Always Watching...

True story: Last night I had trouble falling and staying asleep and at one point in the middle of the night I heard Rosy move from by my feet to near my head. I expected to hear a plop and sigh as she'd settle back to sleep or maybe a few licks of my unguarded face. But no. I heard nothing. So I cracked open my eyes and saw her face right above mine, just starting at me! We stared at each other for a little while and then I petted her until she curled up into a barnacle on my side.

Was she watching me sleep and gazing at me adoringly or plotting to steal my soul? For now that question remains unanswered.

Hot Potatoes

I am not thrilled with this heat wave we're having here. Neither are the pugs.

Sit Pug, Sit! Good Pug!

A quick lunchtime sketch in honor of the funny ways pugs sit.

Rosy actually sits pretty normally most times but Sunny is a crazy sitter!

A or B?

So I'm working on something for a proposal and was hoping to get some feedback from everyone. I originally did the drawing in color but my agent thinks just pen (like Shel Silverstein) might be better. The question is which rough sketch do you like better? A - just the outlines; or B - with a little bit of shading?
A

Or B?

And here's the color version in case you were wondering.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Pug Sound Effects

I haven't done one of these multi drawing illustrations in a little while since I've been so busy at work and with opening my Zazzle store but figured this long weekend would be a perfect time to do one!  So here are a few of my favorite pug sound effects.  I've never met a dog breed that made as many hilarious sounds as pugs.  It takes some getting used to their crazy loud snores, but now when I travel I actually miss their snores!  Their snores are like one of those white noise or waterfall/rain machines.  So take a moment to appreciate the good and the not so good (e.g., toots) sounds your pug makes!

Parade Rainer

This is a common scenario in my home. Sunny's being a sleepy lil puggerpillar/pug loaf, when along comes Rosy, the parade rainer who wants to ruin Sunny's nap because she's bored, wants to play, or is jealous. Then chaos ensues. 

This drawing started off with this photo of Sunny looking all cute and puggerpillar-like. 

And so I drew a single pug sleeping in a loaf position, like so

But then I remembered this photo :

And so I decided to add a lurking, ominous Rosy in the background. 

The end. 

Play!

Spring and summer always seem like playful seasons to me, until August when it just gets unbearable.  Sunny and Rosy have been playing so much more the past few weeks and I love it!  Although their playing is a lot less happy and frolic-y looking than this picture.  Usually their play involves toy tug of war and chasing each other trying to bite each other's back legs.  But in my imagination this is what they're really doing.

That Time of the Year!

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Truthfully this happens year round with pugs but it just gets even worse with the seasons changing.

Sunshine and Flowers

A couple sketches for this year's spring. Whenever spring rolls around, before it gets torturously hot and humid, my pugs love to sniff the flowers (they always take forever when I'm running late for work of course) and sunbathe. So in honor of this brief period let's all enjoy the last bits of spring before summer slaps its burning, muggy hand across our faces!

Age Is Just A Number

I love senior pugs!  It saddens me that there are people who give up their dogs when they get older just because they don't want to deal with an old dog.  Senior pugs are the best because they have such sweet lil graying faces and they've settled into their weird, quirky personalities.  And they love and appreciate their humans so much.  So here's to all the senior pugs out there!

And if you're interested, I've put some things on sale in my store with this illustration (e.g., t-shirt, mug, keychain) - here's the T-Shirt Link.

Updated Pug Alphabet

I've updated the pug alphabet that I originally did in 2012 (Original Pug Alphabet) since the old version was not so great scan quality.  I have two versions, one with the accompanying rhyme and one without.  Both are available for sale in my store (Bah Humpug Store).  

More of a Girl and Her Pug

Due to numerous requests, I've added a blonde and brunette version of A Girl and Her Pug to my new Store.  So far I've added a mug, a keychain, a tote and a shirt.  I plan on adding a redhead and doing a boy version as well soon.

Representing Black Pugs!

So I wanted to rework one of my previous illustrations (A Wrinkle in Time) for my new store (Bah Humpug Store), and wanted to represent black pugs.  I always draw fawn pugs because I have two and most of my illustrations are based on them.  But also fawn pugs are easier to draw and color.  So I hope that people with black pugs like how this turned out - I tried to keep some features visible, especially the shiny eyes that peep out from their faces!

Below is the fawn pug version that I'll be adding to my store.

Big Announcement - I've Opened An Online Store!

Aw no need to be so sad lil girl and pug, because we have exciting news here at Bah Humpug - we now have a store!  I finally opened up a Bah Humpug Zazzle store this week after a year of thinking it over.  I have posters, mugs, keychains, totes, and shirts, but I'll add more stuff over time.  You can customize most items to a certain extent with various options.  If there are any illustrations or products you'd really like to see in the store, message me or leave a comment here.  While I can't do any personalized illustrations at this time, I'll do my best to accommodate requests for certain types of products.

Going forward you can access my store with the link on the left side under the heading "My Other Blogs, Pages, and Store."

Thank you for all your support, encouragement, and pug friendship!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to mothers of all kinds!

Don't Push Me

This is how I feel today. I hate it when people sit on things forever and a day (or in this case months) and then when they finally get their act together frantically send me things marked high importance and then proceed to harass me with calls and messages expecting me to drop everything and magically pull answers out of thin air in a few hours. Not cool man. Not cool! I feel like Sunny when she's just doing her own thing and then all of a sudden gets pounced on by hurricane Rosy.

At least it's almost the weekend.

Pack Lightly

I came up with the idea of pugs in bags for the phrase "pack lightly" because my pugs, especially Sunny, are anything but light and the idea cracked me up for some reason.  It was hard enough carrying or picking up Sunny when needed but now with two pugs it's even harder.  But as I was coloring this in I also thought of another meaning for this drawing and the phrase.  If there was ever an emergency and I had to pack only the things that matter the most to me, if all I walked away with were Sunny and Rosy I'd be happy and consider myself lucky.

I finally got some more markers and paper and was enjoying coloring in with better shades for me and the pugs.  My previous markers were too dark to accurately portray us so I'm a happy camper.  And good paper for the right medium makes all the difference!  Next step is to upgrade my scanner at some point.

One of the Pugs

Just a random little sketch as I wait for my new markers and paper.  This old paper wasn't so great so the coloring is a bit streakier than I'd like.  I came up with this drawing when I saw Minnie & Max The Pug's post about how after someone passed by them she said to their friend, "Isn't it weird how some owners look like their dog?" (to which the pugs took great offense).  Whenever I draw my grumpy face I often think that it resembles a pug's perpetual sad-looking face.  So here I am, among the pugs.  One of them.

Ninja Pug's Snack Attack!

Ninja Pug uses a snack attack to steal your food!

A Pug and Her Girl

I'm still waiting for more colors and new paper but I can't help but do some more drawings of this girl and her pug.  Or should I say this pug and her girl??

I found some old paper I hadn't used in a while and it was interesting coloring on it with the markers because it picks up the color really well and lends itself to blending but it tends to bleed a lot.  It's interesting how different these markers can look on different kinds of paper.