Artist Goes From Painting Porticos To Pets To Support CAN

By Nancy K. Crevier

Last year, when a fellow realtor at Prudential Connecticut Realty suggested the office support the Canine Advocates of Newtown (CAN) “Putting On The Dog” fundraiser, Marje Trosan thought it was a great idea. She solicited food and auction items from local businesses and organizations, and then, Ms Trosan, who holds a degree in art education from Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, offered to donate her own skill.

“I have a talent for painting, and have dabbled in it for years,” said Ms Trosan. “So I offered to do a pet portrait painted by me, with all of the proceeds going to CAN,” she said. Although she has done pen and ink or acrylic paintings of local homes for nearly 20 years, she loves painting pets, she said.

CAN President Virginia Jess was so impressed by the sample of artwork Ms Trosan had at last year’s fundraiser that the organization asked her to create the cover for the Saturday, September 13, Putting On The Dog III brochure and programs. That is how the 17 by 24-inch acrylic painting “A Bottle of Red And A Bottle of White” came to be.

The painting features two Trosan family dogs, Ms Trosan’s own Australian shepherd, Foster, and her daughter’s puggle, Piglet.

“I love putting my own dog in my paintings, and my daughter’s dog comes over a lot and has such a cute pug face, I thought he would be perfect for my idea of the two dogs enjoying a couple of bottles of wine in a bistro setting, when ‘Oops! I spilled my wine!’ Piglet had the perfect expression for that,” said Ms Trosan, who wanted to tie the whole dog and wine tasting theme into her painting.

“I enjoy doing this and I can work fast, once I have the idea,” said Ms Trosan, who estimated it took her the equivalent of two full days to complete the painting, which will be up for auction at Putting On The Dog III next month. “I was so pleased that CAN member Frank McCloskey and Virginia asked me [to do this year’s brochure cover],” she said.

The event will take place at The Taunton Press on South Main Street, from 5 to 9 pm, and features an evening of hors d’oeuvres, wine tasting, desserts, live music, and an auction. This year, silent auction bidders will have the chance to win great prizes like a roundtrip limo to New York City from Teddy’s Transport & MTC Limo, an Invisible Fence System from Todd Browne, a pool closing from Newtown Pool, a complete will package from attorney Eric DaSilva, an annual pet comprehensive exam from Mt Pleasant Hospital for Animals, a pet sitting package from Safe at Home, or a round of golf at the Newtown Country Club, to name just a few. Ms Trosan will once again donate a pet portrait, as well.

“Putting On The Dog is turning out to be a great event. It’s the third year we’ve done this and people look forward to it now,” said Virginia Jess. “Last year Michel Belknap did our brochure cover, and the original art was [offered at the evening’s] auction. We really liked Marje’s work, and are happy to have her doing the cover this year,” she said.

More than 100 people attended the fundraiser last year, said Ms Jess, and CAN hopes to double that number this year, and maybe double the $10,000 raised. All of the money raised at Putting On The Dog events goes toward the construction of a new Newtown dog pound and for veterinarian costs for pound animals.

So far, CAN has raised $160,000 plus the promise of $5,000 from local residents to buy kennels. The town has put up $750,000, nudging the group ever closer to the $1 million-plus it will take to build the new pound on property on Trades Lane.

“We still don’t know what the final cost could be,” said Ms Jess, who added that final plans are on hold until the organization has in hand a copy of the deed to the property. “[State Representative] Julia Wasserman is helping us with that, and we are hoping we will be able start building by next spring now,” she said.

With pro bono assistance — “Newtown Pools has offered to do the excavating, Caldwell/Walsh contractors have offered to help, and the Toll Brothers’ Dan Walton has offered to consult and survey the property, to name just a few of the supporters,” said Ms Jess — CAN is hopeful that it will be able to stay right around the $1 million dollar mark.

“But you never know. It could be a lot more, although our pound will be all for the animals: a grooming area, and separate areas for the cats and dogs, but no showers or such for the human caretakers,” she said.

Ms Trosan and Ms Jess are looking forward to a fun evening and a big turnout at Putting On The Dog. Tickets for the event are available at Prudential Connecticut Realty, 33 Church Hill Road; Yankee Wine & Spirits, 6 Queen Street; Stop & Save Liquor, 228 South Main Street, or by mailing a check for $50 per person to Canine Advocates of Newtown, PO Box 236, Newtown CT 06470. Tickets will be available at the door the evening of the event for $60. Call 482-2606 for additional information.