Bo Dog and the Moon, colored pencil
“Bo Dog and the Moon” is based on an old pencil sketch I did of a canine companion I had years ago. He was a floppy, bumbling (150 pound) Anatolian shepherd. Bo lived with me in my car for a summer while I collected data for research on birds in the Sleeping Bears Dunes National Park. Yep, I’ve had my share of odd (but always interesting) jobs!
Bo (Mr. Bojangles as he was originally named when I adopted him) loved to swim in Lake Michigan, and sometimes at night we’d hear the coyotes yipping.
The artwork above is a piece I colored with a mix of watercolor pencils and colored pencils–mostly Staedtler Aquarelle (a very old set I bought in Gaborone), Caran d’Ache Museum and Luminance (I only have a few but wow do I love both of these pencils), another favorite, the Faber-Castell Polychromos, Prismacolors (tried and true) and Irojiten (beautiful pencils made by Tombow). This piece is about 8 x 10″ on card stock. I almost always do what I call a “color test” on each one of my designs created for coloring books because I want to make sure there are no issues that can trip up a happy coloring experience for those coloring my art. A black and white illustration of Bo Dog and the Moon is included in my first coloring book for adults, and I also created a downloadable, printable page for coloring as well.
The design, now digitized and modified a bit using the Procreate app and Photoshop, has found a home on a number of different products through my Ruby Charm Colors Threadless shop. There are spiral notebooks, pillows, blankets, water bottles, bags and lots of shirt designs.
A “Color Your Own” version of Bo Dog and the Moon is also available as a soft-cover, 120 lined page, 6” x 8” spiral notebook that can be colored with your own favorite colored pencils, pens or markers. The tote bags, great for daily errands, shopping, hauling art supplies, or even using as a special gift bag, can be colored or painted by you or others as well. Bo Dog and the Moon is printed on both sides, constructed of 100% spun polyester with cotton web handles, lined with black fabric, and available in three sizes: 13” square, 16” square and 18” square.
This past summer, I transferred my Bo Dog image to the back of a denim jacket and after painting blocks of color in acrylics, started embroidering and a sewing on beads and metal studs. The jacket is almost finished (just need to add a few final touches and sew in a cotton lining) and it’s ready to wear. Here’s a close-up of part of the jacket:
Lots of options if you are interested in adding “Bo Dog and the Moon” to your home or wardrobe!
purchase here: Ruby Charm coloring book coloring page home goods, clothing & accessories
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The black & white illustration this design is based on was originally drawn by the artist, Susan Carlson, for the Ruby Charm collection of coloring pages and books for coloring enthusiasts.
Learn more about the artist’s process