Artist Renee Kostermans uses her passion for animals to create portraits of love.

Even in black and white, it would be hard not to recognize Theresa, alias Ball Girl, Belle of the Ball, Divine Ms. T, Lodges Diva, resident super model of The Lodges at Dogtown. Get within fifty feet of her run on any given day and a melody of dropping lens caps and clicking shutters is easily heard over the barking of her doggie neighbors. Theresa is easily one of the most photographed dogs in Dogtown (check her out in the July/August edition of Best Friends Magazine, pg. 38). She is best known for her penchant for very, very large rubber balls which she carries around like decorative mouth globes. No surprise that everyone wants to capture her on film, so why not black and white? Colorful character that she is, Theresa is after all, a black and white dog.

Art takes many forms and draws inspiration from many sources and such was the case for artist Renee Kostermans. Her portrait of Theresa is just the latest in a portfolio brimming with examples of Renee’s love for animals. Without the aid of a rainbow palette of color, Renee brings expression and character to her art, a huge challenge for any artist choosing this medium. It must take years of practice to capture the sparkle in a dog’s eyes in a black and white portrait. And Renee knew she had a gift for drawing as young girl but didn’t take it up in earnest until many years later as an intern at Best Friends. What better place to find inspiration and an endless supply of models with shining eyes?

The Best Friends Internship provides young people like Renee an intensive 6-week experience in every aspect of caring for animals in a sanctuary setting. Many past interns have gone on to start their own sanctuaries, community outreach programs and become veterinarians. During the six weeks, each intern must select a project. Most projects involve working with a specific animal to overcome behavioral issues. Renee decided to tap a long-dormant talent and that was her art. Her project was to draw the animals of Best Friends. Four of her project drawings are enjoying a permanent gallery showing at Cat Headquarters, where Benton’s uncanny likeness holds a position of prominence on the break room wall.

Much of Renee’s internship was spent at the Lodges because of her background in dog training. She loved the Lodge dogs so much she took a job as a caregiver at the end of her internship and worked for two more years at Best Friends. During that time she worked diligently to find forever homes for some of the most challenging dogs. Her first success was Nadine, a shepherd who went to a home in Salt Lake City. Then came Josie who captured the hearts of her forever family on a mobile adoption event in Las Vegas and Lizzy, Phyllis and countless others.

Renee was most proud of her work with the most timid of the Lodge dogs. Snickers was one of the shyest and was pretty aggressive around other dogs. After being fostered by Renee for six months she became one of the “out dogs” at the Lodges (a special privilege earned by dogs for good behavior that gives them free run of the area) and was a regular passenger on the Lodges’ golf cart as it made the rounds through Dogtown.

And all the while, dogs like Hobo Mississippi found homes in her portfolio (he's still looking for his real forever home) , filling up fast with renditions of the dogs she spent her days and even nights at home fostering. Her drawings started popping up everywhere and the models were from all over the sanctuary, The Garden and Old Friends included. It’s no surprise that great dogs like Quiznos and Rikki found their way onto Renee’s sketch pad as well. How could anyone, and especially an artist, resist such special dogs?

Renee has moved on now, as have many of her animal models and is living in New Mexico, but her passion for animals continues. She is currently the manager for a cat rescue group called Felines and Friends and also works with Assistance Dogs of the West. Her art hasn’t faded into the background either. She now does commission portraits and her gallery collection of the dogs and cats of Best Friends continues to grow. To see more of Renee’s gallery of portraits check out her website. Another benefit of artistic talent is you can design your own cool avatar as a tiny masterpiece of “shaggydoggyness”.



And what has become of our super model Theresa? She is still undergoing treatment for cancer with her own brand of spirit and élan, showing off her best side, while waiting for her forever home and interviewing prospective agents.

For more information:

For more information on adopting Theresa
To sponsor a dog at Best Friends
For more information on becoming a Best Friends Intern
To attend "Art For the Animals A Creative Retreat" workshop

Written and posted by Pat DeWald
All artistic images courtesy of Renee Kostermans
Portraits by Renee Kostermans

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