Nature's greatest masterpiece 

• IMAGE BY LORNA TEIXEIRA
• ZOE’S BALL FETISH : By Lorna Teixeira

A dog is a bridge between two strangers,” mixed media artist Sarah Winkler quoted John Steinbeck, adding an observation of her own: “Since I owned Pugsley I’ve met all my neighbors.”

Resident artists at Paso Robles’ Studios on the Park are banking on their current exhibit, “Raining Cats and Dogs,” to expand their circle of friends and fans. The 40 or so pet portraits—ranging from traditional to downright delightfully bizarre—introduce a coterie of whiskered, four-legged, and betailed characters, Winkler’s transcendental pug among them. Joining Pugsley on canvas, or ceramics, are an outraged cat whose food bowl is empty, a water-happy Labrador named Max and a basset hound named Bailey spooning with an English springer spaniel named Sarah. 

 “You’d think it would be kind of hokey but it’s not,” said Anne Laddon, of the exhibit, which runs through April 11. Laddon is one of the resident artists at Studios on the Park, sharing a window-front space overlooking the city’s downtown park with fellow artist, silversmith Randy Stromsoe. She’s also the studio's founder, and the owner of the studio mascot Smudge, a Boston terrier with a bed behind the front desk. So it’s no surprise that she’s spent the past couple of months elbow-deep in photos of friends’ pets. The first piece she completed for the show, an oil painting, depicts a friend’s black lab swimming in their family pool.

• IMAGE BY SARAH WINKLER
• TRANSCENDENTAL PUG : By Sarah Winkler

“I don’t stick to one theme,” she acknowledged. “There’s too much fun stuff to paint.” Next door to Laddon’s space studiomates Peg Grady and Winkler create portraits of animals with attitude. Winkler’s regal pug is depicted sitting atop a red lotus blossom cushion against a collaged Asian landscape. One scrap of paper, visible through the layers of paint and materials, reads “Buddha Rising: Out of the monastery, into the living room.”

“Pugs are old temple dogs. They used to be bred to be the Tibetan monks’ companions,” explained Winkler. “Everyone keeps saying pugs are crazy, but mine isn’t. He’s Buddha.”

Grady’s image of an amber-eyed cat glaring up at the viewer, the phrase MY FOOD BOWL IS EMPTY, stenciled in red caps beneath its feet, is considerably less peaceful. It captures the dark, shameful side of pet ownership, when the human begins to wonder whether they don’t own their pet; that it is, in fact, the other way around.

• HALLELUJAH!: “Raining Cats and Dogs” is on display at Studios on the Park March 18 to April 11. The opening reception takes place March 20, from 3 to 6 p.m. Studios on the Park is located at 1130 Pine Street in Paso Robles. Studio hours are 12 to 6 p.m. Thursday and Sunday, and 12 to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information visit studiosonthepark.org.

“My bully lays next to me while I am at the studio so I can reference her markings and such but the expressions are my interpretations of her character. I know her so well, the funny way she sits, the way she hangs her head like its far too heavy to hold up, the look of guilt, excitement, her ears tell all. These dogs are very expressive and just plain odd looking which is why I own one and feel inspired to paint them.”

• IMAGE BY ANNE LADDON
• MAX IN THE POOL : By Anne Laddon

“As Mickey’s one of those cats who talks a lot, I included what I imagined her to be saying as she impatiently waits for me to fill her bowl,” explained Grady. “I wanted to create a true portrait of Mickey, not a generic cat painting, so while it was challenging, I know her well—she’s 15—so I was able to catch her body language and that gleam in her eye as she glares up at me at 6 a.m. She is definitely not a cute kitty, but, instead, a kick-ass cat. Perhaps this is a self-portrait?”

• IMAGE BY PEG GRADY
• MY FOOD BOWL IS EMPTY : By Peg Grady

The duo often works in tandem, Miller throwing and firing a piece and Vrana drawing the design, first in pencil, then with a wax resin layer. Since cats and dogs first began appearing on their bowls they’ve received a number of commissions from people wanting them to do portraits of the family pet. Their cat bowl is, in fact, based on a Cambrian cat named Angel, “a very furry cat,” according to Vrana. But the dogs are closer to home still. Vrana and Miller create bowls based on their own dogs, a basset hound named Bailey, an English springer spaniel named Sarah, and a cairn terrier named Tito who passed a few months ago. The husband and wife team take their pet pottery quite seriously.

“When you depict your family dog you’re doing a portrait of a loved one and you want to do them justice,” added Vrana.

Arts Editor Ashley Schwellenbach has never liked a person as well as she likes animals. Send Fancy Feast to [email protected].