Dogs are known as man's best friend, but they're also the inspiration for an East Side woman who portrays their unique relationship with humans through her paintings.
Carolyn Anne Anderson has converted a room in her house into Mutt Butt Studio, where she has dozens of paintings showing dogs with various facial expressions and poses.
Anderson's work is available for public viewing and purchase at Illusions Gallery, 6530 E. Tanque Verde Road, Suite 130.
She has four paintings on exhibit at the gallery and said she has painted about 20 pictures for friends and customers.
Anderson said she wants to share a sense of peace and joy with people who view her dog paintings.
Her acrylic canvas paintings are usually based on photographs of her subjects that are submitted by families, but she spends time with some dogs to get familiar with their personalities.
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"I get the feeling of love a person has for that dog and that the dog has for them," she said.
The inspiration for Anderson's studio came from Tyler, a black Labrador retriever service dog that assisted her after she suffered a spinal-cord injury from an auto accident in 1991.
The injury from the rollover accident left her paralyzed from the waist down. The dog worked for her from 1996 until 2005, when he retired, she said.
Her relationship with Tyler throughout the years helped her find some hope after learning how to adjust to life with a disability.
Anderson received the dog in 1996 through Handi-Dogs Inc., in Tucson, which trains service dogs to help the disabled. Tyler learned how to perform tasks such as bringing her keys and specific pairs of shoes to her and pulling her wheelchair, she said.
But he brought her much more than just household items.
"It gave me a lot more confidence in going out and just being safe. I wasn't the type of person to go to the movies by myself," she said. "It allowed me to re-engage in the world."
Tyler also helped her learn how to care for other people, she said.
"For eight or nine years, we were never more than a leash apart," she said. "It opened me up to not think about myself, but him and others."
Anderson said she had taken art classes in high school and painted most of her life, but she did not start depicting dogs until 2005, after her first child was born.
"I was a new mom at home. I started painting dogs and I gave one away as a Christmas present," she said. "Then I painted another one."
One of her first paintings was of Tyler.
Not only did her friends admire her paintings, but her children also became fans.
Anderson and her husband, Carl, now have two sons, Oskar, 3 and Axel, 1.
"The kids would see them and their eyes would light up. They would say 'dog, dog,' " she said.
She said she previously painted dark and bitter images that conveyed the frustration of being disabled, but the joy in her children's eyes motivated her to keep painting dogs.
"I had this baby and I thought 'Is this the kind of image I want to show my kids?' " she said. "There are so many dark and sarcastic images in this world. I don't want to participate in that anymore."
Her friends, customers and associates have noticed the changes in her character.
"She's just an awesome person. She's very down to earth and sweet, which makes me like her artwork even more," said Pattie Johnson, owner of Illusions Gallery.
Anderson's paintings reach out to viewers and potential customers, Johnson said.
"One painting is a delight for everyone who sees it. You just want to go up and rub its nose, even though it's just a painting," Johnson said.
Anderson is painting a picture for Paul Tumarkin and his wife, Joanna Norman, after the couple cared for Anderson's dog for more than a week while Anderson and her family were on vacation.
Anderson is painting a picture of their yellow Labrador retriever, Shelby.
"When I look at her paintings, I would say I feel like I really understand the personality of the dog I'm looking at," Tumarkin said. "Through the colors, you really get a feel of how the dog is like."
See for yourself
Carolyn Anne Anderson's art is on display at Illusions Gallery, 6530 E. Tanque Verde Road, Suite 130. For more information, call 296-5752 or 722-8947.
To view Anderson's work, go online to www.muttbutt.com or send Anderson an e-mail at info@muttbutt.com.
