Totally Bonkers And For A Fabulous Cause - Paw Seasons

Today was the launch of the Most Expensive Dog Holiday!!
(Prepare yourself, it is COMPLETELY BONKERS)

Jenny Hytner - Marriott is the owner of Paw Seasons dog hotel, in Long Ashton, Bristol, which is where the pampered pooch will be residing.
I met Jenny over 3 years ago, after my exhibition 'Best In Show'.
I was being cheeky and posted a business card under the windscreen of her Paw Seasons car.
A lovely surprise to me, was  an e-mail from Jenny saying how much she liked my work and would I like to visit her and the pooches. How could I resist.  Paw Seasons is really wonderful, and I have never seen such content canines.
So from then on we have kept in touch, and I have even had the joy of capturing Coco, her chow chow in a Queens Jubilee style.

Jenny asked me if I would like to get involved in the above by creating a portrait of the canine in question, and when I heard about where the money raised from her involvement would go, I was delighted to get involved.

Jenny explained:
"between Tim (my partner) and me, we've lost 3 spouses to cancer. We've been thinking of a way to do some significant fund-raising, and when we were approached by VeryFirstTo to do this, it seemed like the perfect opportunity"

I have also lost two grandparents and my father to cancer, so to be able to donate any money my portrait might raise to help this cause is fabulous. As well as Cancer Research, the money will also be split with Battersea Dogs Home.

Dogster Feature And Why The Name Studio Legohead

Last week I had the lovely surprise of being featured on Dogster.

I wasn’t expecting the write up on my work, and neither was I expecting such a glowing review.

Incongruous was the word used to describe my work. The dictionary meaning is ‘not in harmony or keeping with the surroundings or other aspects of something’.

I take this as a compliment.

I never set out to draw and embroider dogs, it just happened. (I was in a creative block, bored of drawing flowers. I saw a dog in a hat and thought I wonder what type of personality he would have as a human, and so it began.) Neither did I intend for the name Studio Legohead to stick around. But both did. Rather unexpectedly.

So, Studio Legohead, where did it come from? I feel I owe an explanation for the weird title. Legohead Jo was a nickname from back in my youthful days. I used to have a severe red bob haircut, one day a friend described it as ‘like Lego hair’, then the name just stuck. 18 years later, it’s still used by my close circle of friends.

Why did I have it as a name to accompany my work? Well, when I completed ‘Best In Show’ series of work, I didn’t have a business, and it was my first solo exhibition; it was just meant to be fun, so as not to take myself too seriously. Which was kinda fine, due to the fact the exhibition was a range of embroidered dog portraits with trophies and sashes, all to be awarded to ‘the winners’! : D

A quote from the feature – “It's like even the simplest thing becomes an object of wonder to Legohead ... kind of like the way a dog might regard something novel. And it's a refreshing way to look at life.”

I hope never to take myself too seriously.

I have to say the past few years of drawing canines and felines, blogging, getting commissioned and generally working with fantastic people all over the globe has been an utter delight. I feel very grateful for my work and what I do.

Thanks for all the support so far, here’s to a great 2013 X X X

A recent commission. Harry, what a dude. x

Best In Show - Olympic inspired

Quick doodle inspired by the Olympics, vaguely!
Love using electrical tape to create pattern.
Such a nice thing to handle and stick down.

A day of sorting, rearranging.
Which has made me make decisions for future work/prints.
Thanks to certain folk too for being ace : )

With the aid of The Rocky Theme to get motivated to!