California Artist Draws Happiness for Pet Owners During Coronavirus

In mid-April, Bay Area Artist Ed Attanasio began looking around for something he could do to bring joy to people during the COVID-19 pandemic.


One day a few friends asked for him to draw their pets, and when they saw what he had created, they either smiled or cried tears of joy.

So, he reached out to all of his friends, fellow artists, and a few celebrities on Facebook and Instagram and started the Pandemic Pet Project (PPP), where he offers to draw peoples' pets for free. In return, Attanasio asks them to pay it forward by donating whatever they can to their local pet rescue organization, if possible.

What started as a favor to friends, his idea quickly gained momentum. "I thought maybe half a dozen people would respond, but on the first day, I had 30 requests and more than 50 by day two, and it's still growing! Right now I am drawing four every day." (Total to-date: 144 illustrations requested and nearly 100 done.)

Attanasio is hoping that by getting the attention of certain celebrities, the PPP will grow and raise more money. "I am drawing pets for people like Ellen Degeneres, Rachael Ray, and Beth Stern because I am so proud of all the animal advocacy and charity work they do."

If you want your pet drawn by Attanasio, visit Pandemic Pet Project on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pandemicpetproject and submit photos of your pets (limit two per person) with your mailing address (via Messenger).

About the Artist

Ed Attanasio, 61, started sketching as a form of rehab after he had a mini-stroke in 2009. Little did he know that eventually, his illustrations would lead to a career as an artist, astounding critics, gallery owners, his friends, and even himself.

Attanasio's stroke didn't affect his motor skills, but it scrambled his brain to the point where he was unable to continue his job as a journalist/advertising copywriter. It was a scary time for Ed because he weighed 350 lbs. And at age 50, he also had other serious health issues.

One day, his speech therapist suggested that he should get involved in some type of activity where he'd be using his brain daily. So, he started drawing a series of illustrations on post-it-notes, for hours and hours while he underwent a 14-month recovery, including the loss of more than 120 lbs.

Ed drew these characters only as part of his therapy and nothing more at first, he explained. "I never thought anyone would see them, and I surely never imagined I could sell them. My friends always seemed to enjoy them, but eventually, they would migrate down to our refrigerator door and after a while, they'd disappear. I figured they were getting tossed, but I wasn't concerned, because I could see that I was steadily improving and knew the art played a role."

Then, in October of 2011, Attanasio's therapist and his ex-wife handed him a notebook, and all of the drawings were there—close to 400! Over the next 14 months, he created a wacky collection of baseball and football players, gangsters, dinosaurs, dogs, birds, monsters, and aliens.

A stroke of genius or just plain luck? "All of these peculiar-looking illustrations that have emerged from my stroke-scrambled brain were all together and ready for something…but what?" he said. "Could this be more than just a hobby or a distraction?" The answer turned out to be yes!

As he browsed through the images, Ed thought wow--these characters drawn in black felt pen and colored pencils tell a great story. "For more than a year, I didn't know if I would be able to be a professional writer again, and these drawings are a map that shows how I recuperated…. or maybe digressed, depending on how you look at it," he laughed. "After I went through all of the images, I assembled them into a series of collages, and that's how the whole thing began. In many ways, this art saved my life."

Today, Attanasio continues to draw on post-it notes and sells originals and prints. In 2013, his baseball players ("Bushers") became a graphic novel, and shortly after that his art career began to flourish. Known as "outsider art" or "folk art," Attanasio's Post-It creations have sold online and through galleries in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Germany, and Russia, just to name a few.

For more information about the artist, visit www.my3x3world.com
or watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUu1sZ6mvsE&t=1s