The Arrogant Dog

 I'm still working on transforming this blog and to be honest, with all the work I have ahead, the revamped Haven might not be in full effect until the new year. In the mean time, I'll be posting images like this one.

 If you'd like to own a print, tshirt, phone case, or other nifty arrogant dog items, you can click here.

 Thanks for looking!

An Artist and his Dog

Words and Illustration by David Finley

 Are you a dog person or a cat person?

 After years of being just a "cat" person, I am now the proud parent of a dog. Her name is Mable, and she's probably the best case scenario dog for a cat person like myself. She doesn't bark, she's house-trained, and she is well behaved.

 Of course, my cat hates her.

New Territory

To be honest having a dog is weird for me. As I said, I favor cats. Dogs tend to be high maintenance, and need a good deal more attention. I like the independent nature of cats, and how they also seem innocently evil in a way.

Skelly- by David Finley

My cat Skelly, who died a few months ago, personified my ideal animal companion. He was the perfect blend of attentiveness without being needy or aloof. He was a cat with dog-like qualities, and he is still by far my favorite pet of all time. Skelly was a muse of mine. He has been featured in more of my art, from fine-art to illustration, than anyone, human or animal. I still miss waking up to his purrs as he would sit on my chest staring at my face, patiently waiting for me to rouse.

 So, when he died, I knew I wasn't emotionally ready to get another cat to replace him. Still, we didn't want our other cat, Bea to be alone so my wife seized on the opportunity to suggest a dog, which I had keenly avoided before by saying we had enough pets already. And, that leads me to where I am now.

Life With a Dog

 Although I resisted it, living with a dog has its advantages. Despite her animosity toward Mable, Bea has perked up quite a bit since a dog came into our house. It's been healthy for me, too. While I don't like waking up at six or seven in the morning to take her outside, I think my favorite thing so far is taking Mable on afternoon walks. She just enjoys them so much and I can't help but feel her good mood infects me as well.

 I've met more of my neighbors in the last week than I have in the two months since we have lived here. And, I don't know if it is due to the exercise or the fresh air, but I've been feeling more energized and creative.

That's good for my art.

Today's Featured Illustration: Dog Versus Cat

 As you can see from today's featured illustration, and yesterday's illustration, I've been on a bit of a Japanese print experiment kick. I'm not quite where I want the experiment to go with the images I've made this way so far, but it's fun learning. I like the idea of eventually using a Japanese print- based style that depicts life in modern America. I think that strange blend helps make a commentary of sorts. Today's piece is a bit more cartoony than I originally intended, but it gets close to that old print feel in places.

 What do you guys think? Has anyone else out there opened up their home to a dog after being a cat person for years? I'd love to hear your comments, stories, and feedback.

Thanks for reading!

Run You Fool Version 2

I've often said that I wanted to redo a lot of my old cat and robot pieces. Here, I've finally realized it. This is a completely redone version of an old piece that you can see in this old post by clicking here.

I like the redo, although I'm not completely sold on the dog. I'll try to get a color version of this up soon.