I received an invitation from Jai Johnson last week to have a portrait done of our dog. Jai is an artist, jewelry designer, photographer, writer, and animal lover from Jackson, TN and she is currently working on a painting series called Dogs with Toys.
The minute I saw Jai’s work, I sent her one of my favorite photographs of Shamus. She took the time to get to know him by reading This One Wild Life and watching Shamus’ videos. One week later, Jai had captured his essence entirely and named her piece “Gentle Soul.” It couldn’t be a more perfect way to commemorate?our first anniversary since Shamus’ adoption.
The Gentle Soul Fine Art Print is now available to the entire world for under $20. Click Shamus’ image for Jai’s online store. If you’re short on wall space, there are plenty of other Gentle Soul products available. (See below.) Of course, I’ll be purchasing one of everything!
Your dog could be chosen to be in the Dogs With Toys series too. Just share a photo of your dog playing with balls, stuffed toys, squeaky toys, or toys which aren’t necessarily traditional (our yard rake comes to mind). Visit Jai’s submission page to see how.
* The “Gentle Soul” text can be replaced with the text of your choice on several of the items above.
** In the spirit of full discloser, I signed on as an affiliate to help promote Jai’s store. If you purchase any of Jai’s products through this page, I’ll get a few pennies to feed Shamus his dinner at no additional cost to you.
Thanks for the fabulous review, Kim! It was a true pleasure to paint Shamus. He is beautiful! –Jai
I often find, because art is so personal, that the outcome can be a bit disappointing at times. Perhaps a face doesn't turn out the way you know it to be and any connection between you and what appears to be a foreign subject gets lost. This is one of the dangers of having somebody interpret the one you know and love so dearly through a different lens.
Your work, on the other hand, captures the spirit and personality of your subject and your style has truly brought Shamus? photo to life. The look in his eye is absolutely perfect. As a doting mother, so to speak, the greatest compliment I can give is to say that your painting most definitely IS my beautiful boy.
As for my husband, he has his own way with words. Granted, he was at a bit of a distance without his glasses so I suppose the brush strokes weren't obvious, but when I showed him your piece last night, he asked with all sincerity, "That's a painting?"
Yes I do paint in a photo realistic style – I've been trying to loosen up and get away from that, but it's just me I guess. At least I've been able to get away from painting each and every little hair like I've done in many of my traditional portraits. 🙂
Here's a couple of my blog posts you might find interesting:
This is how a painting looks when I begin it: http://365daysonsouthdixielane.blogspot.com/2010/…
That is the eye of a wolf in a montage painting. And then I went from that one little eye to this upon completion: http://365daysonsouthdixielane.blogspot.com/2010/…
And in this post about my white German Shepherd painting, I showed a little of my process and described it: http://365daysonsouthdixielane.blogspot.com/2010/…
Here's a traditional portrait style piece, featuring my German Shepherd Max: http://365daysonsouthdixielane.blogspot.com/2010/…
I do a lot of paintings of Max (and my cats and my other dog…), but would love to paint even more animals, so I really appreciate you telling your blog readers about my series and encouraging them to submit photos. It will help me broaden my horizons and build my portfolio up with a variety of pets. Thank you again! –Jai
I finally caught a moment to view the links you shared. Thank you so much for a glimpse into your process. As always, the eyes you create strike me most. It didn't surprise me to learn that you spent so much time on just that aspect of the wolf. Wonderful work!
RT @KimClune: Our Newfoundland is now the posterboy for having a "Gentle Soul." See his gorgeous new portrait by @jaisjewels at http://bit.ly/95yVRt class="ubervu_reaction_link">via uberVU
RT @KimClune Our Newfoundland is the posterboy for having a "Gentle Soul." See his gorgeous new portrait at http://bit.ly/95yVRt (Thx Kim!)<p class="ubervu_reaction_link">via uberVU
In case you missed it: Our Newf is the poster boy of "Gentle Souls." See his gorgeous new portrait by @jaisjewels at http://bit.ly/95yVRt class="ubervu_reaction_link">via uberVU
Really beautiful! RT @KimClune Our Newf is the poster boy of Gentle Souls. See his gorgeous new portrait by @jaisjewels http://bit.ly/95yVRt class="ubervu_reaction_link">via uberVU