Steven Rowley loves Dachshunds and his gal Tilda Swinton
I have a new friend. My friend, Steven Rowley, has given me a gift: permission to laugh and cry and talk about the death of a loved one. Lily and the Octopus (Simon & Shuster, June 2016) is a love story by Steven. A love story you might ask…about an Octopus? Well no, it’s a love story about a man and his dog who is succumbing to a cancerous tumor he has named The Octopus. Is it sad? Yes. But it is so much more! Steven makes it fun (at times laugh-out-loud funny) and a true celebration of life and the lengths we go to for our beloved dogs.
Sizzling summer whites
ROSS BLECKNER and his painting buddy Winston
jesse freidin likes to look into dog's eyes
Jesse Friedin, photographer, animal lover and creator of meaningful projects is how I like to refer to him. I met this ambitious man in San Francisco a few years ago while doing a job andsince that time I have watched his work blossom and wanted to share that you too could have a Jesse Friedin portrait of your dog should you so desire. He shares with me his passion for pets and how he got into this business.
Jarren Vink and the "Lady" he rescued
I reached out to Jarren Vink after I came across some of his wonderfully elaborate photographs of organized things. I contacted him thinking what a fun dog project and coincidentally we had many friends in common! He replied with this stuning top picture of his dog Lady. Here is her story:
Mrs sizzle visits FAYE and stella Mcleod with photographer landon nordeman
I originally met Faye McLeod poolside at a friend’s house a few summers ago, fabulous but dog-less. It wasn’t until recently that I discovered she had a dog, but not any dog, surely the best accessorized dog on the planet. And it’s no small wonder that Stella, the mini Havapoo, is as such for her Mom is the visual image director of Louis Vuitton and travels the globe for her job. During Faye’s inspired travels, she hits up the chicest dog spots around the world, so Mrs. Sizzle had to get the scoop on where the best products are found. I spent a rainy afternoon with Faye and Landon Nordeman, fashion photographer, with Stella chasing avocados and other fuzzy wonders.
Mark Cohen's arresting work at Danziger Gallery with a few animals that Sizzle spotted
Working in the environs of his small town of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Mark Cohen shows that you don't have to travel far to unleash a distinctive photographic vision. Cohen got closer to his subjects and looked more closely at the texture of the world around him than anyone shooting on the street had before and went on to influence countless photographers and the way we see the world. Come join us at Danziger Gallery to see this wonderful work on May 10th.
Slater the flying dachshund, a video by Luca Balser
'Slater is an elderly, regal dachshund who has been in my family for as long as I can remember. Some friends of mine recently curated an art show of only dog-related work, and Slater and I decided to make this film.'
Chloe the mini frenchie is having the time of her life
As it seems with all my new friends these days, I met this incredible woman and her dog on INSTAGRAM. Seeing that it has now become an Olympic sport for me, it’s no surprise that the cute feed of @CHLOETHEMINIFRENCHIE became a regular in mine. We met for the first time during an April Fool's shoot for Barneys and later followed up at various dog centric functions. NO WONDER this dog has so many followers - she is cute as a button, and, as I have shared with her Mom, if the dog is missing, please come looking at my house! Amy Lombard came along for my playdate with Chloe!
BILL MULLEN AND TODD NOAKER'S MENAGERIE PHOTOGRAPHED BY MARCUS MAM.
We begin a series of stylist's portraits with their animals that is a collaboration between the photographer Marcus Mam and Mrs. Sizzle. Bill Mullen and his partner, Todd Noaker, love animals. I do not need to talk about the fact that Bill is a force of nature in fashion as we are here to talk about his animals. Tinkerbell LeStrange is a Siamese cat, a Seal Point to be exact. Vampiro LaVey, although a rescue, is descended from Transylvanian royalty and he says his breed is Black Cat. Morticia is a Greater Vasa Parrot and Carmen is a Mexican Spiny Tailed Iguana. Lastly, Black Bart and Vesuvio are Siamese Fighting Fish. Follow their adventures here @Tarpie11 and @BillMullenInc.
IBARIONEX PERELLO AND HIS AFFINITY FOR DOGS
As a Feature Shoot fan, I am always surprised by the fabulous talent I come across, one discovery being Ibarionex Perello, a famed photographer, lecturer and professor. I asked him his relationship to taking photos of dogs and this is what he shared, "I have always loved dogs. After I left for college, I was without a dog for years and it wasn't until my wife and I moved into our first house that I was able to have a dog in my life again. I think having dogs has made me that much more sensitive to them as subjects as I walk the street making my images. They are real unique characters and it’s that personality that often draws me to photograph them.
The Pouf has a kitty named Miss Betty
I have not yet met this wonderful lady but after seeing her aspirational pics on Instagram, having many friends in common and then noticing a cat in her feed - well, that was it. So here I present Miss Betty and her mom Christina Grasso aka The Pouf. Christina shares her story and home pics of this wonderful rescue Miss Betty:
Robert Stoetzel photographed some beauties from Animal Haven #takemehome
Last week Robert Stoetzel and I went to Animal Haven mobile until located at 200 Centre Street to photograph some of the dogs that were visiting and up for adoption while the new space is being renovated. On hand was my intern, Anna Capel, and Tiffany Lacey stopped by to say hello and give me a tour. A great day was had by all. Consider adopting one of these gems.
Behind the scenes with DEWEY NICKS directing this brilliant ASPCA 150th anniversary video
Check out this heavenly new video by Dewey Nicks for the ASPCA.
Pre Season with Cheeky
Take me out to the ball game
Take me out with the crowd
Buy me some treats and some raw hide chews
It's a long game so I might take a snooze
And it's RUFF RUFF RUFF
For the home team
If they don't win it's a shame
Aahh.
For it's one,
Two,
Three paws you're out
At the old ball game!
Ann DeVito has a way with illustrating dogs
Anne DeVito loves dogs. So much so that she recently had a book come out called DOG LOVE, published by Penguin Books, that features different breeds of dogs. It was with great pleasure that I received this delightful book and a surprise piece of art for my very own of the Sizzle sisters! It inspired me to reach out to this wonderful artist and toss her names of a few of my favorite instagram accounts that highlight dogs, to inspire some new illustrations!
ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE, MY OLD BOSS, DID TAKE A DOG PICTURE OR TWO and some of them now appear in the new book entitled, "Robert Mapplethorpe - The Archive" by Frances Terpak and Michelle Brunnick
Thankfully I am able to expand on this notion of Robert and dogs to announce a new book out entitled, "Robert Mapplethorpe: The Archive", by Frances Terpak and Michelle Brunnick. It is with painstaking detail that this meticulous collection of Mapplethopre art and artifacts are brought to life by the two authors. Robert Mapplethorpe was my boss and a prolific artist. He, "challenged the limits of censorship and conformity, combining technical and formal mastery with unexpected, often provocative content that secured his place in history. Mapplethorpe’s artistic vision helped shape the social and cultural fabric of the 1970s and ’80s and, following his death in 1989 from AIDS, informed the political landscape of the 1990s. His photographic works continue to resonate with audiences all over the world.
LONDON CALLING, Elle meets Winny and the rest is fashion history
My dear friend Colleen Quill aka Coco and her dog Elle, an oftentimes Mrs. Sizzle model, packed up and headed to London last year. As one often does in looking for new local friends, Coco turned to Instagram to find other like minded paw friendly people. As she tells it, "We moved to London in May. Shortly afterwards, Elle connected with Winny on Instagram, being local and so very British, we were besotted. The first thing we asked "is he named for Winston Churchill?" The answer being "yes," a royal friendship began in the Kensington Palace Gardens. Bodhi is the two-year-old English bulldog, who belongs to my friend Seb Weller I met while we were both working at Sony Music."