There have been a few ionic Bull Terriers over the years. Frankenweenie, of course, is notable, as is Bullseye, the famous mascot of Target.
But perhaps the most well-known is Jimmy, the best friend and muse of Brazilian artist Rafael Mantesso, whose artwork featuring Jimmy has become known the world over.
Recently, Mantesso partneres with Gilt City, a membership website that offers exclusive experiences in select US cities at insider prices, on a curated collection: “PAW-fect NYC Dining, beauty, and fitness activities” featuring Jimmy the Bull Terrier.
Mantesso got his start, he says, from drawings and pictures he used to take of food on a gastronomy food blog.
“I always looked to the food that I was eating and thought about how it would be if that food were alive,” he told iHeartDogs.com “My madness made me draw around that food, and I use this concept with Jimmy too.”
After a divorce, the only thing Mantesso was left with was Jimmy.
“I started to paint to put some color in my empty white house,” he says. “Jimmy is always by my side, even when I’m painting. One day I drew on the floor and put him lying down on his side and the photographed him with the drawing. Everything started with that.”
He says he gets inspiration from everything: jokes friends play on him, movies, music, art exhibitions, the internet, etc.
His book, A DOG NAMED JIMMY, was just published and is available for purchase. You can also follow him on his website, Instagram and Facebook for more Jimmy awesomeness. We can’t get enough of him, and we bet you can’t either.
