This little guy is a welsh corgi. Of course he is. Once upon a time a little girl wanted him strictly because she thought he was one of cute Mexican dogs they call a chiwawa.
He made a little ruffled bark and told her, “No, I am not a chiwawa dog.” She took him
home anyway. They lived happily ever after.
I have combined my love of fonts; this one is Dino Kids, with pencil sketching and digital ribbon and bow, drawn on my Cintique by Wacom. enjoy. purchase
When it comes to humor, everybody has an opinion. The world revolves around people putting opinions of other people’s creative work into a niche. Critics enjoy this because they can sit outside and look at it and not be threatened as they are only observers and not the creators. The truth is, corny or not, people laugh at puns and somebody always will–so let’s move on. What’s the fuss about all this?
Well, this was an idea I had and was reluctant to proceed because it is a classic “pun” or “play on words”. My thought was to put a baby in the hot dog bun and draw that. I got cold feet. So I did this instead. Call me a coward but I’m trying to put fonts and images together as a self-motivated interest and I’m trying to stay true to my goal. That’s my newest M O, so for the sake of being a little more traditional and not wanting to offend anybody, here’s the newest drawing.
I sketched the hot dog in the bun with a ball point pen and scanned it in greyscale. Then opened it in photoshop and painted it in with a few semi-transparent shades of various colors, making a layer for each major item: hot dog, bun, and of course the text. Did the same for the little dog. For me, drawing simply like this in photoshop is super easy and very rewarding. When it was completed, I saved it as a psd file and then removed the background and saved it as a png. Then I combined all the artwork layers. I am sure this is not the preferred method, but I just plow ahead and do whatever works. When I grow up, I want to be able to use AI and know what I’m doing. After years of PSD, I just keep trying and keep learning. I hope to learn one new thing every day.
When I studied graphic design in college, I drew in AI all the time and was never intimidated. I remembered putting images on to a thumb drive and then bringing them to a professional printer and staring in awe and these gorgeous glossy huge prints spit out my artwork. I was in love. Now after all these years, the program is scaring me. But Adobe is making improvements that certainly make it more intuitive. I will continue to plow ahead in the hopes my memory comes back and I can learn new things.
The wonderful font is Hansel Texture and I think it’s great. I will be using it more I hope but this is the first time. I am keeping all these images super simple and super big. I like seeing them big on t-shirts and I like seeing them on kids’ onesies too. That’s where I’m at and wow, how fun would it be to see this on adult onesies, if there were such a thing.
Here’s the art on some stuff.
Dogs can melt your heart. There are a lot of dogs here–of all breeds and sizes. Most of the time it’s easy to spot the dogs that are well cared for and have homes. They are groomed, look healthy and well fed. Most of these are usually found around their caretakers’ homes or businesses, as in the big dog in the photo above. If my memory serves me, he belongs to a carpenter and hangs out in the front doorway of the shop every day.
I’ve never run into a dog that has been super hungry or dangerous. They all sort of hang out in theirO given area with their designated people. Some make their scheduled rounds to plazas and restaurants and visit the Malecon every day, just in case somebody did not finish their helado or ice cream.
When a dog is hanging around without a home you can tell because they look like they are seekers. Often kind people temporarily adopt them and make sure they eventually get a permanent home. Lots of x-pats make it their mission to do this. They pay for their shots and neutering and move on. I am impressed. This kind of work is usually done by retired couples who may have the property or the means and the big hearts to do it. Sometimes single old women (watch out, I’m in that bracket) share their time, dollars and compassion. They have clubs and groups and cafes that they go to just to keep the word going. It’s a system that works. They connect with public agencies that help. Sometimes they find adoptees who take the dogs back to the states and keep them there. Their communication networking is astounding.
A local doggie phenomenon here seems to be two-fold: Midnight wailing of dogs downtown and roof dogs joining in the chorus. Roof dogs live on the roofs of the brick buildings behind the Ajijic walls. Just look up and you will see them peering down at you. This keeps them off the streets and in a friendly family culture. They guard, sing, and watch from up above. I’ve never seen anything like it and I’ve grown to really love the “dog” culture here. So far I’ve never seen a bad event.. That doesn’t mean it does not exist, I have just never witnessed one.
Somewhere in my “to do” list, I have a chihuahua roof dog looking down and me and growling fearlessly. I need to find that photo as he is painting #2 to do. So many dogs, so little time.
Walking to my Spanish conversation class today I quickly realized I had an uninvited companion. An adorable scruffy homeless small dog started following me. I tried not to look at him. I can’t have pets where I live and he looked like he wanted me to take him. Down every street, through lots of neighborhoods, on a walk that lasted an hour, although I don’t understand why it took so long to get to my destination. Google maps says this is a 1/2 hour walk and a 7 minute drive. And yet it take took me an hour.
My little friend stuck right by me.
Freshly into the walk, I stumbled upon a Dog Mausoleum of sorts. I knew my scruffy friend was in back of me as I shot this picture. I was afraid because I wondered if he could read what I was reading…somebody’s beloved pet had died right on this spot. It scared me and I wondered if this little friend would suffer a similar fate? I had no idea what to do but kept going. What could I do?
I did not have much choice except pray he would be o.k
So we walked on.
Along the way, I met a lovely lady with wealthy dogs.
My little friend just kept following me right to the street and right to the gate.
I do not know where the lost and scraggly dog went after I got to my class. I worried about him and can only hope he got somewhere safely and somebody rescued him. I kept trying to remember the poem about the shadow by Robert Lewis Stevenson from “A Child’s Garden of Verses” which I always loved.
I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.
The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow–
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball,
And he sometimes goes so little that there’s none of him at all.
He hasn’t got a notion of how children ought to play,
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close behind me, he’s a coward you can see;
I’d think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!
One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.
Painting Mexico 
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