About Lesley

Some of my favorite organizations that I have donated to in the past years are: Bergin University of Canine Studies, Guide Dogs for the Blind, World Wildlife Fund, Defenders of Wildlife, Sonoma Humane Society, ARF, and Lily’s Legacy (a local group that re-homes older, large breed dogs).  I believe volunteering ones time is also important.  In  2009,  I started volunteering in schools for the Petaluma Humane Education Program to take in my two Canine Good Citizen certified family dogs into the Petaluma Schools when they were needed for a units learning about dogs.  In recent years, the local shelter was re-organized and is now the North Bay Animal Services.  Together with my non-profit, Kids-n-K9s,  I continue to  teach children how to care for, be safe around and understand dogs and dog body language.   My prior experience as an elementary school teacher, and my love of children, have all contributed to a great match.

As I mentioned earlier, I have my own non-profit organization called Kids-n-K9s.  This new endeavor was created to help educate families with children and dogs to better understand their family dogs.  In addition, I created a dog safety learning activity for children.  Children sort stickers into categories of “Safe to Pet” and” Not Safe to Pet”.  The product it called Stop, Look and Paws.  This year, North Bay Animal Services, is providing the Stop, Look & Paws sets to every kindergartner free of charge in the cities of Petaluma, Windsor and Cloverdale.  To learn more go to my other website http://www.kids-n-k9s.com

Little did I know then that this project would be the start of a lifelong pursuit of canine art.  Now, as then, my illustrations reveal a personal and deep appreciation for the complex and loving nature that is the dog and the profound relationships that they can have with us.

I attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where I earned a Bachelor of Science Degree with a focus on Education and Art.  Right out of school, I taught elementary education, and since 2003 have been training dogs (over 2000 dogs so far!) and painting dog portraits for clients around the world.   I’ve discovered that training dogs has given me unique insight into creating wonderful pieces of art that capture your dogs essence.

Each breed and individual dog is so different, and these differences are fascinating to me.  Golden Retrievers, for example, have some shared characteristics as a breed, but can vary greatly across the shape of their head, shape and color of their eyes, and color and texture of their hair … amazing!  Beyond physical characteristics, as you think about the dog in your life, even their unique personality is somehow reflected in their appearance.  Their eyes can be soft or intense, their ears upright and confident, or gently back and more demure.  That’s what I capture in my portraits!   And then there are the mixed breeds, so fascinating with combinations that only nature could put together in such a pleasing way.  Just looking at the unique patterns within the dog’s coat is amazing to me.   Sometimes I can get engrossed in the light hitting one specific curl or how a shadow falls across an eye.   The best part is looking into their eyes.  You can see the dog’s personality.

In my role as a dog trainer, I am privy to a special perspective.  When I first begin training a dog, their focus is on everything but me.  After a short period, however, a connection begins to develop between me and the dog.  This is the moment the dog realizes that we are working together and the magic starts.  They look into my face, not in a challenging way, but in a way that tells me we understand each other, and they are ready to put their trust and faith in me.

It’s a beautiful kind of focus…they are relaxed and peaceful.  When it happens I have a unique window into each dog’s soul that can only be viewed from this close and personal vantage point.   Each time it happens I take a few extra moments to study the uniqueness of that dog’s face.  For as long as I can, I will continue with this passion.  Each month, there’s always a new and beautiful dog to be illustrated for a loving owner, and a relationship to be honored.  When I create a portrait, it’s not just a piece of art.  I strive to capture the love that is in your dog’s heart for you, expressed through his or her unique and special personality.  I translate it to artist’s paper so that it can be preserved forever!