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Argos, the Most Faithful Dog in Literature

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I've been listening to the Audible edition of The Odyssey lately, and the scene where Odysseus returns home after twenty years, disguised as a beggar, and is recognized by no one except his elderly dog Argos, struck me as exactly the kind of moment worth illustrating. It's one of the most quietly devastating passages in the whole poem — and it turned into a small series celebrating the loyalty of dogs, ancient and otherwise.

An aged, emaciated hound lifts his head to greet a ragged beggar kneeling beside him, an illustration of Argos recognizing Odysseus from Homer's Odyssey
Argos Recognizes Odysseus — The Odyssey Illustration
The reunion scene itself — unrecognized by his own household, Odysseus is known instantly by the dog who waited twenty years for him.
A golden-coated hound rests on a striped Greek-key blanket beside an olive branch and an amphora, paws resting on a scroll banner reading Ever Faithful and True
Loyal Dog Greek Mythology Art — Argos Ever Faithful and True
A more decorative take on the same idea — olive branches, an amphora painted with a sailing ship, and a banner celebrating the quality Argos has come to represent.
A golden-coated hound rests on a striped Greek-key blanket beside an olive branch and an amphora, paws resting on a scroll banner reading I love Argos
Dog Lover Gift — I Love Argos
Same composition, different banner — a straightforward tribute for anyone whose own dog earns the same devotion Argos gave Odysseus.

Available on Redbubble

All three pieces are available at my Redbubble shop across the full product range — apparel, stickers, art prints, mugs, and more — and are part of the Dog Lover Gifts collection.

Browse the Dog Lover Gifts Collection

You can find all my work at my Redbubble shop, KornKob Art. Or search Redbubble for kornkobart (one word).

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Samoan Youth

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This young man was preparing with his friends for his moment of fame on the stage at the Samoan Village at the Polynesian dance festival called Pasifika in Auckland in March this year. Samoan Youth Canon EOS 20D 1/30sec at f/20 ISO 200 Canon 70-300mm lens at 300mm More photographs from the same Pasifika Festival day can be found in my new post, Faces of Pasifika 2007 — A Day at Auckland's Pacific Festival .
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The Watchman and Virgin River — Painterly Winter Landscape

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The Watchman and Virgin River, Zion National Park — Painterly Winter Landscape — © John Corney The Watchman is one of Zion National Park's most recognizable formations — the peak that rises up just past the south entrance, often photographed reflected in or framed by the Virgin River as it winds through the valley floor. I photographed this view on the same January 2006 trip as the other winter Zion piece in this collection, with the river running low and the cottonwoods and willows along the bank stripped bare for the season. I worked this one up with AI assistance into a full painterly interpretation, the same way I've approached the rest of this Zion series — directing the process the way a film director works with a cinematographer, choosing what to carry forward from the original photograph and what to push harder. Here that meant leaning into the warmth of the low winter light against the cool snow on the upper ridgeline, and letting th...
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A Steindachner's Ebony Tarantula at Crystal Cove

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I crossed paths with this fellow on a hike at Crystal Cove State Park this morning, along the Fenceline trail. I posted it to iNaturalist as soon as I got home, and within a few hours had it confirmed by several people: a male Steindachner's ebony tarantula ( Aphonopelma steindachneri ). Turns out the timing wasn't a fluke. Males of this species leave their burrows specifically to search for mates between July and October, so this was a textbook-timed encounter rather than an unusual one — good to actually check that before assuming, since my first instinct was that a July sighting seemed early. After his photo session, I gently nudged him with a stick and he scurried off the trail into the chaparral, safe from being run over by a mountain biker or stomped by an arachnophobic hiker.  Aphonopelma steindachneri is native to the coastal ranges of Southern California and northern Baja California, and it's one of the tarantulas you're genuinely most likely to run into ...
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