Originally
Published in ASPCA Animal Watch Fall/Winter 2004
Jody Wright sees shelter pets
as works of art by Bobbi Dempsey
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The St. Bernard definitely had a purple
personality - so that's exactly how Jody Wright painted him.
Wright has been a full-time artist since
1988, but last year she decided to combine her two great loves: paintings and
animals. When she heard the inspiring story of the founder of the Briggs
Animal Adoption Center (BAAC), located near her West Virginia Home, "I was so
impressed with her philosophy and all the good she had accomplished, that I
began thinking of ways I might do the same in my own life," she recalls.
"I realized that I could make a living as an artist and, at the same time, give
a percentage of each sale back to support this no-kill shelter."
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So Wright started a collection of
shelter-pet portraits called Not Forgotten. she says painting these
animals is a way of saying "Hey, look at this incredible spirit that happens to
live in a dog or cat!" But the artist doesn't limit herself to the colors
that Mother Nature assigned to animals: instead, she selects hues that best
reflect their personalities. Wright sells her work primarily through local
galleries, and donates a portion of the proceeds from each sale to BAAC.
She's also developing a line of T-shirts ((or wearable art) and will donate
money from those sales, too.
In the summer of 2004, Wright participated
in the Washington, DC Commission of the Arts's "Pandamania" public art project.
Her design of one of 150 three-dimensional, five-and-a-half-foot
panda sculptures, chosen from among 1200 submitted, features the portraits of
seven former shelter cats. Not surprisingly, a portion of the honorium she
received from the project will benefit BAAC.
Wright says she's found her life's
calling. "It's an incredible feeling to paint what you love, make a living
from what you paint, and also be able to give back to the companion animals who
have always given me so much and made my life richer," she says.
For more information on artist Jody
Wright, visit www.wsggallery.com
Bobbi Dempsey is a freelance
writer who resides in Drifton, PA
Updated 05/04/08
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