Portratis, Four-Legged and Two

Did Hegel have a dog? If he did, did he demean him and smack him on the nose with a rolled-up manuscript? I bet he did. He seems like that kind of a guy.

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It's official: TAMA Gallery in Tribeca will be hosting a one-man show of my work, opening on December 16. The show will focus on Part-Time Dog, and will feature dog pictures, original artwork and limited prints from the book, but will also include several other original works exhibited for the first time ever.

I am now officially in a frenzy of finishing pieces, arranging for printing and framing, gnashing of teeth and rending of garments. Please come and enjoy the artwork and quite possibly the spectacle of my complete hysterical paralysis! You won't forget it!

This means the art contest will end before the show. All people who are receiving this email who don't unsubscribe before December 1 are eligible to win a piece of artwork. Two winners will win a piece of original art, and the grand prize winner will win a choice of a piece of original art or an original commission based on the characters (or dogs) featured in the book. The winners will be announced at the opening.

This week’s dog is Jetta Belle, a husky/shephard mix sent in by JoAnn & Louis Marrerro. Lovely dog, and I figured the German half of Jetta went well with Hegel. As well, I suppose, as anything goes with Hegel.

More soon, promise. In the meantime, keep sending in dog photos (thanks to all of those I got this week!!), write me emails, make some comments on the blog, read the story so far or check out seltzerstudio.com. By the way, to see the Studio's portfolio in the same great format as Part-Time Dog, just click here.

The Incredibly Minor Price of Barely Perceptible Frame

I think my other job is starting to affect my work.

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Thanks for all the amazing dog pictures I’ve received this week in response to the Daily News article! (For those who haven’t read the piece, you can catch it here. The link now features an accompanying photo of me, so apologies in advance.) I have been overwhelmed by the submissions, but in a good way. Remember, the decision-making process by which dogs get in the book is totally arbitrary, so it’s never too late to send more. Keep ‘em coming!

By the way, the dog I am holding up in the aforementioned photo is Cuba, who has just entered "America’s Next Top Dog Contest." If he wins, his prize will be donated in its entirety to Animal Haven, a New York City-based animal shelter. If you could, please take a second to vote here. (Whether Cuba is, in fact, America's Next Top Dog is not my department -- the last thing I want to do is to rouse the ire of the other doubtless justly proud dog owners reading this -- but it is a very good cause.)

This week’s dog is Chester, sent in by John Acquafredda. He’s a Dogue De Bordeau. Chester, that is. John is unquestionably human, and doubtlessly roguishly handsome, at least that’s what I’ll say if I ever meet him, because from what I can tell from this picture Chester is unquestionably large.

More soon, promise. In the meantime, keep sending in dog photos (thanks to all of those I got this week!!), write me emails, make some comments on the blog, read the story so far or check out seltzerstudio.com. By the way, to see the Studio's portfolio in the same great format as Part-Time Dog, just click here.

Welcome to the Daily Dog

Hello and welcome to "The Daily Dog," where I'll be posting daily (pretty much!) pages from my first graphic novel, Part-Time Dog.

For me, the purpose of this blog is fairly straightforward: Without deadlines, I have a tendency to draw and re-draw everything until the paper melts into a pulp of eraser shavings, white ink and despair. I'm hoping that you readers will prod me to keep for God's sake moving ahead.

But for you, the purpose is fourfold: 1) You get to read this book as it comes out, page by page; 2) You get to download preview PDFs of the book as it is assembled; 3) You get a complete printable PDF of the book when it is completed; and 4) best of all, you get a chance to win a piece of original art.

Here's how it works: Every person who received an email invitation gets entered in the pool (unless you choose to opt off the list, in which case you're probably not interested in the art anyway, nu?). If you forward that email to someone else, and they send me an email or post on the blog, they get one entry and you get another entry (as long as they mention your name, please. I'm neurotic, not psychic.) So if you get fifty people to sign up, you get fifty entries. I'll be giving away three pages of artwork, and the grand prize winner gets first pick and an original sketch.

So thanks for reading and start posting comments! Say whatever you want, as long as you remember that I hate criticism.

-Tom Seltzer
Principal, Seltzer Studio Graphics