Heather LaHaise: Passion for painting man's best friend
Heather LaHaise is a specialist: She paints dogs.
What started 15 years ago as an outlet for her passions for dogs and painting quickly gained attention from dog lovers.
From her home base in Columbia, LaHaise, 42, now does portraits of dogs for people all over the country, with commission pieces starting in the $350 range. Her work has been featured in "Bark" magazine (a photograph of her dog Charlotte made the May-June 2009 cover) and the New York Post.
If you want to see her work in Columbia, you have two alternatives: Go to her Web site, http://heatherlahaise.com, or dine at Mr. Friendly's. For several years, her portraits have graced the restaurant's walls.
How did you get started painting dogs?
"It's really just kind of happenstance. My first dog that I painted was Snoopy. I was in third grade, and I loved the 'Peanuts' gang. My fascination started then. My dad wrote a letter to Charles Schulz, and I got a letter back from him. That's still one of my prized possessions."
Why dogs?
"I've always really been drawn to them. I felt like I have a connection to them. ... They're so happy and content. They don't get bogged down in the real world like we do. I think that's what I like so much about them. They don't really care where you live or how much money you have. They're going to be there no matter what.
"Doing portraits (of dogs) for people was a second happenstance. I painted dogs because I liked them, and people started saying, 'Hey can you paint my dog?'"
Do you have a favorite breed of dog to paint?
"I definitely love Labradors, but I certainly don't want to seem discriminatory in any way. I have two pit mixes. ... I haven't done a Chihuahua, but I have done a Pomeranian."
Do you even need to meet the dogs you paint?
"If I can, sure, but say if I'm painting a commission for a dog in California, I can't go meet that dog. I work from photographs, but I don't like to copy the photograph. My work isn't photo realistic. I just use the photo for inspiration. The way I compose it on the canvas, it's not going to work just like a picture anyway."
Many of her non-commissioned works are inspired by photos of dogs on rescue group Web sites. She once painted a dog being fostered by actress Glenn Close, who later gave the painting to the family that adopted the dog. LaHaise revels in the rescue connection.
"I don't want to give myself that much credit (for helping rescue dogs find homes), but I feel like I do give them a voice when I do the paintings. People ask me about them, want to know what kind of dog that is. In my mind, I feel like I've done a good thing, and I've done something worthwhile."
What if someone asked you to paint a cat?
"I'd say no, and the reason is I don't feel like I'd be giving them my best work. I don't paint cats. I don't paint landscapes. Some people do landscapes. It's just not what I do. ... Some people want me to paint their kids with the dog, but that's not what it's all about. ...
"I don't do traditional dog portraits. It's not the dog with the duck in its mouth. Don't get me wrong. I don't want to come off criticizing anyone. With my work, I hope people enjoy the painting, and it happens to have a dog in it."
A few years ago, Julia Szabo, the pets reporter for the New York Post, wrote an article about a painting LaHaise did of a pit bull that needed rescue at a New York rescue group. Then her name and work began popping up on dog-lover Web sites, and commission requests started rolling in.
"I feel really validated that my work has been recognized just the little bit that it has. It makes you feel good, but that's not really why I do it. I do it just because I love to paint.
"I feel really, really fortunate that I'm able to do this. And I also feel fortunate that a lot of people have paintings of mine in their houses, that when I'm not around anymore, those paintings will still be around."
This story was originally published January 24, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Heather LaHaise: Passion for painting man's best friend."