Finished Cooper and Beasley

"Cooper and Beasley"

12x24 acrylic on canvas
SOLD

Here's the finished version of the painting featuring Cooper and Beasley.

I included a detailed close-up to show the subtleties in the fur of both dogs, but more so in the back of Cooper. His black fur reflected a lot different colors.

It's not often that I get to work on dogs that are of such different sizes in the same painting, so this was a real treat for me creatively.

Bri-

Cycling Jersey

Dogs by Bri/Bella cycling jersey
$79 cycling jersey additional charge for shipping
available at Bella

One of my favorite things besides dogs is cycling. So this summer along with my friend Bev, a fellow cyclist, these jerseys were born.

So if you love dogs and bikes than this is the jersey for you.

Even though it's winter in most places there's no reason you shouldn't travel by bike.

Bri-

Single Shot

"Short Single Shot"

9x6 coffee and ink on paper
$25 unframed $5 for shipping in US
E-mail me to purchase



Bettini hates having her picture taken and there are a couple paintings of her that she will growl at. I don't know if it's because she thinks I made her hips look to big or what.

Ah, she is a funny dog.

Bri-

Fox and the Coffee Hound

"Fox and the Coffee Hounds"

9x6 coffee and ink on paper
$25 unframed $5 for shipping in US
E-mailme to purchase


Sorry for the brief break from daily painting. My wife and I were the race directors for our town's first ever Turkey Trot 5k. It was a huge success and we couldn't have been happier with how it all went. So for the days leading up to Thanksgiving, I was either working on race details or painting commissions.

Todays, painting is based on a photo I saw on the internet of a group of fox hounds preparing for a hunt with a fox hidden amongst them.

When I lived in upstate NY we had a family of fox in our yard. The pups played together just like dogs would. The instant our sliding door would open so we could watch them more closely, they'd be down their fox hole in a flash. So we learned to watch from behind the glass.

Bri-

Down Eared Timmy

"Down Eared Timmy"


9x6 coffee and ink on paper
$25 unframed $5 shipping in the US
E-mail me to purchase


Timmy was a dog that was in a photo shoot with our dog Zephyr when he was a puppy. At the time Timmy probably weighed about 5 lbs and Zephyr was around 35 lbs, but Timmy scared him to death.

Whenever they had to pose together Zephyr would slowly inch away backwards. It's so funny how little dogs can command the respect of larger dogs with such ease.

Bri-

Cooper and Beasley Update 02

"Cooper and Beasley"

12x24 acrylic on canvas
Sold

This one is getting really close to being done. I spent about 3 hours today working on Cooper's eyes, snoot, and chest. It's all subtle shading and texturing and it doesn't show up that well in this photo. Next time I post an update it'll be from a photo taken during the day instead of with flash.

I'm really enjoying painting these two.

Bri-

Chow Coffee

"Chow Coffee"


9x6 coffee and ink on paper
$25 unframed $5 for shipping in the US
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This chow is named Sam and was a dog I photographed in Washington Square's Dog Park, while living in NYC. I just love the way she has squeezed her eyes closed.

One of the things I do while painting is listen to books on tape. The current book I'm listening to is "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein. It's the story of a race car driver told from the point of view of his dog Enzo. It's excellent if you like dogs or stories about sports. I imagine if you're reading my blog you love dogs.

The book I just finished listening to was 50/50 by Dean Karnazes and Matt Fitzgerald. It's a true story of great endurance. Dean Karnazes is an Ultra Marathoner, and this book chronicles his journey of running 50 marathons, in 50 states over the period of 50 days. He is truly an amazing person as well as an incredible athlete. Even if you're not a runner it's a great story of a man who had a dream and how he achieved it.

Chicago Style

"Chicago Style"

6x9 coffee and ink on paper
$25 unframed $5 for shipping in US

E-mail me to purchase

I've lived in a bunch of different cities around the US and I find it funny how in each one the normal way to have coffee varies.

In NY it's light and sweet, Chicago it's black, and in the Pacific Northwest cappuccinos are dry or wet, depending on the Barista. I like mine the way they make them in Italy. WET!

But enough about coffee. The reason there is no ink on this coffee hound series is to make the most out of the brush stroke. The more I can convey the dog without ink the better. Some paintings will have ink others won't.

Bri-

Note: My friend, artist, Tom Novak made the suggestion to leave this one without ink. I'm really glad I took his advice

Coffee Whippet

"Coffee Whippet"

9x6 coffee and ink on paper
$25 unframed $5 for shipping in US
SOLD

I'm a big fan of whippets and greyhounds, because our dog Zephry is part whippet. He's a great runner and when we are standing in my studio getting ready to go he whines with anticipation. Sometimes the whining is cute and other times it can be a bit much.

He's also a great swimmer and he loves doing that more than running. We spent one summer swimming together while I trained for an Ironman triathlon. Over the course of a three month period he spent roughly 90 miles in the water with me.


Bri-

Kaleigh Update

"Kaleigh Waiting"


18x36 acrylic on canvas
Sold

Here's the current state of the painting "Kaleigh Waiting". I like the way it's coming along and see a few things that need adjusting at this point too.

Her left ear need to come down slightly and color needs to be added of course. I also need to make adjustments to her paws. Right now they're out of proportion to the rest of her body.

One thing I really like is how her nose is placed in the painting. The main photo I'm working from has her nose obscured by her bed, and we all felt it would look better to have it visible in the painting.

Stay tuned to see more progress.

Bri-

Cooper and Beasley Update

"Cooper and Beasley"


12x24 acrylic on canvas
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This painting is progressing nicely. Based on my clients request I made Beasley a little bit smaller than he appears in the photo. In the photo he seems larger than in reality, because of where and how he's sitting.

When I was told that, I completely understood, because our dogs vary greatly in size as well. We also have photos where our little dog, Bettini, looks much larger than she is.

Bri-

Coffee Yellow

"Coffee Yellow"

6x9 unframed
coffee and ink on paper
$25 plus $5 shipping in the US
SOLD



Sorry I missed posting yesterday. I was busy working on commissions instead. So, I was painting, but not with coffee.

This yellow lab is one I met in Portland, OR. I like this picture because it's such a classic dog expression. Curiosity and longing all wrapped up in the same look.

I've changed my technique since the first coffee hound. The way I create these paintings now is to use the coffee first, and then I go back into it with the ink. I found that when I drew with ink first the coffee would make it bleed. It'll be interesting to see what else changes over time.

Bri-

Coffee Zephyr

"Coffee Zephyr"

6x9 unframed
$25 plus $5 shipping in the US

E-mail me to purchase

This is a painting of our dog Zephyr on top of a hill near our house. He and I had been out running, just after the first snowfall of last winter.

Zephyr is always very content after we run together. I think this picture shows how at peace he is.

Bri-

Kaleigh

"Kaleigh Waiting"

18x36 acrylic on canvas
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This is the beginning frame work for a painting of a rescued greyhound named Kaleigh.

I was planning on doing this painting as a horizontal composition, but after several sketches and talking with the client, we decided to make it vertical. I'm so glad we did.

After having been gone for a few hours and looking at the painting again, I think the bed Kaleigh is on will wrap around the edge of the canvas. Right now it looks a little small to me.

Check back to see the progress.


Bri-

Cooper and Beasley

"Cooper and Beasley"

12x24 Acrylic on canvas
Sold

This painting is a work in progress, and I would say I'm at the half way point now. I love the way these dogs are cuddling. My wife likes this one so much she wanted to pose our dogs in the same manner for me to paint as well.

I, however, think pictures like this aren't easily posed, you
just have to capture it as it happens.

Check back in a few days to see more progress.

Bri-

Coffee Lab

"Coffee Lab"

coffee and ink on paper
6x9 unframed
$25 plus $5 shipping in the US

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I was talking to some friends at a party last night about my new daily paintings, and they wanted to see a lab. So this chocolate lab painted in coffee is for them.

I had first heard about daily painting from an article in the magazine Art Calendar and thought it was a great idea. I however didn't take part in the movement until I met painter Don Gray. He lives in the town of Union, OR, about 15 miles from where I live in Baker City, and he's a daily painter. Seeing his daily paintings really inspired me to start doing it too.

Note: this dog is based on pictures of labs I have painted in the past.

Coffee Hound 01

"Coffee Hound 01"

coffee and ink on paper
6x9 unframed
$25 plus $5 shipping in the US
SOLD



This is the first in a series of paintings I'll be doing called "Coffee Hounds". The idea is to create a painting almost every day using coffee.

I was first introduced to painting with coffee by artist Elanor King. She did all types of painting, but the ones I liked best were her coffee and ink.

The term coffee hound comes from a couple of coffee mugs my wife and I picked up at an antique store in Delhi, NY. The cups have completely different pictures on them, but they both say "Coffee Hound" on the front. Then on the inside there's a scale based on how much you like coffee. The scale goes like this: kids stuff, weak sister, half cupper, coffee lover, and finally Coffee Hound. And if you hadn't already guessed they're really big cups.

Note: the dog in this painting is our dog Bettini.

1st Entry

Hi I'm dog artist Brian Vegter, but you can call me Bri.

When I started paintings dogs in 2003, my home was in New York City. It was the perfect place to restart my art career. Spending hours everyday at the Washington Square Park Dog Run provided me with many subjects and inspiration.

The thing I love best about dogs as subjects is their expressive faces, as animals I love their loyalty, companionship, and never ending affection for us humans. When I depict them I use as many bold colors as possible to express the individual personality and movements in my subjects.

In the years I’ve been painting I’ve been featured on Animal Planet, in The Bark magazine, The New York Dog, and graced to covers and pages of regional newspapers around the country.

My dogs, Zephyr, a fox hound mix, started life in NYC and Bettini, a jack russell, is from Ohio. They’ve been with me to just about every city I’ve shown in NYC, Chicago, Portland, Los Altos, CA., and Miami, FL. They are also often the subjects in my paintings.

My wife Corrine, a tremendous ceramics artist, the dogs and I now live in Baker City, OR. Home to a wonderful arts community and unparalleled beauty. Besides creating unique dog paintings for customers around the country, I spend my free time training and racing long course triathlons. The dogs like running with me, but they love swimming more than anything, so whenever I can I head out to the lakes in the area with them.

I hope you enjoy my paintings as much as I enjoy creating them. Commissions are always welcome, there isn’t a dog I can’t paint. I love them all.