Dog (Art) Show Open House set June 13 at The Works Bakery Cafe in Concord

By Christine L. Rice/Freelance Writer

Local artist Gloria Najecki, of Gloria Paints Dogs, invites people and their four-legged friends to The Works at 42 North Main St., on Saturday, June 13, to celebrate the beloved bond humans have with their pets.

Meet Gloria from 3 to 5:30 p.m. at The Works Bakery Café and enter for a chance to win a custom 8x10 portrait (a $697 value) painted of your dog. This gallery showing, called “Celebrating Our Pets,” is on display through the end of this month.

“There is no such thing as just a dog,” Gloria said. Everyone I meet who owns a dog has a story to tell about how the dogs became a part of their lives or how they simply are, she explained. Speaking of simply being, Gloria’s dog Dozer keeps a Facebook page called “Simply Dozer,” she said. Dozer is Gloria’s American Bulldog that she rescued from a kill shelter in Connecticut. He is blind, but it doesn’t stop him from living the simple life of a dog, Gloria stated. She explained how he lives for running. “I shout “Yee-Haw” and he bolts across the park,” Gloria said.

Dozer is the second American Bulldog that Gloria has owned. Her first, Trucker, was the inspiration for Gloria Paints Dogs, a business she maintains through painting portraits of dogs from photographs. Trucker was another rescue dog. He was said to be untamable, that is, until Gloria visited him daily at the Merrimack County SPCA and walked him, earning his trust, according to Gloria. She made a friend – a forever one, that enabled her to find art again, she said. Gloria studied art in college, focusing on advertising and illustration, which, to her, felt mundane, she recounted. After college, she pursued other jobs, postponing painting for a rainy day. Well, that rainy day came when she adopted Trucker, Gloria stated. “I found myself through him,” Gloria said. “I could feel his energy, and I do with every painting I create. The photograph of a dog “speaks” to me and that translates onto canvas,” she explained. There is a lot of emotion that occurs during the process, Gloria remarked. She paints with acrylics on archival canvas. A portrait of Trucker is part of Gloria’s “Celebrating Our Pets” show. View this piece and many other dog portraits at the open house Saturday, June 13th, from 3 p.m.-5:30 p.m. at The Works, Main Street, Concord.

To see more of Gloria’s artwork, go to: gloriapaintsdogs.com, or on Facebook, “like” her page: Gloria Paints Dogs, and follow the life of her blind dog by “liking” the Simply Dozer page. Gloria also holds a gallery at Advance Veterinary Care (AVC), located in the Ralph Pill Building, at 22 Bridge St., in Concord; a portrait is on display at the Manchester AVC, as well; and another painting hangs inside of the Concord Food Co-Op.

To enter the raffle to win a custom 8x10 portrait, go to any or all of the following Concord businesses: The Works Bakery Café, 42 North Main St.; The Concord Food Co-Op, 24 South Main St.; Puppy Love Hot Dogs, 50 North Main St.; The Yoga Center, 28 South Main St.; Sandy’s Pet Nutrition, 141 Old Turnpike Rd.; and AVC, 22 Bridge St.; as well as the Manchester AVC, at 55 Carl Drive. People may also enter online at eepurl.com/bpbEOP.

The raffle drawing will be held July 2nd and the winner will be notified via email.

Caption: Local artist Gloria Najecki, of Gloria Paints Dogs, painted these portraits of two golden retrievers, Jenson (on the step) and Elsa (upright), for their owner, Gretchen, of Puppy Love Hot Dogs in Concord.