Wednesday, May 5, 2021

This Post Was Supposed to Be About Dogs

 Hi everyone.  Happy Wednesday.

Today I have a page for Elle's language challenge at Art Journal Journey.  My page today was supposed to be about the language a dog uses. Or at least that's what I thought when I started it.


This dog on the right has a goofy expression, and I thought the page needed a reason why he would have that look. I found a cat stamp and added that, as well as the cat quote. I think that explain his expression perfectly. I can only guess what he is thinking.

Of course dogs and cats have their own languages. They meow or bark in certain tones to tell you something. They look at you in certain ways to communicate what they want. And of course, they have distinct body language, that not only tells us things but how they tell each other things too. Those of you who have or have had  dogs or cats in your life definitely know about their languages. 

For Christmas my daughter got me a pair of Bob's from Sketchers shoes that have dogs all over them. They came wrapped in this cool tissue paper, that of course I had to save.

You can see that tissue paper on much of the background of my page. (I did give it a bit of a spray with some blue ink and then rubbed some green ink on it to color it.)  The paper was a little too busy with my dog and cat images, so I used a bit a gesso around where I was putting them. At least now they stand out.

I also stamped, fussy cut and colored all the bones on the page. I had made those early on thinking this  would only be about dogs. And I also used a bit of cardboard that I pulled off its heavier backing.

Then I added the cat and the quote. 

And there you have it. I have often wondered what dogs really think about cats, and vice versa. My dogs now want nothing to do with cats (except maybe to bark loudly at them), but my last dog, the gentle giant Harley and my tiny little cat Emma were good friends, as long as we weren't looking. I think when Emma passed Harley really missed her. 

Hope your week is going well. And thanks for stopping by. 

21 comments:

Iris Flavia said...

I "must" say, a) it´s beautiful, very cute and b) thank you for sharing how you did it - I YouTubed gesso :-) and once (hahaha) the shops are open I´ll look if I can get a small pot and c) the story is just about perfect!!

Barbara said...

Love this page! Very, very entertaining. I have both...2 cats, 1 dog. They are not friends, never will be, I can relate!

Marjut said...

Lovely fun dogs with great colours.
Have a nice day, Erika!

CJ Kennedy said...

Fun page. Cats rule. Dogs drool. 😺

Jeanie said...

I have a feeling that if Lizzie talked human, she would be a lot like Ruth Zardo in the Louise Penny Gamache mysteries. Especially when she's hungry!

Divers and Sundry said...

What a cool reuse of the tissue paper. I have a pair of those Bob's shoes, but mine are plain, boring black lol

Valerie-Jael said...

Fun page! Cats and dogs can always express themselves very well. Did you ever read Rudyard Kipling's Just so stories? There's 'the cat who walked by himself' and another tale about dogs, they're fun to read. Have a great day, hugs, Valerie

kathyinozarks said...

I love your page had me smiling it's perfect and fits the dog's expression for sure. cats do rule it seems haha

craftytrog said...

A fabulous page Erika, that quote made me smile! Great background too, with that cool doggy tissue paper.
Alison xx

Elkes Lebensglück said...

Fun Page, that is a great story!!! I love this idea!
Hace a good day, hug Elke

pearshapedcrafting said...

This is such a fun page Erika! We have had cats and dogs that got on with each other and we also had a cat who used to lay in wait and jump out to frighten a neighbour's dog. Hugs, Chrisx

R's Rue said...

❤️

lichazul said...

Super cute and fun page🐶😺😊👏👏
Congrats, hugs and blessing 💐

The Padre said...

Well Done With Those Expressive Eyes

Cheers

Meggymay said...

A wonderful page Erika, I loved how you used cat and dog language, we often wondered when we were caravanning in France if the dogs spoke a doggy style French bark to each other, silly things that jog the memory and your page did it for me today. I have had another super catch up.
Stay safe.
Yvonne xx

The Serendipitous Art Therapist said...

Being a cat mumma I have to agree, my Bella has a really big vocal and body vocabulary. She says things like hello, sorry, now, out amongst other words and she has a very happy chirp and if she's flicking her tail it's a sure sign to leave her alone. Your spread is so cute!!

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I absolutely LOVE this, dear Erika. I really LOVE your take on Language. I can tell both my cats have different sounds for different reasons. Bleubeard can belt out loud commands, while Squiggles has finally found his voice. I love that tissue paper background. it's a great interpretation of Elle's theme. Thanks for sharing it. I LOVE the sentiment, too.

I had a cat named Dog and got a Chesapeake Bay Retriever I named Bear. when I got Bear, Dog was bigger. I told Dog he had to be nice to Bear because Bear would grow soon. Dog must have taken me to heart. They became fast friends. They loved each other, slept together, traveled across the country with me together, and took care of each other. I've never seen two animals that were so in sync with each other as those two were.

Let's Art Journal said...

Such a fun page! I love how you used the tissue paper from those Sketchers, so super cute 😁. I hope you've had a lovely week! Hugs, Jo x

Matilde said...

It's soooo cool!!!!

Empire of the Cat said...

Love your page Erika, how cool is that tissue paper too! Love the idea of the cats and dogs, it definitely looks to me like that dog is waiting for the kitty's next command lol. I only have cats, never had a dog, but I love to see instances of cats and dogs that really do get along. Thanks for joining me for the Language theme at Art Journal Journey this month Elle xx

Neet said...

You are so right in all you say about dogs and cats, their moves, their noises all a language of their own but which we come to understand. When I had a cat and dog at the same time the cat (she came first) did not like the dog but he was so friendly and wanted to play. She taunted him terribly but when he passed she missed him. In fact she recognised y sorrow and took on some of his traits. He had always barked and gone to the foot of the stairs at bedtime, she began doing the same, at ten o'clock she would meow and run to the bottom of the staircase. Strange but little things like that.
Love your page - love the paper you started off with but can understand the blanking out of some of it so those two adorable stamped images could be used - they are so funny.
Love this, it made me happy.
Hugs, Neet xx