George Rodrigue
He is best known for his Blue Dog series of paintings. He modeled the Blue Dog after his own pet named Tiffany. She had died a couple years before the first painting was ever made. That first painting was made for the cover of a scary book. It was a little eerie, the subject being a pale scruffy dog with red eyes. Eventually they became friendlier images of the Blue Dog. He died of prostate cancer on December 14, 2013, aged 69.