Dogs, Drinks, and Drawing: Connecting with the Pet Portrait Scene

Slideshow images: “Comet, Harbinger of Doom,” “Moonie,” “Khyla,” “Jello,” and “Cat at the Drink and Draw.” photos and art: Pat Lake

"You need to find the pet portrait scene. Remember, animal people are well connected," says fellow artist Paula Wirth, who draws memorial portraits of dogs, cats, rats, and other pets. 

There's a scene for that? Actually, yes.

While we talk, Paula is doodling a devious-looking cat in radioactive green and violet, with pencil and watercolor, using a reference shot on her phone that throws blue light on her crazy quilt pattern dress. Oakland's Ghost Town Brewing is hosting its monthly Drink & Draw, and the long table of artists is full of beers, tacos, and sketchbooks. Many are drawing in a theme similar to the bar itself: cheerfully morbid comic graphics, drunken skeletons, and midnight movie music are all making the place buzz. If you want to talk about dogs and art, this is the place to make connections.

Next to Paula is Colin, a 20-something guy handing out stickers of cartoon ghosts with guns. His mom helps run a pet rescue on the east coast, with an annual benefit art auction called Paw Printz. What are the connections like there?  "The board meetings are full of lesbian bikers, like my mom,” Colin says. “You know there's a stereotype about how lesbians love dogs. Well, these are Christian lesbian bikers with jackets full of patches about Jesus and dogs." The group also runs adoption events.

Colin mentions another Drink & Draw event that he helps host every week at Eli's Mile High Club. Sounds great. This is starting to feel like the cure for what the pandemic did to social life.

Meanwhile back at the Ghost Town artist meet, Daisy, one of the organizers, works at the bar. While using a sketch app on her new iPad, she mentions seeing regular dogs and always wishing they would line up to be petted, like a receiving line. "This place is more dog-friendly than child-friendly," she says about Ghost Town. That makes sense. Do you really want a child-friendly bar?

Ghost Town’s Drink & Draw is a great social occasion for my very loose research on dogs and art. Talking face to face is way better than searching the internet and getting bombarded with poker-playing dog paintings. Plus, I take it for granted that dog lovers are super friendly and open. (Good thing I didn't bring my own dog, because I would never get anything done. Diamond is an elderly chihuahua who rides in my backpack for bike rides; she can be a huge distraction by soaking up attention while acting jealous of dogs 10 times her size).

If you’re interested in getting started with portraits, dogs are super fun subjects, and you can always use a photo for reference if they won't stay still. I like to use shots from several angles, which helps me to imagine the pose and background so it’s not just copying from a photo. Drawing pets is also far more forgiving than trying to get a human likeness because all animals are cartoon-worthy and it's hard to do it wrong. 

If you prefer to sketch dogs live, rather than from a photo, hanging out at a dog park is a great way to begin. It's extra relaxing, and dogs will never judge you if you keep sneaking glances at them. My choice for a minimal portable art kit is a tiny 4”x 6”  sketchbook, a blue pencil for rough sketching, a Tombow brush pen and fine line pen for ink, and a whiteout pen for touch-ups. I've also been doing pet portraits in the style of xeroxed band show flyer graphics, and even had Jello Biafra, singer for the Dead Kennedys, send me photos of his cat Moon Unit to use (find it on instagram at @Heavymetalpetportraits).

I love drawing dog portraits, but I also paint humans on occasion. In fact, one of my favorite such portraits has my pup Diamond posed with my late girlfriend Candy. When we met, Candy made Diamond a chihuahua-sized princess tiara, and she loved to dress her in a rainbow sun visor or a bunny suit. I don't know what Diamond would say about missing Candy, but I put the two of them together in art to honor her memory. 

I know Candy would have loved bringing Diamond to Ghost Town to keep her entertained so I could draw. Though I miss her, I’m grateful to have art to help me connect with people who also love drinks, drawing, and dogs. After all, connections with dogs and other humans are what get us through this life. 

Paula was right. It’s all about finding your scene.  Find Paula on Instagram.