Danger Dog Blog

Live from Kathmandu: Finals from Dilip

 

It is forever a pleasure to pick up art from Dilip's studio.   His stair is covered with charming, bright and colorful art.  He dries them, and passersby stop to admire and comment on them.

Spyder the Italian Greyhound pup has the best whiskers in her portrait by Dilip.  One side they are white, the other side black.  This is a fun portrait.

This portrait of Shadow, an Australian Shepherd, is almost done.  Dilip had painted Shadow's lovely blue eye brown, and then I pointed out that Shadow's left eye is blue.  Then he painted it bright blue!   So this is almost finished, but he will paint Shadow's eye correctly as the lovely light sky blue that it is.

Huxley is an adorable Cattle Dog Collie mix, here is his first completed portrait.   Huxley's Dog-ma has requested that he be painted in a circle, a traditional form of sign painting.

Rhonda looks comfortable in her chair.    A tall wiry Terrier mix, Dilip has captured her soulful gaze.

Miffy the Rottweiller and Labrador mix has lived all over the world from Cairo to Delhi to Ohio.   She looks great here immortalized by Dilip.

You may have noticed Conan the Belgian Malinois on the news lately.  He was named after Conan O'Brien for his shaggy hair.   He is part of the special forces.  His 3 portraits will be donated to auctions for charities that help veterans.

Miro and Putti are a pair of Jack Russell Terriers, and this is their first final.  Dilip was supposed to paint the lettering orange, so I will be taking it back to him to adjust the yellow lettering.

Oscar the Shaggy Dog got relocated to the woods by Dilip.   He looks very contented.

Mato the German Shepherd is looking good.   I had Dilip adjust his pupils giving him an eye light, which worked very well.   

Alvin the Yorkshire Terrier has been given a dramatic backing to show off his big smile.

Dilip was commissioned to paint some signs warning that you are on camera for a friend's home, and Dilip added some lettering to a portrait of a Nepali dog on Kukur Tihar (aka Nepal's Day of the Dog).
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If you would like to have your dog (cat, horse, chicken, bunny, bearded dragon, etc.) immortalized on metal here in Nepal, now is the perfect time to order for holiday gifts.   I am in Nepal right now and ready to give your pet's photo to 3 different artists.

You choose the style, the color, what you would like the sign to say...

I am accepting order until Thanksgiving, November 28, 2019

This hand-painted art form is fast disappearing in Kathmandu, as it already has in most parts of the world.   I pay fair trade wages, the artists get to paint again, pet lovers get a choice of three paintings for each commission, and I get to help Nepali artists make a living.   Everybody is happy.   Rescue dogs from America get to rescue artists from Nepal!

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 3 paintings and three artists 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.

While I am in Nepal, your pet will be featured on the Danger Dog Blog, as I stop into the artists' studios and document the works in progress.

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.

American Dogs = Nepali Jobs.

Hello from Dogmandu!

Please check out the Nepal Dog YouTube Channel:   https://www.youtube.com/user/NepalDog

You will be happy you did!

Micro-finance through art patronage.    Trade not Aid.

 

 

More Folk Art from the Himalayas at the Craft and Folk Art Museum

The Danger Dogs, and Cats, have been popular at the Craft and Folk Art Museum.   

GG the English Staffordshire Terrier by Nara

This little beauty is GG Girl, the English Staffordshire Terrier, by the Nepali sign painter Nara.

Rae the Black Dog by Dilip Niroj

Rae the Black Danger Dog above is hand painted on metal by Dilip Niroj, a sign painter in Kathmandu, Nepal.   Who says it is hard to paint a black dog?

Ashmont the Grey Cat by Dilip Niroj

Ashmont is an incredibly beautiful grey cat, captured here by Dilip Niroj.

Ziggy Stardust by Baba

This cat, named Ziggy Stardust for obvious reasons, has the most wonderful eyes in his portrait by Baba.

Folk art Peacocks hand painted by Hari Timesina

These folk art Peacocks are a fine example of the naive style of Hari Timesina.

Ginger the Buff Orpington Hen by Sufraj Khadka

Ginger, our Buff Orpington hen, is hand painted on metal by Sufraj Khadka.   This one is very colorful and a classic style.

Peachy the Cavoodle by Nara

Peachy the Cavoodle (Cavalier King Spaniel and Poodle mix) is hand painted on metal by the Nepali artist Nara.

Moose the Rottweiler by Sufraj

Moose is charming in this classic profile hand painted on metal by Sufraj Khadka, an artist in Nepal.

Nayru the Basenji by Sagar Bitsa

Nayru the Basenji is very colorful in this hand painted portrait on metal by Sagar Bitsa, an artist in Nepal.

Spartacus the Grey Poodle by Megh Raj Thapa

Spartacus the Grey Poodle by Megh Raj Thapa surely does not mind the odd spelling on his portrait.

Evie the Staffordshire Terrier by Megh Raj

Evie the Staffie from Down Under is a beauty in her portrait by Megh Raj Thapa, one of my favorite artists in Kathmandu.

French Bull Dog by Sagar Bitsa

Last but not least, we have this studly French Bulldog by Sagar, done in a traditional Beware of Dog style.

For more of what is currently for sale at the Craft and Folk Art Museum, click here.

That is what is in store!   Go to cafam.org for directions, current exhibits and hours.

Also, you can go to the Nepal Dog Channel at YouTube to see other available paintings of dogs on metal.   The Nepali signboard industry with its charming hand-painted signboards is fast disappearing in favor of mass-produced computer-generated signage.   

The huge earthquakes of April and May, 2015, have made their future even more precarious.  I will do my best to keep these artists working, but I can't do it alone.   

How to commission YOUR pet's portrait on metal:

Now is the time to order:   Be ahead of the Pack!   Orders now being accepted for the October 2015 trip.   

1. Please send me a photo of your pet.  I will give it to three different artists, giving you a choice of 3 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.

2. Let me know what you would like it to say.

3. Let me know what style of portrait you would prefer:   naive, realistic, colorful, etc.

4. Tell me your pet's name and breed.   

5. Send your photo to me at:   ampage1@gmail.com  
That's it !

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!

The cost is $250 plus shipping.   Shipping and insurance is around $20 per sign (to and from the US).   And 9.75% California sales tax for California residents.  

Pay after choosing your portrait.  
Multiple pets on one sign cost more ($325 for Double, $400 for Triple).

Let's keep these artists painting.

This hand-painted art form is fast disappearing in Kathmandu, as it already has in most parts of the world.   I pay fair trade wages, the artists get to paint again, pet lovers get a choice of three paintings for each commission, and I get to help Nepali artists make a living.   Everybody is happy.   Rescue dogs from America get to rescue artists from Nepal!

Rottweilers from Nepal Art Dog

Rottweilers make classic beware of dog signs.

 
Moose is a classic example of a Danger Dog.   This was painted by Nara of Asha Arts.

 
Again we have Moose the Rottweiler in a different pose by the same artist:   Nara of Kathmandu.

 
Govinda painted Moose and uses reflective lettering cut from tape.   The eyes in this one are intense and certainly frightening.

 
Moose, as a puppy.   Moose's owner was lucky enough to be my very first Rottweiler order, and she had a lot of choices.   This one is by Sufraj Khadka of Kathmandu.

 
Ram Krishna Chaudhury painted this alternate version of young Moose.

 
Moose the Rottweiler in profile.   With the classic Beware of Dog phrase, this one is by Sufraj Khadka.

All of the above portraits of Rottweilers are available at this time.   These signboards are approximately one square foot, painted using synthetic enamel on recycled metal.   They are great to hang outdoors, and can be framed as well.   The signs I have placed outside my home certainly work to scare off solicitors and assorted miscreants!

The Nepal Art Dog project is Fair Trade and aims to promote Nepali signboard art, which is rapidly being replaced with mass-produced digital art throughout Nepal.   I have commissioned over 1400 pieces to date with 56 artists studios, making a significant difference in their lives.  

You can commission your own pet's portrait on metal with this project and you will get a choice of at least 3 different signboards from 3 different Nepali signboard artists.   Satisfaction is guaranteed as you pay nothing unless you like one of the paintings.   I travel to Nepal twice a year, usually returning in July and December with the finished artwork. 

Please contact me with any questions or comments at ampage1@gmail.com or simply go to NepalDog.com to see more of what is available.

Artists' Studios in Nepal

 

Above is Amar Shrestha's studio in Kathmandu, Nepal.   These are works in progress of Flick the Golden Retreiver, Moose the Rottweiller, Dexter the Coton de Tulear, Chester the Basset Hound, and Veera the Boston Terrier.

Flick and Dexter have been sold, but the others are available.   Amar's studio is on the second floor, he works in natural light, sitting on the floor.  That's a silk screening apparatus on the right bottom, where they make business cards the old fashioned way, on hand made Lokti paper.   Lokti paper, a specialty of Nepal, is also made the old fashioned way.

 
This studio is NK's and is located in Beni, a small but thriving town in the Myagdi province in Nepal.   The town supports at least 3 signboard painters.    Above is Jack the French Bulldog (looking like a pig dog), Gigi the puppy, Yoko the French Bulldog, and the last is another of Jack the French Bulldog.   The first two are still available.   NK finished the pieces with a dark blue background in the finished pieces.

 
Dilip Niroj at work on his Folk Art Obama commission in November of 2008.   The finished portrait was spectacular and sold immediately.

 
Here is Hari Prasad's work drying in the sun.    Many of these have been sold, the four portraits of the Great Dane's are in my personal collection, but the Collie and the Westie are available.

Hari's studio is in Kathmandu.

 
This is Lal Karki's Studio in Pokhara, a lakeside resort town in Nepal.   I liked this photo so much that it is the cover of my book 'Danger Dogs from Nepal Volume 2'.   I really like Lal's work, but his pieces have never sold, so the Dalmation, Fox-like Dog and the Spitz are all still available.

 
You can see how close Megh Raj works to the street in this one!   Megh Raj works in Kathmandu, and recently he redid his studio completely, so it was very spiffy the last time I saw it this past November.

 
Prem's studio in Pokhara no longer exists.   This studio was torn down and is now a bank.   The portrait of the Rhodesian Ridgeback, the Bearnese Mountain Dog and the Dalmation were all snapped up, but the Nepali dog, the Boxer and the Saint Bernard are still available.   I love the cow's hoof just outside the door.

 
Ram Mohan Patel's studio is a room off his house where he lives with his wife, two beautiful daughters and a son.

 
Sufraj Khadka cleans his brushes by painting anti-smoking graffiti on his walls.

 
This is the studio of Yuba Raj Adhikari of Pokhara.   These paintings are all portraits of rescue dogs.   I think all of the yellow dogs are still available, if they haven't sold yet at the Ghetto Gloss Gallery in Hollywood.   This group is a little larger than the standard size for these signboards at 12" by 15".   

 
Shree in his studio/home with a portrait of FloJo the Italian Greyhound on a couch.   Shree lives and works in this one room with his wife and 2 children.   The art on his walls always includes at least one Danger Dog.   The first time I met him, he had a painting of a 'beware of dog' sign on his wall.

The Nepal Art Dog project promotes the endangered art of Nepali signboards.   Signboards are painted on recycled metal, using synthetic enamel and are meant to hang outdoors.   Over 1400 portraits have been commissioned to date, giving these artists real work.   I have worked with over 58 artists.

On my last trip to Nepal, the Danger Dog commissions were the only art these artists were still hand painting -- all their other work was digital or printed on flex.   These artists can and will paint anything.  I decided to concentrate on pets as there was a tradition in Nepal already of 'beware of dog' placards and I knew that people would like them.

Each commission will be given to at least 3 signboard artists - giving 3 people work, the pet owner a choice and museum shops Nepali folk art.   No money is accepted up front.   If you don't like any of the 3 choices, you pay nothing.  

Please contact me at ampage1@gmail.com with any questions.

This project is for pet lovers who collect art and would like to make a difference in these artists' lives.

More information is available at NepalDog.com.

Moose the Rottweiler - Danger Dog!

Moose is a model Rottweiler.

  

Here is Moose as a puppy captured by Sufraj Khadka.   Available.

 
Again by Sufraj, here Moose is in profile and a good deal older.   Available.

 
Moose as painted by Asha.  Available.

 
From the same photo as above, here is Govinda's portrait of Moose the Rottweiler.   Available.

 
Back to the puppy stage by Ram Krishna Chaudhury.   Available.

 
Alas, I said goodbye to this Moose today.   But he's going to a good home.  

If you would like me to feature a particular breed, or would like to know what's available, please contact me at ampage1@gmail.com.  

I will be going back to Nepal to order more Danger Dogs twice next year, but it never hurts to get in on the ground floor.   I don't accept any money until after you choose which of the 3 portraits that I will commission on your behalf.   No bad karma here!  

I am working on updating my website at NepalDog.com, and any suggestions will be taken to heart!   Please help support the Nepali artists.

Happy holidays to everyone.