What do you think? Can a dog paint? You get to decide for yourself this Saturday August 13th at Art On The Lawn. The featured artist for this 28-year-old Fine Arts and Crafts Fair in Yellow Springs is a Great Dane. He has been in the show for 2 years now and the artists at Village Artisans (who run Art On The Lawn) decided that this year they would make him their featured artist. OK, I loved his work, I’ve met him but I still had this little doubt at the back of my mind. Can a dog realllly make art?
So here is the inside scoop about Mozart Dane. Straight from Beth Mack of the Harlequin Haven Great Dane Rescue “Mo is a very temperamental artist. He prefers to paint in his own room, (he has his own studio in his home,) when it is very quiet with very few people around. He has to be in the mood to paint, and if he is not, he simply refuses to.
Being a non-profit organization, we are always trying to think of new ways to raise money for the rescue. A bunch of volunteers were brainstorming one day and someone came up with the idea of selling items with a paw print on them. We tried several Danes and they could not run away fast enough. They did not like the feel of the paint on their paws and wanted nothing to do with it. Then we tried Mo.
At first we had to coax him with American cheese, but not anymore. (Good thing because he was gaining too much weight!) He will not allow any other dogs around and only one or two people- and it has to be people he knows very well. He has a futon that he lies on. We pour paint onto paper plates, he chooses what color he wants to use and will simply put his paw into the paint and start patting the canvas. If he does not want to use a color, he will not use it. When he is finished painting, he is finished. No amount of coaxing or American cheese will get him to paint more. The only human assistance he receives is if he is doing a 24” x 36” canvas – that’s when we turn it to make sure the entire canvas gets covered.
We often have people ask if they can commission a painting with only certain colors in it. The problem goes back to the fact that if he doesn’t want to use a certain color, he wont use it! ”
Mozart Dane lives at the Harlequin Haven Great Dane Rescue a no kill shelter that is dedicated to saving and placing abused, abandoned, and neglected Great Danes.
Come this Saturday and make up your own mind about dogs and art. For me, I’ve decided Mozart Dane is an artist and isn’t life full of wonderful surprises!
Art on the Lawn is a juried Fine Arts and Crafts show taking place this Saturday, August 13, under the green trees, at Mills Lawn, 200 S. Walnut Street from 10 am – 5 p.m.
Come to Yellow Springs and enjoy the art from over 100 artists, including Mozart Dane who happens to be a dog.
See you in the Springs!
