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Dog Artist Sets His Sights On Rest Of The World by Shilo Kino image source: facebook.com/DOGATHON100
dogs make up half of his customer base. After hearing about Mr. G at Bayfair Vets, in Tauranga, Lyn Nothling decided to get a portrait done of her British bulldog Bella who died two years ago. “I called him and went down to his studio and took a couple of photos of Bella with me, and he painted her for me. He did an absolutely outstanding job.” Mrs. Nothling owned Bella for almost 11 years, and was devastated when she died. “She used to go everywhere with me. She was like my child, so getting the picture from Mr. G was just phenomenal.” The portrait of Bella hangs in Mrs. Nothling’s office, and she talks to it every day. “The whole experience with Mr. G was amazing.” Mr G says his portraits show what dogs can do and the impact they have on people’s lives. While some may think that this is simply a great business idea, Mr G. says that he has a genuine love for our dogs, and it is no gimmick.
Painting portraits of dogs has helped a Papamoa artist land his own television show. The demand has been so huge for dog portraits in New Zealand that Graham Hoete, aka Mr. G, is going global. He has signed a contract to have his own television show based in New York, and he will begin a global Dogathon. Mr. G founded Dogathon 100, a campaign where he painted portraits of 100 dogs using a spray can, a year ago. “This was a mammoth challenge for a solo artist.” Last year, Mr. G also drew a portrait for rapper Ice T and his wife Coco from the reality television show Ice Loves Coco. He visited the United States to present the portrait of their dog Spartacus. The
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portrait was later shown on their show. From this, Mr. G met the show’s producer Sean Miles who has signed him up for a television show. Miles wants to follow Mr. G’s progress as he attempts a celebrity Dogathon. “They love the fact that I’m a New Zealander, have a funny accent and big enough to be Obama’s body guard. I’m something totally new, unique and different." Before he goes to New York, he will move to Sydney to start his global Dogathon, because there has been a lot of interest in Australia. “I did a street mural of a British Bulldog right in the beach area in Bondi and I got a lot of response there because of that.” Mr G. says customers who have deceased
“Since I was a kid, I’ve always understood from a child the bond you can have with a dog. This is a natural fusion of my two loves really, art and dogs.” Mr. G’s appeal can be put down to his use of a spray can, which gives his portraits an edgy street look. This stems from his love for graffiti growing up. “The thing I loved about graffiti was the big bold colours and it was very public. Being a youth leader at a church, I had to stay true to who I was so I didn’t do the illegal stuff. I worked on sheets at home and I would approach dairy owners if I could paint on their walls, and most of them said yes.” Mr. G is certain that his Dogathon and Television show will be successful overseas. “Wherever there are dogs, there is a market.” You can keep up to date with Mr. G’s progress by liking his facebook page “Mr. G Dogathon100.”