Danger Dog Blog

Live from Kathmandu: Three-of-a-Kind

Things are getting to be a full house around here as the 10th Danger Dog trip from Nepal winds down.

We start with a late entry, Maple, a lovely Pit Bull by Megh Raj.   The artists were all taken with Maple's striking pose and especially the dramatic Oregon waterfall in the background.

Russell the Chihuahua is certainly a dramatic Danger Dog in his first portrait by Baba.   Not yet dry, this one packs a wallop.

Magic and Marley's final three are finally here.   By Baba, Dilip Niroj and Sagar (clockwise from top left), these two make a striking pair.

The magnificent Archie, a Bull Dog who enjoys the surf, frolics in his portraits by Megh Raj, Baba and Sagar (clockwise from top left).  Who could choose?   I find it interesting that Baba is the only one of the three that has ever seen the ocean here in land-locked Nepal, and his ocean is brown and turgid.  Baba hails originally from Tamil Nadu in Southern India and was there for the tsunami in 2004. Having lost family and his home, perhaps he sees the ocean differently.  Sagar's name means 'ocean' in Nepali, and he signs his name with the Japanese chop that means 'Ocean' in Japanese.

Bella and her final three choices by Baba, Dilip and Sagar (clockwise from top left).  

I'm just wild about Harry in his final three choices by Megh Raj Thapa, Sagar and Baba (clockwise from top left).

Abba the Doberman Pinscher with her final three by Baba, Dilip Niroj and Sagar (clockwise from top left). 

The final choice is most often which portrait looks most like the dog in question.   But artistically, this can be a hard choice.  

The deadline is here.   Please send in photos for your order for the next trip.   I leave in early 2012.  However, I have many, many portraits already made of many breeds of pet.   Please ask!!!

This may be the perfect gift.   Give someone you love a portrait of someone they love, and in the meantime support this dying art form.

Now is the time to order:    Each commission I receive will be given to 3 different Nepalese signboard artists, giving 3 struggling artists Fair Trade work and you a choice of 3 colorful paintings on metal!  

Your satisfaction is guaranteed as I accept no money up front, only if you like one of the portraits do you pay.   The artists are paid fair trade wages whether you buy or not.

How to Order: 

1. Send a photo of your pet to me at ampage1@gmail.com.

2.  Let me know what you would like the signboard to say.

3. Tell me which style of Danger Dog art you prefer, by giving me examples of signs you have liked on the website or just say whether you like realistic, naive, cartoonish or fanciful. 

4. Follow the Danger Dog Blog and see the works in progress, trips to the studios, the life and arts of Nepal.

5.  Decide which painting you prefer of the 3 and send me a check and I will mail you your very own personal Danger Dog (or Cat)!  

Pricing, more information and examples of the Nepal Art Dog project can be found at NepalDog.com.

If you are lucky enough to be in Los Angeles before the end of December, you can see 60 Nepal Art Dogs at The Loft at Liz's Gallery at 435 S. La Brea LA  90036.   Part of an exhibit titled "Fair Trade", a total of 28 artists are represented in the exhibit so you can get an idea of their varying styles.

The Craft and Folk Art Museum also features the Danger Dogs.  cafam.org

Also, at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica, stop by the Gallery of Functional Art and see some Dogs!  

New Stone Age on West Third in Los Angeles also has a good selection.  

Or you could order your own pet......

Which would you choose?

Joie the Black Lab by Indra Lama, Megh Raj Thapa and Sagar (clockwise from top left).   I'm not sure what it is about Joie that inspired that lady on Joie's right in Sagar's painting.

Tony the Ginger Cat with his final three portraits by Sagar, Megh Raj and Baba (clockwise from top left).   They could not be more different.   The overcast day seems to have given Baba's portrait a bit of a sheen, but I will be photographing all artworks separately once I return to California.

Zach the Collie with his final 3 portraits by Megh Raj, Baba and Sanjib Rana (clockwise from top left).  

Holy dogs!   I came across these sleepers down in the old central area of Kathmandu near Indra Chowk.  

Alas, you will have to wait until next trip to order your very own Danger Dog portrait.   I leave again for Nepal in mid-October 2011 and will be back in plenty of time for holiday gifts.

HOW TO ORDER

To order, please send me a photo of your pet.   I will give it to three different artists, giving you a choice of paintings and three people will get work.   Each painting is about one square foot and is on metal with synthetic enamel paint.   These can be hung indoors or out, be framed or unframed.

Satisfaction is guaranteed as I accept no money up front.   If you do not like one of the three, you pay nothing, and the 3 artists are paid in full in any case.   Let me know what you want it to say and that's it!

Send your photo to ampage1@gmail.com or find out more at www.NepalDog.com.

Let's keep these artists painting.

ORDERS CLOSED FOR THIS TRIP ON JUNE 3, 2011.

American Dogs = Nepali Jobs.   Micro-finance through art patronage!

 

Goodbye from Dogmandu!

 

 

 

Sagar's Studio and Final Danger Dogs

You can see that the finals of the Black Cat Pachiko are going to be a hard choice.   The yellow background portrait is by Megh Raj Thapa, the cat at the seashore is by Sagar, and the kitty on the sidewalk is by Sufraj Khadka.   All very different, but the best test is which looks the most like Pachiko.   That is usually the final arbiter in these things!

By the way, I like the final Beaware of Dog spelling by Megh Raj.   Megh Raj and his son Anup use a dictionary to translate the English to Nepali, but not the other way around!

George the handsome Briard is represented here by Megh Raj Thapa, Indra Lama and Baba (clockwise from top left).   One of the best things about the Danger Dog Art Project is that rarely does one see how different artists portray the same photo.  Styles from art brut to amazingly detailed portraits are all represented with this Fair Trade art project. I'd have a hard time choosing with George the Briard, too!

Abbey the Graceful Newfoundland  by Baba, Sagar and Megh Raj.   Who could choose?   By the way, this portrait was won in a silent auction benefiting a new opera company in Los Angeles: Crescent City.   I wrote about it earlier here:   Industry LA   You can also go to www.theindustryla.org.   The Danger Dogs believe in giving back.

Imagine my surprise when I came to visit Sagar's studio and found these portraits of Joie the Black Lab and Pachiko the Black Cat.   Sagar has a mischievous streak and it certainly came out in Joie's portrait!   Pachiko has found her spot by the sea.  By the way, that dog photo peeking out from behind Joie is of Flick, a Danger Dog ordered by the same person who ordered Pachiko.   Apparently Sagar likes Flick enough to put him on his bulletin board.  

Sagar teaches art for his main bread and butter income.   Here he is working on a traditional style portrait of a Newari couple. 

And one not so traditional.   He is also working on this photographic portrait of an obviously romantic young Nepali couple.  

Sagar's studio is filled with the sounds of a bleating goat and those ducks and chickens next door.

Alas, you will have to wait until next trip to order your very own Danger Dog portrait.   I leave in mid-October 2011 and will be back in plenty of time for holiday gifts.

HOW TO ORDER

To order, please send me a photo of your pet.   I will give it to three different artists, giving you a choice of paintings and three people will get work.   Each painting is about one square foot and is on metal with synthetic enamel paint.   These can be hung indoors or out, be framed or unframed.

Satisfaction is guaranteed as I accept no money up front.   If you do not like one of the three, you pay nothing, and the 3 artists are paid in full in any case.   Let me know what you want it to say and that's it!

Send your photo to ampage1@gmail.com or find out more at www.NepalDog.com.

Let's keep these artists painting.

ORDERS CLOSED FOR THIS TRIP ON JUNE 3, 2011.

American Dogs = Nepali Jobs.   Micro-finance through art patronage!

 

Goodbye from Dogmandu!

 

 

 

Final Danger Dogs from Kathmandu

This is the first final of the lovely and composed Joie, who I will assume is a Black Labrador.   She does look a lot like a Nepali dog in ths portrait by Indra Lama.   She reminds me of the love child of Jackie and Batuli, two spectacular Nepali Shikari Kukor friends of mine with her luxuriant coat and calm expression.

Here is Joie as a work in progress by Megh Raj Thapa.  

Indra has added the Nepali writing to his art and the final three Pumpkins are ready!   Above is Pumpkin the Dachshund Terrier mix by Indra Lama, Megh Raj Thapa and Jit Gurung(clockwise from top left).   I have left the chalk marks used to evenly letter the artwork deliberately, in case someone wants to see the process.  Pumpkin's owner has a very difficult choice ahead!

Lola, a very cute Coton de Tulear, is painted by Megh Raj, Indra and Sufraj Khadka (clockwise from top left).   Which would you choose?

Thought everyone might enjoy ths cute puppy that I saw around the Boudha stupa this morning.

Here is the aforementioned Nepali Shikari Kukur who might have sired the lovely Joie at the top of this post.   Jackie lounges with Danger Dogs Topper (by Dilip Niroj) and Lola (by Megh Raj Thapa).

Jackie's paramour Batuli is a beauty with her sleek black coat and curling black furry tail.   Shikari Kukor means 'hunting dog' in Nepali.   There are no squirrels or cats in these dogs' garden!

Choosing from three portraits will be hard for many of these Danger Dog (and Cat!) afficionados, but the whole project is designed to give more work to these struggling artists.   Like everywhere in the world, modernity reigns, and in Nepal this means that the old charming hand-painted signs are being replaced by computer-generated images. 

I hope you would agree that this would be a shame.

Time is running out to order your very own pet memorialized on metal.   I am only accepting orders until June 3, as the bandhas (general strikes) are making it more difficult to travel through town.

Contact me at ampage1@gmail.com to order.   Your satisfaction is guaranteed as I accept no money up front.   You will receive a choice of 3 portraits by Nepali signboard artists.   You can see more examples and learn how to order at www.NepalDog.com.

 

 

 

Which would you choose?

Now comes the hard part...   How do you choose which of the three best represents your pet?

Matilda and Cabbage are two cute pit bulls as they lounge on my bed.   I can't imagine which of them I would choose.   Please note that their snappy scarves have been duly noted by all three artists, though Cabbage (the redheaded one) has had hers turned blue in two cases.  The artists (from left) are Jit Gurung, Dilip Niroj and Baba.

George the Briard (a French Sheepdog) still has one more portrait to come.  Here are his portraits by Baba and Indra Lama.  Indra seems to have misunderstood when I told him to add Nepali to his signboard!   Hence he wrote Dharma Kukur (Religious Dog) in western lettering!   Hope George doesn't mind.   It does make it easier to read, but is not as pretty as the Nepali script!   By the way, the Nepali letteriong on Baba's sign translates to "Dog here be aware'.   In Nepal, one puts the verb at the end of the phrase.

Tito's final three consist of portraits by Megh Raj Thapa, Baba and Indra Lama (clockwise from top left).   He looks ike he is saying Namaste.  By the way, that is a common trick taught to Nepali dogs -  to sit up and pump their front paws up and down.   This is sure to amuse.   And get a treat in return.   Indra's painting of Tito is a direct translation of Danger Dog, again mistakenly in English script!  At least we can learn Nepali from this!

 

Puck the Golden Conure got the artists thinking of the perfect venue for this pretty parrot!   Each gave Puck a different color background.   Another hard choice!   I would love to find out someday how a parrot from Brazil got the name Queen of Bavaria!   And what if Puck is a boy - wouldn't that make him a King?

Sombra is a beautiful German Shepherd, here portrayed by Indra, Dilip and Shree (clockwise from top left).   I do know why this breed is alternatively called an Alsatian.   Does this make Sombra the Queen of Alsatia?

We can't forget the cats!   Demian and Maizie are Beloved Cats.  I hope they love their portraits by Sanjib Rana, Baba and Megh Raj (clockwise from top).   These black beauties could not be more different.  

Fisher the Cool Cat!  By Jit Gurung, Baba and Indra (clockwise from top left).   Ramro Biralo means 'beautiful cat' in the Nepali language.

Tony the Cat still has one more portrait to come.   Baba has placed Tony high in the Himalayas and framed him nicely with a dramatic black and orange edging.  Megh Raj's version is a more traditional painting of a ginger cat but very nice as well.

Barney the white Labrador Retriever had so many nice photos, that I gave 3 different ones to the 3 artists.   The top portrait (by Sanjib) is still awaiting lettering.   Taken at a wedding, Barney gets a nice pet from the bride and give a wide smile in return.   The portrait by Baba (lower right) shows his big smile.   Megh Raj finished the trilogy.   This was painted from a black and white photo of Barney and I provided Megh Raj with another photo to use as a color reference.   This last one is like a photo of Barney on metal and shows his bright smile and sweet disposition.   I've met Barney, I know!

Lastly today, we have the lovely Zach, a Collie.   By Megh Raj, Baba and Sanjib Rana (clockwise from top left).   I don't believe that any of them have ever seen this unusual (in Nepal) breed.   Zach has what is known as Tulip Ears, which downturn charmingly, and they tried to get it right!

Choosing from three portraits will be hard for many of these Danger Dog (and Cat!) afficionados, but the whole project is designed to give more work to these struggling artists.   Like everywhere in the world, modernity reigns, and in Nepal this means that the old charming hand-painted signs are being replaced by computer-generated images. 

I hope you would agree that this would be a shame.

Time is running out to order your very own pet memorialized on metal.   I am only accepting orders until June 1, as the bandhas (general strikes) are making it more difficult to travel through town.

Contact me at ampage1@gmail.com to order.   Your satisfaction is guaranteed as I accept no money up front.   You will receive a choice of 3 portraits by Nepali signboard artists.   You can see more examples and learn how to order at www.NepalDog.com.

 

But hurry!