Henry, Em’s drawing of Henry the Pug, on display at the “Young in
Art” show, February, 2010, image © 2010 by Em, All rights reserved.
This is Henry. He came from my 10-year-old daughter’s imagination. Sony the Pug was inspiration for Henry. If Henry were real, perhaps he would be Sony’s boyfriend.
Em, my daughter, decided she wanted to draw a pug. So I had her look at Sony as closely as possible, to notice Sony’s little black nose, how there’s an upside-down Y from the bottom of that nose to the bottom of the face, and another upside-down Y between Sony’s eyes. I pointed out Sony’s little ears and her wrinkly face that makes her seem like she’s frowning all the time.
Noticing all these things, Em drew the pug above and then said, “I want it to be wearing a hat,” at which point Dee suggested, “How about a top hat?” So Em drew a top hat on the pug.
I thought the portrait would look nice with one of those ribbon banners at the bottom spelling out the pug’s name, but Em liked the idea of a collar and tag. Once she saw her pug’s face, she said it wasn’t Sonia after all; that it was a boy pug and his name was Henry.
I loaned Em my markers, which are about 50 different shades of just a dozen or so colors. Over three days, Em painted Henry with the markers. First she did the light colors then darker for shading.
Em slowed way down and carefully colored the picture. The quality comes through in the result.
Henry the Pug was selected by Frame-n-Art to be in the “Young in Art” show. Frame-n-Art has hosted this art show for the local elementary school for over a dozen years. It’s a way this gallery-slash-frame-shop gives back to the community and encourages young people to make art not just for fun but for others to enjoy.
Each year local artists jury the show to select 24 pieces—four from each of grades Kindergarten to Fifth. The two-dimensional pieces have all been matted courtesy of the gallery and are on display at an exhibit there. The artist reception will be in about a week, and there will be one award from each grade plus two overall awards. The first overall award is “Principal’s Choice,” in which the principal picks her favorite to hang in the school administration building. People who go to the gallery up to and during the reception can also vote, and that winning piece is proclaimed “People’s Choice.” There are cash awards for winners.
This is Em’s second year in “Young in Art.” It is an honor just to be selected for the show. Last weekend when I took Em by the gallery to see her piece hanging and to vote, she said that this year she wants to win one of the awards. Tonight, though, she said it’s OK if she doesn’t win an award, that it was enough to be in the show.
Competing for awards is a nerve-wracking thing, and I applaud my daughter for approaching it with a sportsman-like attitude. She’s a competitive kid, perhaps due to be the youngest and thus wanting to exceed her sister’s accomplishments. Or maybe the competitiveness is a natural trait, having nothing to do with siblings. In either case, I’m glad she’s game. I for one hope she wins one of the awards and will be rooting for her.
I also think it’s fabulous that Frame-n-Art sponsors this show. What they do is a big deal for a lot of young people and their biggest fans.
Em,
I’m crazy about this drawing of Henry. I love his expression, and I really want to know what he’s thinking. If you know, will you tell me?
Teri
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Yay Em! Henry’s blue eyes look fierce! Also, he seems to be a little bit concerned about something, so that softens the expression for me. The top hat adds a dashing touch to your imaginary Pug.
Great job of observation. I would certainly vote for Henry if I had the chance. But remember, getting a prize for an art work is like winning a lottery – sometimes it is sheer luck, rather than quality which wins. Just to have a work included in an exhibition is great. Keep on making art! You have what it takes to be an artist. Just persist! G
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Whoohoo Em,
Henry is quite a handsome dog and I can see from his brow-line that he’s a great thinker. Love the intense blue eyes…pinned back ears…and just a touch of whimsy found in floral accents.
I tip my own top hat to you. You have my vote and a standing ovation! H
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What a great pay it forward event for the local elementary school. I LOVE Em’s drawing of the pug. The detail, the hat, and those clear blue eyes. Nice job on Henry, Em!
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Thanks for the comments, all. Unfortunately I’m on the road (an international trip) for a week, but Em knows I did a post of Henry the Pug and I’ll let her know that there are some fans of hers commenting. 8)
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You have yourself a little artist! How wonderful.
My daughter just invited me, via Facebook, to a reception for an art show her photography will be in at her college in March. I wish I could go but with airfare near $800 round trip and the fact that it is the same week that my other daughter is due to deliver her baby, no way, no how.
Competition is a tough thing. You have to be a bit tough skinned to do it. It’s a good thing to learn, though.
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Kudos to Em & the school! Great drawing!
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Thanks, diddy and Corina. Em will be thrilled to read your comments.
I’ve landed in a snowy part of the world, far away from home. Much more about my trip when I get a chance and can share more.
Jim reports that it’s raining in NM. Em will be home soon from a sleepover, and Dee just got back. He had a rare night with the house to himself and the dogs.
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I like the creative arc from Sony to top-hatted Henry. I once read an interview with a novelist who said that he started with an idea for a character, but that the character took over and his or her life arc went its own way, often independent of what the writer had envisioned.
The creation of Henry the pug serves to remind that this doesn’t just happen in writing.
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So true, Ben. Hey, wanted to say that Em won the “Monet Award” for Best Use of Color. Was a nice bonus award. She was jazzed.
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We have a droll old pug named Bud. The old boy will come when he is called … if he is not busy. And he seems to have a lot on his mind. We had two pugs for years. It was worse then, when they had each other. They were just on pug time. The late pug (they’re all late), rather the one that age took, was Samantha, Sam after the two pugs I grew up with. They were both actually Sambo, a name which has lately fallen from favor. Strange, as the little boy in the story lived by his wits. Which all the pugs I have known could never do.
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LOL. Yep, our pug is a bit dim, Gunnar. And I know what you mean about pugs being “on pug time.” We have two older bros, they’re of the large mixed-breed variety, and even though they have one another they’re still very much people dogs. But whenever I’ve seen two pugs together, it’s all about them, which makes us people feel like fifth wheels.
I’m surprised to hear that Bud comes when called. I understand that one of the traits of pugs is that they run the other way when called. I actually looked this up in a forum, and it seemed to be a pretty common problem. We finally got Sony to come by saying, “Let’s go, let’s go” instead of “Come here.” But she still only comes to you about 50% of the time.
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