Cape Cod Dogs they don't chase cars they like to pick up girls in bars!
I have been meaning to write a bit about the meaning behind this canvas for me. I've gotten several comments about this design really meaning men were dogs, but for me, this isn't the case. I chose the design originally because I knew it would make my husband laugh. He lived along the Massachusetts coast for around ten years and loved the place and the people, so this very typical local dive celebrates that time in his life.
The artist Elizabeth Mumford has many paintings similar to this one--featuring mermaids paired with other creatures and funny sayings in the border. If you browse a bit on her website you'll see many designs that are like Cape Cod Dogs. These are signature elements of her painting style.
http://www.elizabethmumford.com/
There are mermaids as nurses, mermaids decorating the Christmas tree on a cold winter night, or in the kitchen with a Golden Retriever cooking. You should know that there is a famous tavern on Nantucket called The Black Dog which is named after the founder's black lab mixed breed dog. Dogs are often symbols of the ocean-faring folks in Massachusetts.
Knowing that and that Ms. Mumford replaces women in her art with mermaids, the mermaids and dogs in Cape Cod Dogs are stand-ins for the regular people who live on the Cape. So this piece is a tribute to those folks who were my husband's friends, but symbolized by magical creatures. That's one reason I stitched all the liquor bottles in sparkling metallics. These are magic potions instead of beer and cheap hard liquor or wine, capable of turning the most normal bleached blonde into a mermaid or her suitor into a fabulous cuddly talking dog. Or in making the bar a home-away-from-home for people who are out for a drink and good conversation with their neighbors and friends.
Cape Cod Dogs is the friendly and comforting Cheers bar of the tv show brought to life by needle and thread and populated by fabulous creatures.
At least that is how the design is playing out in my head. That's the fantastic thing about painted canvases, you see. One takes the original artist's design and turns it into something personal and unique....
The artist Elizabeth Mumford has many paintings similar to this one--featuring mermaids paired with other creatures and funny sayings in the border. If you browse a bit on her website you'll see many designs that are like Cape Cod Dogs. These are signature elements of her painting style.
http://www.elizabethmumford.com/
There are mermaids as nurses, mermaids decorating the Christmas tree on a cold winter night, or in the kitchen with a Golden Retriever cooking. You should know that there is a famous tavern on Nantucket called The Black Dog which is named after the founder's black lab mixed breed dog. Dogs are often symbols of the ocean-faring folks in Massachusetts.
Knowing that and that Ms. Mumford replaces women in her art with mermaids, the mermaids and dogs in Cape Cod Dogs are stand-ins for the regular people who live on the Cape. So this piece is a tribute to those folks who were my husband's friends, but symbolized by magical creatures. That's one reason I stitched all the liquor bottles in sparkling metallics. These are magic potions instead of beer and cheap hard liquor or wine, capable of turning the most normal bleached blonde into a mermaid or her suitor into a fabulous cuddly talking dog. Or in making the bar a home-away-from-home for people who are out for a drink and good conversation with their neighbors and friends.
Cape Cod Dogs is the friendly and comforting Cheers bar of the tv show brought to life by needle and thread and populated by fabulous creatures.
At least that is how the design is playing out in my head. That's the fantastic thing about painted canvases, you see. One takes the original artist's design and turns it into something personal and unique....
Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow
3 comments:
Which Mermaid is you?
None of them. Neither Beloved nor I appear in this design. I am thinking about making one mermaid a brunette or red head, but I don't have any one person in mind for any of the creatures on this canvas.
The original Cape Cod Dogs print by Elizabeth Mumford hangs in Baxter's, a former fish market now a restaurant, on the Hyannis waterfront and is the inspiration for the painting. The "dive" in the print is actually Baxter's and the boat "Nobska" you see coming into port is the old Nantucket ferry. Speaking of which, The Black Dog Tavern is located on Martha's Vineyard, not Nantucket!
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