Artist Francis Cleetus began, as he said, “drawing on walls at a very early age.”
“My Asian Indian parents weren’t thrilled, expecting to see me in scrubs instead of overalls,” said Mr. Cleetus, who lives in Upper St. Clair.
Although he earned a degree in organic chemistry, he soon found that the field wasn’t for him, so his friend helped him get a job at an advertising agency.
Mr. Cleetus ended up working as an art director and copywriter at agencies in India, Hong Kong and here in the United States.
He’s developed award-winning ad campaigns for the Pennsylvania Lottery, Moen faucets, Maker’s Mark, Nike and MTV. He’s also a member of the National Cartoonists Society of America and has published a series of tech cartoons called “It’s Geek to Me.”
His latest project came about after stumbling upon an article written about the world’s first art show for dogs.
Mr. Cleetus got to thinking about his friend’s dog, Mowgli, and how he may have reacted to a painting on a wall at his level.
“I did some more digging and found several stories about dogs enjoying visual imagery,” Mr. Cleetus said.
A few months after he saw the article about art for dogs, he was on a family vacation in Paris where he spent a couple of days at the Louvre Museum.
“As I was taking in ‘Mona Lisa’s’ enigmatic smile, it suddenly dawned on me that I could never share that special moment with Mowgli,” because dogs, except service animals, are not allowed into most art galleries, he said.
“At that moment, I decided to do something about it and literally take art to the dogs.”
After several months of work, he launched Art 4 Arf — a collection of fine photo art created especially for “cultured canines.”
“Every piece of art in the collection is conceived and executed from a dog’s perspective of the world,” said Mr. Cleetus.
“Unlike the acrylic paintings at my regular art shows, these photo art pieces are put together digitally using my camera, stock images and the Adobe Creative Suite,” he explained.
Each finished piece is then printed on canvas with high-quality inks and gallery wrapped by hand, “ready to be hung next to your dog’s bowl,” he said.
With Art 4 Arf, Mr. Cleetus said, dog parents now have a creative way to reward their dogs with their own private art gallery at their eye level.
Mr. Cleetus has created everything from dog portraits to fire hydrant scenery, a dog food still life and a rendering of a chewed-up tennis ball.
“All the paintings in the collection feature subjects that dogs would instinctively relate to, so they keep dogs engaged and entertained when their parents are away from home or busy with something else,” he said.
At the same time, Mr. Cleetus added, the photo art also adds “creative flair to the dog owner’s home.”
“It’s art that appeals to your refined dog and adds to your fine home.”
Mr. Cleetus’ artwork can be found online at www.art4arf.com. Dog parents can also request a custom portrait of their dog on the website. Stock photo art such as portraits of popular dog breeds and dog-friendly landscapes can be purchased at Healthy Pet Products stores in Cranberry, McCandless and Peters.
As for the future, Mr. Cleetus is working with a software developer to create an Android and iPhone app that enables dog parents to play around with photos of their pets and his full range of custom portraits and share those images on social media.
Deana Carpenter, freelance writer: suburbanliving@post-gazette.com.
First Published: May 21, 2020, 4:39 p.m.