Made by Eileen Gallagher
This was a gift for a friend who has always rescued greyhounds. She had just lost her sister and I wanted to try and cheer her up a bit. The zen doodle on a 3D object is quite a challenge but doable. I used archival black markers in various thicknesses.
I love you zen doodle painting! It makes your work really stand out. But your paper mâché is also beautiful, smooth and inviting. Great job!
Incredible!!!
This is absolutely fabulous! You must be an incredibly talented artist to paint in such a fashion. It makes me want to go and rescue a greyhound now!
Thank you for sharing your amazing work.
Thanks Mary. The zen doodle part was done with archival markers, not with a brush(except for in the really tight spots that a marker wouldn’t work) it probably would have driven me mad to do all those fine lines with a brush! Once you get going, it is very meditative and relaxing.
Rescuing greyhounds comes with a variety of issues because they have been bred to race. They do make great family pets though and are total couch potatoes. Make sure you do your research about them first though.
I’ve also heard that quite a few rescued sight hounds are being brought over from other countries, like South Korea. That can bring in new illnesses or parasites, so a full health exam would be a good idea before getting too attached to one of them. I’ve also heard that greyhounds and their cousins make great pets, as long as you don’t have a cat – but none of them come pre-decorated with zen doodles! (That would make them a conversation-starter at the dog park, though. 🙂 )
I love it! Can I ask you how big he is?
It is about 8”x10”. I didn’t measure it but it was made to fit on a shelf or something rather than to dominate the room. That made making skinny legs harder! When I teach paper mache, some of the students want to do intricate small items. I have to encourage them as novices to do a larger piece….it is so much easier to get the detail and is a whole lot less frustrating!
I’ll third the motion!
Eileen, being a huge fan of zen doodle art, this is fabulous! Beautifully designed and the sentiment behind it is heart warming ?
Great job, love it!
Thanks Stephanie, she got a bit choked up when she opened the gift, not my intention but she did love it. Her sister also rescued animals so it meant a lot to her. Don’t you just love it when people are moved by a simple gift?
I do love it, its always my goal to bring tears to eyes, it warms my heart as it does there’s too.
Beautiful job all around ?
Eileen, this brought back very old memories. I was in my early twenties and broke, but I bought my older sister a pair of scissors. She broke open in tears. (She has always been an avid seamstress.) What I am saying, it may be a surprise, but rewarding beyond measure. Wonderful story.
Eileen, what a treasure. The greyhound is astoundingly beautiful. Gifts like these can’t be outdone. Thanks for sharing your awesome talent.
Thanks Rex, I think you are my biggest fan! Well, maybe behind my husband!
Absolutely! I will know my status has changed when I get the whale! (Just kidding, of course.)
Oh, I absolutely love your greyhound! I have been wanting to make a greyhound like yours for a long, long time, but pretty much lack the confidence to do it. Do you have a tutorial showing how you made it? I would really love to see it, from start to finish, if you do. And I hope that your greyhound helped lift your friend’s spirits. It’s beautiful!
A tutorial would be great – I’ll second that motion! Eileen, if you have the photos and the time, you know we’d love to see how this fellow was made. 🙂
Thanks for the vote of confidence! Unfortunately, I am notoriously bad at taking progress pics so I don’t have any. I actually just used Jonni’s method of making the armature on her small dogs, looking at pictures of all sides, etc. The basic outline was done with armature wire and then filled in with tin foil. The legs and tail have only paper strips/paste on them to keep them thin, then I used the smooth air dry clay for the body and head. I have to admit to doing some surgery on this guy… off with his head! The neck was too long, the head was too big. The surgery went well and the recovery was short! The big challenge was to get the weight distributed onto all four legs. Just keep checking at every stage that they stay distributed. If I do anything similar in the future, I will try to take progress photos! Please attempt your greyhound, take progress pics, and write a tutorial for us all! Your trials and errors could help all of us to learn! Thanks again.
What a great idea, Eileen. Very nice!