Mark Ulriksen’s “Dogs Rule Nonchalantly” shares what it’s like to love, live with and lose a canine companion.
He shares the impact of dogs who have enriched his life through his bold, colorful, packed-with-emotion illustrations and comments. Ulriksen, 59, will be in the Star pavilion at the Tucson Festival of Books at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
You may have seen Ulriksen’s work. His illustrations have been on 52 covers of The New Yorker magazine, as well as in other national publications.
Ulriksen, who is based in San Francisco, answered a few questions:
Your work is recognizable. How do you define your distinct style?
“I think every artist’s work has a definitive look if they practice the craft long enough. Some of it is natural and unconscious, in the way everyone’s signature is uniquely their own or the way one walks.
“For myself I’ve had my kids describe my work as “kind of real, kind of cartoony” and an artist friend labeled it ‘gracefully awkward.’ I like both of those definitions.”
How and why did you decide to create “Dogs Rule?”
“ ‘Dogs Rule Nonchalantly’ came about because I had created over 100 dog paintings in the past 20 years and wanted to collect them into some form. A personal story about my own dogs over my lifetime along with observations about man’s best friend in general seemed like a good way to go.
“An old college roommate — Tom Walker — has spent his career in graphic design and book publishing and he’s the one who encouraged me to create this, my first book. He also connected me with the publisher, Gordon Goff of Goff Books.
You used a Kickstarter campaign for “Dogs Rule.” Why?
“Lots of feet dragging or questionable editorial advice from some of the publishers we pitched meant that Goff was the best publisher to go with.
We (Tom Walker and I) chose Kickstarter as way to galvanize early support and attention for the book as well as a fundraising tool in order to hire an outside PR firm because Goff’s resources are very thin in that department.
What is your favorite portrait in “Dogs Rule?” Why?
“That’s a tough one. I’m likely to change my mind on this tomorrow but for today I’ll say the painting ‘Izzy, From the Other Side.’
“I like the emotions behind it. As I said this book is created from a body of over 100 existing paintings, where I wrote text that went with these previous assignments or commissions.
“This painting was a commission from a couple who had recently lost their dog, Izzy, and they wanted to commemorate her. They sent pictures of her in a number of environments, including this wooded area near their San Diego home. When I saw the large fallen branch on this property I thought how it made for a physical break, with Izzy on one side of the log and her toys on the other. She’s no longer able to play with them.
“And the image fit an important part of the text, where I wanted to explain while dogs lives are cruelly short, they are long enough for a dog to do what takes us humans a lifetime to achieve (if we ever get there) — to love unconditionally and to give more than we receive in kind.
“As I wrote in the book, dogs love you even more than they love themselves.”
Likewise, in your narrative, do you have a favorite portion?
That’s easier — the final seven spreads of the book, where I talk about the demise of my dog Ted and ruminate on what a dog’s short life is all about. It gets a touch sentimental, but I leavened that with my sense of humor, which follows me always.”
What can the audience expect at your presentation at the Star tent at the book festival?
I have a slide show, which I’m a tad nervous about because my venue is in a tent! In the middle of the day!! In sunny Southern Arizona!!! So we’ve augmented that by putting together 30 spreads from the book that we’ll leave on everyone’s chair at my talk.”
