The love of man for animals is beautiful! It’s the same love man has for his children and any beautiful thing in this world. Dog has been the subject of man’s love since ages. And dog too loves man equally, sometimes even more! This mutual love and friendship takes many forms, one of the most popular of which is photography. Photographing dogs in a variety of gestures is a fun activity and it sometimes creates immortal art pieces. Today I am going to tell you the beautiful story of an animal lover, her journey of love for animals, her writing, her transformation as a photographer with a unique concept – funny dogs on greeting cards, how she got support from other lovers of animals and art, and how you too can join the fun venture.
This is the story of Rondi Lightmark.
Rondi Lightmark was and is a lover of combining images with words since her childhood. And she has always been a lover of animals too. She had a pet mouse and a parakeet in her childhood. Besides, a cat of her neighbor used to visit her at night to get cuddled by her.
Rondi’s life went through the normal course of marriage, kids, busyness and afterwards an unfortunate widowhood, around 20 years ago, when she was 48 years old. After that, she decided to give three years to check if she could become an author. Throughout this period, she dreamed about dogs too.
It was therefore a joyful moment when she published her first book “Beyond Obedience: Training with Awareness for You and Your Dog” in 1998, by Harmony Books and available on Amazon.com through her website, LightmarkArts.com. During the journey of the authorship of this book, Rondi realized that dogs have a kind of guardian spirit and such a guardian spirit is something which can teach us about unconditional love.
Ten years after her husband’s death, Rondi moved to a wonderful island named Vashon in Puget Sound, just 20 minutes from Seattle by ferry, where she met with a lively and creative community. It was on Vashon Island that Rondi rediscovered her love of combining images with words, and also of watching dogs in cars!
If you see keenly, there is something especially pleasurable about dogs in cars. As you know dogs are extremely curious, just like children. Unless they are in ill health, they keep watching everything they come across with utmost curiosity with a thirst of knowledge. And they look particularly adorable while traveling in a car and peering from window at the world passing by with speed. It’s also fun watching them shouting when they feel skeptical about something or they watch another dog on the road. When they are left alone in the car while their parents go shopping, it’s just worth watching them guarding the vehicle with devotion. No wonder, Rondi chose the subject of “Dogs in Cars” for her new business of greeting cards. Thus Lightmark Press came into existence in 2005.
Later, cats were added as a favorite subject for the greeting cards as Rondi is in love with them too. However, it’s hard to catch cats in camera in cars as they are particularly reluctant of being stalked and also of cars. Therefore she chose them as “Cats Wherever”.
On her website www.lightmarkarts.com you will get a chance to see a range of greeting cards of these cute animals with fun text with which you will be amused. Most of these cards are apt for many occasions – Friendship, Get Well Soon, Birthdays, Anniversaries, Baby Showers, or just to offer a smile. But that’s not all! Each of these pictures has a story behind it which is equally interesting. Amongst these you can also read about Jimmy, Rondi’s grandpuppy, who died just this year. Each story is personal and memorable. I could not resist myself from giving some of her amazing pictures and their stories here in this article.
Look at this image which is one of Rondi’s earliest images. It’s Mickie, a Golden Retriever, approaching her, while she was waiting for her daughter to return from a horse farm. Mickie, upon suddenly noticing Rondi, came over to meet her. Rondi caught him in her camera just before he kissed him! This became one of the top selling cards of Rondi.
Here’s one more! This picture and its caption are so lovely! Who won’t smile at the sight of these two Labrador Retrievers, Annie and Bella? The fun part is Rondi hasn’t created the caption of this wonderful photo of the duo, neither does she know who has created it. But it just fits perfectly!
And this wonderful picture of a Beagle/Heinz 57, Grady, inside a truck and a Turkey, Truman, on the top is one of the bestsellers. Both the animals lived on a little farmstead where the superb truck still sits though Grady is no more.
This story is as adorable as the subjects in the photo. A Golden Retriever, Knight, and a Heinz 57, Gus, was found by Rondi in her yard. She found out from where they had come and then brought them home. This photo was caught when the duo sat in the amazing truck in her yard, one in the driver’s cabin and the other in the rear part, thus inspiring a nice caption as that!
The other pictures too have amazing stories which I recommend you to read on Lightmark Arts.
These cards are indeed invaluable; but Rondi offers them just for $3.25 online, i.e. less expensive than most other greeting cards available out there. What’s more, the shipping charge is only $3, anywhere in the US!
Take a fun tour with these amazing pictures in this video:
Vashon gave the love and support to Rondi’s work that every artist dreams about. Soon her work became popular beyond Vashon. Today the greeting cards of Lightmark Arts and Lightmark Press are on sale not only in high end galleries and gift shops of museums, but also in grocery stores, sports stores, hardware stores, coffee shops, wine shops and garden shops, and of course, now online too, the criteria being only one – love for dogs and cats!
Rondi is also interested to involve her readers in her fabulous online presence! You can send her pictures of your dog/s in a car through her “contact” link. She has just started a page dedicated to readers’ contributions which also includes some shots taken by her, not quite apt for a card, but still enjoyable.
Lightmark Arts is also dedicated to non-profit animal rescue organizations. Rondi Lightmark supports the rescue efforts and appeals animal-lovers to support too. She helps them financially as well as donates her exclusive cards for their fundraising campaigns. This year she is trying to create more fundraising programs where she contributes 50% of her sales to particular causes. She would like to set up fundraisers with her readers if they want her to.
Rondi is eco-conscious too and prefers papers for her greeting cards from sustainably managed forests and soy-based inks for printing them.
While giving the pictures a graphic arts touch with her magic computer, Rondi always keeps the goal of preserving the charm, adorability and true character of her subjects to make people appreciate how fortunate we are to have our most loyal friends always ready to go on a ride with us.
Visit Lightmark Arts (www.lightmarkarts.com) and an amazing facet of life may open up before you!