one, is a hand-painted picture of your pet or your friend’s pet. See here for some pictures, and here for more details!!!
Lots of cartoon art is about animals…eg Hobbes the imaginary tiger belonging to Calvin…
Calvin and Hobbes is a comic strip written and illustratted by Bill Watterson, following the humorous antics of Calvin , a very imaginative six-year old boy, and Hobbes, his energetic and sardonic—albeit stuffed—tiger. The pair are named after “John Calvin” , a 16th-century French Protestant theologian and “Thomas Hobbes” a 17th-century English political philosopher.
The themes of the strip deal with Calvin’s flights of fantasy, his friendship with Hobbes, his adventures and scrapes, his unique views on a diverse range of political and cultural issues and his relationships and interactions with his parents, classmates, teachers, and other members of society. The dual nature of Hobbes is also that while Calvin sees Hobbes as a live tiger, other characters see him as a stuffed animal.
See here for their official website.
Another huge favourite pet illustrator of mine is Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit.
Peter Rabbit is the main character in a series of books. He first appeared in “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” in 1902.
In this story- One day, Mrs. Rabbit goes to the bakery, leaving Peter and his sisters, Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail to play and gather berries in the forest. Disobeying his mother’s orders, Peter sneaks into Mr. McGregor’s garden and eats as many vegetables as he can before Mr. McGregor spots him and chases him around. Eventually, Peter manages to escape, but not before losing his jacket and his shoes, which Mr. McGregor uses for his new scarecrow. He is famously remembered by some as being in fear of Mrs. McGregor putting him “in a pie”.
Although he and the other rabbits are drawn from life, they wear human clothes; Peter wears a bright blue coat and clogs. The Peter Rabbit series has sold more than 151 million copies in 35 languages.
Sure, its not fine art BUT its about the interactions between people and animals and these illustrators have a profound effect on generation after generation of individuals..and to produce illustrations of volume and quality like these requires some substancial imagination…..
I was drawn into a discussion today about Redbull, where I suggested that it was more of a marketing concepty that actually a product…
so, that started me thinking about Red Bull related ART!
First thing to note, is that red bull is an incredibly innovative company and as part of their brand-building they actually sponsor art projects.
One fun project they are currently running is “red bull art of can”.
Here artists must make a picture or sculpture or piece of modern art, using mainly a red bull can!!! Crazy but exciting, and a fantastic opportunity for promotion by new young cutting edge artists.
See here for an image of a dragon made from a red bull can!!
Also see here for a you tube video of a drumming sequence using red bull, also done by independent artists, not red bull staff.
And here is a Flikr set of Red bull ‘art of the can” series…
Have a great day.
Please take time to have a read about PortraitXpress artists… if you need to order a personalised painting as a gift to arrive with you by Christmas day, you need to order it in the next few days to allow time for the paint to dry and the artwork to be shipped!
pets- I guess they like the lead up to Christmas just like the rest of us. Lots of food! yummy yummy.
I have started to see pets in Christmas clothes, like the picture below, what about you, seen anything pet and christmas related?
Check out here for a dog xmas clothes website!
If you are looking for some good pet-related Christmas cards, check these out. Have a great weekend!
art is dead?
If you are feeling all melancholic in the cold weather and the run up to christmas, here is a great series of melancholic photo’s entitled ‘art is dead”. Actually the photographer is exhibiting some of his works in New Mexico , USA, till mid-january 2009.
Art is dead?
This is a question that many people ask. Some artists even use it as a title, as we saw above.
Here is a painting in mixed media by an artist, with that very title…
you can buy art by this artist at the Richard Goodall Gallery in Manchester, Uk.
ART IS DEAD - by Federico Gonzales
So, what do people think? or course art is not dead, its just that art/creativity has changed, its become commercial, people of an artistic bent are no longer necessarily pure artists, they perhaps have decided to get a mortgage and so do web design or clothes design or music videos and what is left for pure artists has often needed to become very different and provocative (eg sharks in a tank by damian hirst) to get people’s attention.
See here a post by David Mellender in the Art’s Journal, about ‘is art dead’ where he argues that it is.
Actually, part of me thinks that art may be dead, as art critics wrap it up in such funny language that makes it unaccessible to the general public..
So, to learn about Banksy, perhaps start by having a look at his site. www.banksy.co.uk
It doesnt have much text but it does have most of his work.
His life biography can be seen at wikipedia and its a fascinating yarn.
He started as a graffiti artist in Bristol, and his artworks are often satirical works of art on diverse topics such as politics, culture, and ethics.
Important to note is his anti- commercial stance: Banksy does not sell photos of street graffiti or mount exhibitions of screenprints, in commercial galleries.
check some of them out below!!
i especially like this one! above..
Here a Uk newspaper (well its the daily mail so Im not sure if that really counts as a newspaper?) reveals who Banksy is … the Scarlet Pimpernel of modern art!
He is a very clever guy. Here is his statement when one council tried to remove his art, claiming it was an advertisement.
“I was offended when Westminster said my painting was an advertisement. Advertising makes people feel inadequate and worthless. Graffiti doesn’t do that. Graffiti doesn’t emotionally blackmail you, graffiti doesn’t make you feel fat and graffiti doesn’t make you rush out and buy things, except maybe high strength cleaning products.”
His latest work is an installation called “The Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill,” about the human-animal relationship….. that features walking chicken nuggets, swimming fish sticks, .. and hot dogs that slither like snakes.
See here for the link.
Hi, here is what the RSPCA sent me today and I think you will all enjoy it
“Hi Matt,
I have just been on your blog and I thought you may be interested in RSPCA’s ‘Give Animals a Voice’ campaign that I am currently involved in.
RPSCA have teamed up with the maker of ‘Simon’s Cat’ and created a video called ‘Fed up’. This video illustrates food-begging behaviour that is typical to dogs and the issue of pet obesity. The video, which launched yesterday, has already been viewed over 47,000 times!
Though it is not art… (that you have covered in your blog), I thought you may be interested seeing this approach to raising pet obesity awareness.
Though this animation has a light side to it, it still carries a very serious message, and we are really keen for this to be highlighted.
Pet obesity is a growing concern, and RSPCA want to raise awareness and get people to start thinking and talking about this issue. Especially during Christmas, is giving your pets treats under the dining table a nice or cruel thing to do? Do we actually know when our pets are overweight? And what do we do to combat this problem?
I hope this is of interest to you”
Also have a look at this link from the RSPCA re weight less help for your pet.
There is a great photo book series called “Hong Kong/China Photographers“
The 12-book Hong Kong Photographers series presents a complete collection – art, documentary and news photography – of some of the most accomplished yet underexposed photographers in Hong Kong. Photographs are accompanied by critical analyses and a unique look into the lives behind the lens. Its come about as a study of 12 HK photographers- there being a huge number of successful photographers living on this small mountain (Hong Kong island).
The latest one is Hong Kong/China Photographers Two – anothermountainman by John Batten. John is a member of the International Association of Art Critics -Hong Kong and used to have his own Art Gallery in HK and writes a lot in the art press. Books are HKD 300.
AnotherMountain Man (see his website here) is A Hong Konger called Stanley Wong Ping-Pui in reality.
By: Asia One Product and Publishing Limited
here is a portrait of Stanley Wong (courtesty of ChaChaHavana on Flikr)
And here are some of his photos below.
I HOPE THEY INSPIRE YOU TO GO OUT AND BUY THE BOOK! they are amazing……….
okay, perhaps this is not the most serious post I have made. But it is Sunday.
See www.soapbubbler.com which calls itself “The world’s largest educationally oriented website dedicated to soap bubble creativity, play, brewing and performance! “
Actually, the site is a bit tricky to navigate, the only page only really worth looking at is this one which shows lots (about 500) pictures of paintings where bubbles are a feature of them! as thats what I think is quite interesting….
Now, I really do still enjoy blowing bubbles, and all kids love this. Have you noticed the beauty in a bubble? either in running water, or artificial soap bubbles? check some images below.
Hi, well occasionally I do come across other good blogs, here is a nice one, worth checking out-
dog art today. If you are interested in my blog, and art, and pets, you my find this one good. Its by an artist and she loves dogs.
Like me she also sells art, although I hope you would come back here and order your pet art from me at portrait xpress rather than her shop! But its up to you.. ha ha ..
I have been reading about tea today, did you know…
Tea, that most quintessential of English drinks, is a relative latecomer to British shores. Although the custom of drinking tea dates back to the third millennium BC in China, it was not until the mid 17th century that the drink first appeared in England. Thats not really very long ago is it?
The use of tea spread slowly from its Asian homeland, reaching Europe by way of Venice around 1560, although Portuguese trading ships may have made contact with the Chinese from as early as 1515.
It was the Portuguese and Dutch traders who first imported tea to Europe, with regular shipments coming by 1610. England was a latecomer to the tea trade, as the East India Company did not capitalize on tea’s popularity until the mid-18th century.
You can read more about this at wikipedia, here.
I started thinking about Tea and its formative role in art in the last 300 yrs in British culture….So, here I will start with some old vintage tea posters!
And then I started thinking about art USING tea leaves…
or perhaps more commonly, using coffee beans…
check these links…
1) a site selling paintingonly made from coffee
2) a forum discussing how to paint with tea…
and here is a video on painting with coffee..
Enjoy! Merry Christmas from Matt and all the Portrait Xpress artists
forgotten why you love art?
well, here are some great art video’s where you can see art being made live!
if you live in the UK go to art-in -action show once a year, to see it being done .. or check out our own Portrait Xpress video of a pet painting being done by one of our artist
Dont know who portrait Xpress is yet? check us out at www.portraitxpress.com where we are No.1 at painting art for you from your photos.
So, enough suspense, please watch these videos!! I PROMISE YOU, IF YOU ONCE LIKED PAINTING, BUT DONT HAVE THE TIME TO ANYMORE, THIS WILL HELP INSPIRE YOU TO GET BACK TO THE STUDIO!!!
Happy new year.
Well, just to show people what art we can do at portrait xpress, here are the steps involved in a painting we did recently.
First we were contacted by a customer, who’s boyfriend loves James Dean. They wanted us to paint (by hand, no printing) a James Dean style poster, like that below- but instead of using James Dean’s face, they wanted the boyfriend’s face!!
ORIGINAL POSTER:
Of course we love James Dean and were very enthusiastic about this fun project!
We can’t show you the client’s photo, but here is the final painting below by one of our great artsist!!!! Amazing eh. What a great gift!
final painting (cropped)
We have cropped the picture, so you don’t see the person’s name as thats private…. so actually the painting was the same shape as the original poster. The subject wasn’t posing with this picture in mind, otherwise the result could have been even better- if they had tried to do a similar pose as James Dean!!
Hope this stimulates people’s imagination!
and here a a few James Dean photos for you out there…..
What? you don’t know who he was? actor, photographer, race driver, artist, ultimate rebel and one of the greatest Legends of the 20th Century.
Here are some more paintings that we did recently. See www.portraitxpress.com and go to the gallery dection, to see further examples.
We hope to keep regularly putting up examples of our Portrait Artist’s work, so you can get an idea about the quality and good standard of the work, and transpanency of the business. Here is the painting, on Canvas. As we use the word Xpress- yes, this means we are VERY fast! But also the quality is top notch. The subject/ client can review the painting and request any changes they want to it also, and choose the size, style, make alterations, etc.
original photo artist used to paint the painting from
SO, IS this really art? well, i say it is. And of course, who determines art is not someone else, but is up to you!
No, this is a ‘series of images’ and it combines a ‘human design element’ ie the artwork of the boards, with a ‘random act of nature’ ie the shark bite….. so while you might not like it, I can still look at this series as a set of creative images inspired/enhanced by nature!
okay, perhaps im crazy……… let me know your thoughts!!! =
a good idea would be to use these photos to then create a painting………. eg do it yourself, or get artists do do it for you, eg those at portraitxpress!
Surf art…
This above work is by David Lloyd.. Lloyd’s work tries to evoke the memories that all surfers have stored up inside. “Deep in your head there is this place, and it’s not Huntington Pier,” It’s more like a collective surfing unconscious. Surfers live in longing for that moment, they relish the anticipation. But arriving there is never as good as you picture it. Eventually, your memory mixes up all these snapshots of the best days and they all become part of this inner place.”
Okay Im off to Bali next month, so thats what may have inspired this.
Here is some art by Glenn Francis…
Originally from Corpus Cristi, Texas, Glenn now resides in Encinitas CA., and Costa Rica. His dramatic paintings capture that special moment in surfing on a perfect day, or as they say in Costa Rica, “pura vida”, which translates to a pure moment in life. Through the years Glenn has worked in Galleries, shaped surfboards, and chased the perfect wave, while evolving into one of the most renowned and dynamic surf artists in the world.
Another surf artist is Peter Edington, a wonderul visionary artist who lives on the Golden Coast of Australia, and whose art is an inspiration.
Peter was one fo those lucky few who was part of the psychedelic surfer culture of Australia during the 1970′s. Hrt is beautiful, warm and uplifting. Here is an example…
and here are just some suf photos…
surf is amazing!!!
Hey… if im going too ‘off-topic’ let me know… its not really pets here, but I hope you like the art!!
Happy Chinese New year to everyone!!!
So, today’s post is about OXEN and art. Cattle/oxen are well regarded in many cultures- even godlike in the Hindu culture.
This year is the Chinese Calender year of the ox. Whether you think about the wild west, herding cattle, to cattle in any anchient or modern culture, they have a close association with man.
Here is a cave painting of some oxen. Thats got to be old.
So you can see they have a long history of being associated with art!
this is the kind of painting you are likely to see in a gallery.
by Norma Wilson
Above is more of a contemporary painting. Of a swiss cow.
Here are a couple I like
you seen any cow art recently?
if so, let me know.
Kung Hei Fat Choi-
peace and prosperity to you all at Chinese New Year!
my attention was drawn today to buntings, see here for what they are, on wiki.
Basically, a “bunting” is a term for any festive decorations made of fabric, they can often be used for wedding decorations, check out this interesting site. http://www.bigbeautifulbunting.co.uk/
So, these can be a form of art.
Here is a blog about textile’s, while includes a refernce to them. In fact, there are good few blogs out there about textile art, here are a few of them
http://www.artoftextiles.blogspot.com/
I guess what Im trying to say, is that textiles are a fantastic source of art ispiration, and an amazing art medium also.
The above tibetan imagery is always inspiring… but the ones below are perhaps more familiar images!!
These minor works of art, alone, can seem plain, but when hanging in the wing and blowing, are inspiring- and they are a real part of traditional culture!!
They are always used at weddings. See here for some other wedding art ideas- oil portraits from wedding photo’s
Betteles in art?
Ive recently been finding out about an interesting Americal artist who uses them to help him paint on the canvas. And yes, they are … ALIVE!!!!
Kutcher controls the direction and movement of his arthropods — such as hissing cockroaches darkling beetles and grasshoppers — by their response to external lighting. The result is controlled and random movements, created in a co-authorship between the artist — with predetermined ideas about colour, form, shape and creative flexibility — and his living brushes!?!
see here for some more details!
check out this great link to some cat photos in the telegraph newspaper.
These lovely photos of cats and kittens are some of the final works by renowned artist and wildlife photographer Jane Burton who died in 2007, aged 74.
If you look at the link, there is a whole series of great pics!! enjoy!
hi,
please help test drive this new forum www.petdoctorforum.com
This is a new forum, targeted mainly at the UK, but also at all English speaking countries.
The aim of the forum is to foster better communication between pets and their vets… so basically its an open forum, for pet owners to post things about their pets (especially but not exclusively about any medical worries with their pets) and also for vets to talk about anything they want to talk about (there is a private area that they can learn how to improve their skills in by talking to other doctors, but also the shared public area where they can get involved in the conversations.
The hope is that this site will free up dialogue between vets and the pet community, enabling
- better veterinary understanding of pet owners worries
- better pet owners understanding of pet health issues
- better client vet communication
- education for all
- news and entertainment for all this community
- pets to get a Voice!
- animal lovers to be united together
please check out the site, sign up there, and post some comments!
117 views yesterday, not too bad if i say it myself…. just started on twitter… anyone here use that…. big experiment for me…
im using it to promote mynew forum
see here for my forum www.petdoctorforum.com
and here for my twitter www.twitter.com/petdoctorforum
Ive ambitiously decided I want to aim for a forum of 100k users, but am happy with 10k by the end of this year. Lets see what happens eh.
Keep an eye on the twitter feeds, if thats your thing!
But I will stick to the pets and art on this blog and not get too distracted, don’t be worried…!
well, my blog is regularly getting 100 hits a day now, just to tell my regular followers!
So some of you must like my images and content at least…. thats good. Please keep letting me know by email or with your comments, if you want me to blog on any certain topics etc
what do people think about fleas? Have you ever seen a flea?
Electron Micgrograph photo (courtesty Bayer) of a flea biting a pet
There is an interesting discussion on a pet/veterinary forum here, where a member of the public asks if “flea control is just a big scam” or if its really needed.
What do you think? As a vet, I must say its essential against some different diseases (the posts on the forum above explain it well).
Anyway- I hope you like these images! Fleas are so small but they can jump about 30x higher than their body length…amazing eh… thats how they can jump quickly from one pet to another!!
so, whats all the fuss about?
Well its about this
I am a tub of peanut butter
and THESE…..
well Dr Matt, nice pictures, but what are they?!!
Ok, the pretty artistic things are not aliens, but are infact Salmonella bacteria. One factory in the US accidentally somehow contaminated the peanut butter with the latter! And it appears now that peanut butter is in many things, NOT just in your grandma’s sandwiches.
One thing its in is in PET FOOD.
If you have a pet, what to do? Well, check this online pet/veterinary forum discussion yesterday on the very same topical issue…“what are the peanut butter recall implications on pet food?” (If you post a few questions, perhaps someone will answer it if you have any further questions).
okay, well this isn’t really very serious, but its just a bit of fun…. enjoy. Some pets dancing with music as the background. Not by myself, all off youtube. And I don’t believe they are real, just edited.
For something more pet-serious, come and join the chatting at www.petdoctorforum.com
So, here are some pet-techno video’s! Time to wake up!!
where is that itch?!
Skin problems are very stressful to observe in pets as you feel helpless- what can you do?
As a veterinarian, they are also not simple to treat these diseases.
To diagnose and treat skin allergies (atopic dermatitis) it requires many tests and lots of patience! These allergies, like ashma in people, are life long.
So:the drugs or treatment options are for life.
Here is an interesting very recent thread on the Pet Doctor Forum discussing this disease and its treatments.. .
What are your experiences?
