When I meet Fiona via video chat, the pitbull-retriever mix is standing innocently on a painting in progress on Leslie Martinez’s Dallas studio floor. It’s startling to see, but the artist is unfazed. “She walks around on all this stuff—she lives with it,” says Martinez. “I work in a way that is very unprecious. Anybody could just walk all over the material, and that’s fine.”
Artists with dogs quickly learn the necessity of being unprecious with their artworks, according to the seven rapidly rising artists Vogue spoke with recently. But for the most part, these art dogs implicitly understand to steer clear of the works; mishaps are rare. And what they supply artists seems to equal or surpass the care or attention they demand.
When it comes to going on walks, for example, “there’s value to the interruption,” says Martinez; they are more of a generative interlude than an unwelcome disruption. “I can get inspiration from the light or little things shimmering on the ground and come back with a refreshed sense of energy.” Or as Brooklyn artist Dominique Fung puts it of her dog: “He breaks me out of my thought patterns. If I didn’t have a dog, I would just spiral.”
In fact, many say dogs bring them back to their humanity. New York artist Jean Shin calls her dog “a reminder of how we all as a species need fresh water or air or a break. We, as artists, often think of just the work, and in the flow, hours pass and we realize we haven’t moved our bodies or taken a break. Seeing him take pleasure in watching birds or chasing things or smelling—to be aware of our surroundings, to play, those are all things we all need but sacrifice for our work.” Los Angeles artist rafa esparza adds: “As artists, we can easily get absorbed into the studio. A dog that shows you unconditional love and needs that in return has been a humbling, grounding experience.”
Many artists credit their dogs for instituting a healthier work-life balance. “After hour four or so, she starts whining,” says Chicago artist Yvette Mayorga of her dog. “It’s actually helpful because I can be such a workaholic and not listen to my body. She helps set the boundaries.”