Meet Perth Upmarket retailer Meg Anderson, the creative artist behind Hangdog. Meg creates charismatic warm and witty artworks featuring playful, lopsided, sad, whimsical and loopy dogs.
Tell us a little about yourself and how Hangdog came about?
Hangdog was born out of one of those crossroads moments. I’d been working as a features journalist for a long time. I loved writing about interesting people doing interesting things, but I had a yearning to do a project of my own – something creative and smile-inducing.
On a whim in 2012, I punched out some ink paintings of slightly wonky dogs and put on a little exhibition in South Fremantle, where the community of dog lovers is huge.
To my surprise, the show was a sell-out. People loved the character and the simple joy in it. Within a couple of years, painting dogs was the main way I was spending my days. How lucky am I?
What inspires you to create “Art that loves you back”?
I hardly ever paint a ‘straight’ dog. Hangdog pooches are generally captured in a slightly off-beat moment. They’ve just been sprung doing something they shouldn’t, or they just tripped over their own feet, or they’ve got the grumps, or they’re really very sorry.
I think those are the moments that we most adore our pooches, and I try to reflect that adorableness in the artwork – without being cheesy or cloying.
My titles are really integral to my artworks, too. They’re short, but they say a lot.
Getting a smile out of people is the very best response I can hope for, and I’m happy to say it happens a lot.
What is your personal favourite piece and why?
I’m really fond of my ‘Dog parent’ series of art prints, featuring people and dogs together. They’re composed in such a way that the dogs are the main event, but there’s a gentle dog-human connection that I like. They’re popular in the online print shop – second only to the dog beach series which is also fun.
I also love my Hangdog drawstring bag. It’s become my daily workhorse, carrying around all my stuff – including groceries from the supermarket! I even have a separate one for the beach, where the inside zip pocket is invaluable.
Tell us a little about your range – is there something for everyone?
It’s designed for dog lovers with a discerning eye.
I’ve got dog-themed fine art prints – both framed and unframed – plus stationery that’s gorgeous to write on: greetings cards, gift cards and spiral bound notebooks.
Then there’s a curated selection of apparel, like tote bags, draw string bags, screen-printed tea towels and aprons.
So yes pretty much something for every dog lover.
What can Perth Upmarket customers expect from you at the November market?
Solutions! Perth Upmarket customers with dog lovers in their lives can find tasteful Christmas gifts at the Hangdog stall. We’ll have loads of Christmas cards to make people smile and if you need a new tote to contain all your purchases, we have you covered.
For anyone who just needs to escape the festive chaos for a moment, regroup and pat a dog (figuratively speaking), we hear you. Please drop by our Perth Upmarket stall and and say hi.
To check out the full range of Hangdog art please CLICK HERE.
If you enjoyed this creative conversation you can click here to read more about our Upmarket creatives.