Thursday, January 08, 2009

I would like to introduce you to a dear friend of mine. Not only is she a talented artist who specializes in cats and dogs but she is a fellow Carolina ACD R&R founding member. I met Janet Broome when I was desperately searching for some training information so that I could handle my new rambunctious puppy Jake. Janet came to MY rescue since she has a blue female named Pepper who is much like my Jake. Not long after meeting, Janet asked permission to paint some of my photographs of my Oriental Shorthairs Oberon and Willow. I was completely flattered that she liked my photographs enough to want to paint them. I love unpacking her portraits of my cats painted on porcelain for her art booth at dog shows – each time I notice something new and special about them.

Not long after starting our own Australian Cattle Dog Rescue, Janet began painting the faces of our foster dogs. She began with Curry, our first red male foster. Curry’s eyes draw you to look over your own shoulder to see what he’s watching. His eyes look alive and moist.




Since Janet still had red paints on her palette, she next tackled painting Piper, a red female we rescued from a shelter in Georgia. Piper’s smiling face reaches out to grab you from her portrait, a reflection of her happiness in her Forever Home. I’m tempted to reach out to pet her whenever I see it.



With so many fosters as subject matter, Janet decided to go back to the beginning and paint one of our first male fosters, Jack. Jack’s easy-going nature is appearing out of the canvas as Janet paints not only the dog but the personality. Jack is a work in progress but I wanted to share his painting halfway completed anyway.



Janet took a break from painting the foster dogs to paint a commission for friends of ours. Indy’s portrait is so realistic that my first impression was that I was viewing the photo Janet uses for her reference.



Janet is not only an artist of the heart but she is self-taught. I am in awe of her portraits and look forward to each and every one. I’d love to buy them all myself and have my walls be covered floor to ceiling in cattle dogs. If you’ve ever wanted to capture that something special about your pet, Janet can do it. From just a few photos, this talented lady can produce a timeless gift that you’ll treasure always. You’ll also be helping our rescue because Janet will be donating a percentage of the commission to Carolina ACD R&R. Feel free to contact me at catdragon21@yahoo.com or Janet at jlrbroome@aol.com for her current pricing list.

You can view more of her art on her website: www.fineartstudioonline.com/JanetRBroome