Cori Solomon

I have always had a dog in my life except when I was in college.  In fact I have been told that the first words out of my mouth was the name of our dog Jacquo, a poodle.  Obviously at a year old, I did not say it that way.

In 1976 I got my first saluki and became hooked.  The love they give me has been unyielding.  I soon discovered that I wanted to give back some of what they have given me.  At that time I helped out when I could with Saluki Rescue.  About 15 years later I inherited my sister’s cats.  Due to our location and household I could not keep all 8 of them so taking my knowledge of judging tenants in my real estate career, I placed the cats in fabulous homes except for the two my husband and I opted to keep.  These cats added a new perspective to our life and my art.

My personality is such that I have always been one to give full out to whatever I attempt.  I try to leave no stone unturned.   Knowing this when I discovered I had a passion for drawing animals in 2001, I knew I could give something to people who loved their animals and to animals in need.   In 2001, I started donating my art to Saluki Rescue and by 2004 I was giving to various animal charities when I sold my art. 

Helping animals through my art has added a wonderful dimension to my life and art.   It inspires me to be more creative and is my way of giving back to our canine and feline friends, whose antics and love have gotten me through some very tough times. 

Bio

After graduating California State University Northridge with a degree in art and knowing the difficulties of earning a living in this field, I put my creative side on hold and chose a career in Real Estate. Twenty-three years later, I began to write short stories about salukis, the breed of dog I share my life with. I decided it might be fun to illustrate these stories.
 
Following two years of studies at Brentwood Art Center School of Fine Art in Los Angeles and finding I loved working in the pastel medium, I began sketching my salukis. Then in the summer of 2001 my sister died. With the impact of her death I discovered that my breakthrough in artistic expression and experimentation was through the drawing of animals. This new insight enabled me to go beyond the mechanics and capture on paper the essence of the animal. 

I have begun experimenting with a new medium, monotypes.  In these works my artist expression is more fluid and loose.  Employing brighter colors in these works has also added a new dimension to my art.

I share my life with my husband Ken and daughter Torie. We are owned by four salukis; Gabi, Lexi and Rosi and two cats, Albee and Ollie. Our door is always open to Tami and Keli, who is Gabi’s mother. They live nearby with my mother.


Cori Solomon

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