Life with a Biggy Iggy

Rupert is an Italian greyhound, known in the canine world as an Iggy. Kellie explained to me that because Rupert grew too big for formal Iggy dog show competitions, he is now a member of the group known as Biggy Iggies, and that there are websites dedicated to owners of Biggy Iggies. My Google search revealed 194 such sites, including one that photographically illustrates how to clean your Iggy’s teeth, with instructions for both right-handed and left-handed viewers.

Kellie readily acknowledges that Rupert is her surrogate child. He only weighs about 16 pounds, so he is conveniently portable, and they go everywhere together. He usually sits on her lap while she paints. On her website, she says “…I am here to capture your pet on canvas in a fun, fresh and funky painting! My pets are my children and I understand the importance of the animal and human connection. This understanding allows me to put my heart into each piece I work on, resulting in a truly soulful depiction of your pet.” After watching Kellie and Rupert interact for two hours, I can vouch for the truthfulness of these statements.

Oliphant-Burns comes from a family rich in artistic talent and interest. The legacy of her paternal grandfather, a cabinetmaker and builder of model railroads, is honoured to this day by the Jock Oliphant Award bestowed annually by the National Model Railroad Association. Her pride in his accomplishments is evident as she shows me photos of the models he built that took top honours year after year. Her father shares the passion for cabinetmaking and is also a painter and printer; her mother excelled at drawing and sculpture. When I asked her how she decided to be an artist, she responded, “It wasn’t even a decision — it just is what I am. It was more like a friend, like breathing. I wasn’t athletic, but in school I did the athletic posters, and my art built bridges so I had friends with many interests.”

Kellie moved to Carleton Place when she was in grade 5, and had “the best art teacher in high school I could ever have asked for — Mr. Bradley Johns — for all five years.” She earned her degree in fine art at Queen’s University in Kingston, with a major in silkscreening. Like her father and grandfather, Kellie enjoys technical precision and challenge, and pursued further studies in the heritage carpentry and millwork program at Algonquin College in Perth. She worked as a furniture maker and began work on a children’s book, always searching for a way to make a living doing what she loves to do without compromising her artistic freedom and integrity.

The more portraits she painted of Rupert, the more she realized that she had found her artistic calling. When friends started raving about her portraits of Rupert and people started asking her to paint portraits of their pets, she gradually built up a gallery of paintings and eventually created a website. Doodle Dogs Pet Painting was officially launched last November, and Oliphant-Burns is now well-entrenched in the local and international canine community. “I love going to events and meeting the other ‘petcentrics’ who attend charity dog washes and fundraisers.” Kellie will be donating artwork at the annual fundraiser for the Bytown Association for Rescued Kanines. B.A.R.K is an all-breed, “no-kill” rescue organization dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of abused or abandoned dogs in the Ottawa area.

Doodle Dogs Aren’t

Because I strive for precision in the use of words, I feel a need to assure readers that Kellie’s paintings are the opposite of doodles. A doodle is a scribble, an aimless, largely thoughtless wandering of a drawing instrument over a surface. Kellie’s pet portraits are the perfect culmination of her multiple passions for pets, painting, and interior design. In a style that is completely her own, based on her formal training as a silkscreen artist, she captures the essence of the personality of each dog against a unique, layered background. She works from photographs, and she guides clients through all aspects of the assignment, even inviting them to send samples of fabrics and paint chips from the room in which the portrait will be displayed. Kellie’s paintings are done in acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvases, eliminating the need for framing. She also offers reproductions of her portraits of various breeds.

Dog Days

Your first chance to see Kellie Oliphant-Burns’ fun and funky dog paintings will be on August 5 at the Great Bridge St. Bazaar and Community Yard Sale in Carleton Place. She will be painting on site at Page and Turners Bookstore located at 135 Bridge St. On September 16 & 17 she will be painting on site again at the Westboro location of the Bark & Fitz pet store at 354 Richmond Rd. in Ottawa. I’m betting that you will get to meet Rupert as well as Kellie at these events.

In the meantime, you can check out Kellie’s perceptive pet paintings at www.doodledogpaintings.com. To explore the possibility of a commissioned portrait of a pet, you can contact her by phone at 253–8478, or by email.