Taralou Knutson loves dogs and other animals, and enjoys both painting and creating her unique wire sculptures. She may be reached through her website at http://www.taralouart.com/

Dog Paintings:

My late-great dog Milo revealed he was my best subject. I had this great black and white photo of him and thought it would be a good exercise to paint him since I wasnt feeling like I knew what to paint, I was still in the mood to paint. That was my first dog painting in 1997 and then I continued to paint Milo and Annie (my parents’ yellow lab) when I was away in New York for Grad school. I was pretty homesick and definintely was jonesing for my furry companeros . So, painting them was paying tribute and also a way to ‘visit’ with them. Then my friend asked me to paint her dog, Vegas, in 1999 and it dawned on me that is what I enjoy.

I paint in acrylic. Using a photo of the dog in mind I make my sketch in chalk pastel and go from there. The photo is either provided by the owner , or I can take pictures of your dog. It’s always great to meet the dog, or find out about the personality of the dog so I can capture some part of that dog’s essence.But, I seem to do okay on just a photo too.

Most of the images you see on this site already have good homes. If you are interested in getting your dog painted, or a loved one’s dog, please contact me and we can discuss what you have in mind. I also enjoy helping out non-profits or fundraisers that help our animal friends by way of donating art to raise money at auctions , raffles, or what have you. My favorite animals to support are elephants, whales , dogs of course, and bears. But , they’re all important.

Wire Sculptures:

I create sculpture from Black Steel annealed (mostly) and copper wire. In 2005 I had the privelage to have a show, ‘Drawing on Wire’ also at the Bolinas Museum. The majority of the wires I make are small, but I do make large fish in copper wire as well when commissioned or just in the mood sto make something big. What I enjoy most about making these is how simple line creates form and expression, much like a pencil drawing, but three-dimensional.
Because the wires look different at every angle, you will see several photos of the same sculpture on this site.

Education

• BA in art from University of Oregon 1995
• MPS in Creative Arts Therapy from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY 2000