How every DOG IN THE KITCHEN story comes to life
Every story has a beginning.
Some begin on a winding road along the Oregon Coast. Others in a bustling market halfway around the world. Sometimes it’s a favorite family recipe, a place I can’t quite forget, or a photograph that brings it all rushing back. And often, it’s a dog who wanders beside me—or into my life—and captures my heart.
Long before an illustration appears on a recipe card or a destination finds its way onto the blog, there is a story. It might begin with a memory, a photograph, a sketch, a favorite meal, or simply one of those quiet moments that stays with me long after the journey has ended.
From there, the artwork begins to take shape. Throughout DOG IN THE KITCHEN, I use a wide variety of artistic tools and techniques, choosing each one for what it can bring to the story I want to tell.
About My Original Story Illustrations
My original illustrations for DOG IN THE KITCHEN come to life through my own concepts, artistic vision, and a vivid imagination that’s always wondering what might be waiting just beyond the next bend in the road.
Depending on the destination, story, or feeling I want to capture, I draw from hand drawing, watercolor, photography, digital illustration, and other creative techniques—building dogs, characters, and their surroundings one thoughtful layer at a time.
For me, creating art is a lot like traveling—or cooking, for that matter. It begins with curiosity, follows unexpected paths, and often ends somewhere even more interesting than I first imagined. The most memorable art doesn’t simply show us a place or a moment; it captures something of how it felt to be there.
Every piece is lovingly created and refined until the personality, atmosphere, and story feel just right—whether it’s a place I know by heart, a dog with a story to tell, or a destination brought to life through a little imagination.
Enter the Destination Scenes
The scenic food and travel images have become one of my favorite ways to bring each recipe story to life, inviting you to step into the setting before you ever take the first bite.
Most begin with my own photography—everything from images captured with my big Canon DSLR to quick iPhone shots taken along the way. Polished or spontaneous, they become part of the story as I saw it, preserving the light, the atmosphere and those little details that give a place its character.
And when I don’t have a photograph to tell that part of the story, imagination fills in the spaces between. A few of the destination scenes are inspired by our travels, favorite foods and places that have stayed with me—sometimes even places and roads I have yet to wander.
I think of them all as treasured snapshots: some captured through my camera, others through memory and imagination. Each is created to give you that feeling of standing there with us—soaking up the scenery, the local flavors and that unmistakable sense of place that can make a journey, a dog, or a meal unforgettable.
A PAWS in the Journey…..Moments that Move Us
Every now and then, one of my illustrations seems to want to wander right off the page.
My little Moving Moments video shorts, begin just like everything at Dog in the Kitchen—with my original artwork, an idea, a dog, a place, a memory or a story. From there, I use AI-assisted creative tools to give that finished artwork a little movement.
Animation was one of those creative paths I always wished I could explore, but somehow there was never enough time—and eventually, not enough eyesight. These new tools have opened that door in a way I never expected. I save the precious working hours my eyes give me for creating the original art, then technology helps me take it somewhere I couldn’t take it on my own.
The art, stories and imagination are mine.
Technology just gives them a little nudge down the road.