This dog may only have one ear, but he definitely has an eye for painting.

Van Gogh the dog is named after the artist who cut off his own ear.

The dog was rescued from a dogfighting ring in North Carolina with his ear in such bad shape that it had to be amputated.

But that hasn't gotten in the way of his career as an artist.

To help the dog paint a version of the other Van Gogh pieces, Jaclyn Gartner, the founder of Happily Furever After Rescue in Connecticut, uses gobs of paint on a canvas, then slides it into a plastic bag coated with peanut butter.

"So his painting is him licking peanut butter off and while he's licking peanut butter all the paint is smeared around and makes the design," Gartner told CNN.

But when Van Gogh had a gallery show to raise money and find him a permanent home, only two people showed up.

Nevertheless, sympathy and publicity made Van Gogh a doggie art star. He's sold 30 pieces averaging $40 each, but the 7-year-old, 75-pound boxer-pitbull mix still needs a home.

"He would love someone who would cuddle him because he's a cuddler," Gartner said. "He's a very go-with-the-flow type of dog."

For more information on Van Gogh, click here.

ACADIA NATIONAL PARK, Maine — An artist in Maine is combining two of her passions into one eco-friendly message.

"Usually on beaches, it's like buoys, little chunks of plastic” Mariah Reading said.

Reading scours some of the most spectacular scenery anywhere, including the sand beach at Acadia National Park.

Reading picks up litter in open areas and transforms it into painted landscapes.

She describes it as her canvas.

"Plastic water bottles, rope is always a big thing. But I've also found shoes and PJ pants draped on the side of trees like, where did these come from?" said Reading.

It's all part of what Reading calls her eco-art, often painting the very spot where she picked up a particular piece of trash.

"I call the painting that I do outside in plain air, I call them color studies. Because I'm just trying to grasp the colors that I see around me” says Reading.

While her eco-art can be on the lighter side, Reading does consider herself a serious artist with an even more serious message.

As much as she enjoys collecting junk, she says only helps illustrate the ongoing environmental challenges facing the planet.

"Eco-art is this new form of art that addresses the Anthropocene that we're living in and kind of uses art as a tool to display climate change and pollution” she said.

Since beginning this project, Reading has traveled the country combing dozens of beaches and searching through hundreds of miles of forest.

Her efforts caught the eye of People Magazine, which featured her work on a two-page spread in December 2021.

Reading said "I was just blown away. I had no idea that it was going to be that large and in charge. It was really really exciting."

Exciting, she says not just because more people will see her art, but more people might stop and think about the meaning behind it.

"I hope that when people see my art they are excited to make small steps in their own lives to become more sustainable and can see their habits reflected in either the plastic water bottle or the location it was found."

Reading says her favorite way to showcase her work is to photograph the piece of painted trash in front of the landscape it depicts.

CINCINNATI —

Local artist, educator and owner of Not Your Average "Paint and Sip" mobile unit, James Reynolds, designed and prepared the mural concept for today's event at Court Street Plaza downtown.

"This season, more than any other, is about appreciating and celebrating our community," Reynolds said. "Our mural will be a wonderful expression of Cincinnati's vibrancy, diversity and fraternity."

The event on Saturday afternoon was created to invite and inspire local residents to come together as a community to share and express their inner artist.

Court Street Plaza served as today's canvas, which produced a community-created mural honoring the city of Cincinnati.

Along with the community-wide mural painting, there were also performances by local musicians, coffee stands, and even take-home crafts, inspired by the new mural.

The free event was one of several community-produced holiday events in the FOUND series. FOUND is a collection of creative and engaging holiday events aimed at bringing the community together in Cincinnati's urban core.

You can catch a glimpse of the new mural at the storefront below the Stanley & More Flats located at 11. E. Court Street.

You can find more events produced by FOUND here.

NORWOOD, Ohio —

For most, Wasson Way is a trail for walking or running. Today, it was a Cincinnati Public School Teacher's canvas for art.

Aimee Costandi began leaving encouraging messages on the trail at the beginning of the pandemic. This week, she made her way to Norwood aiming to do more. “I know that there’s a lot of really good people that like to walk this trail and a lot of health care workers," she said, "this was a good place to start.”

With chalk, paint and brushes in hand, Costandi offered walkers and runners the chance to leave a heart, message or name of a health care worker. “I know the kind of stress that health care professionals are under right now and I see them crying on TikTok videos and it breaks my heart and I wanted to just give them a message that we really appreciate what you’re doing,” Costandi said.

Though these hearts and names will wash away with the rain, Costandi hopes the kind words won’t. She also created a Twitter account where people can leave their messages permanently. “So I'm hoping that it turns into a place where health care workers can hop on to a Twitter feed." said Costandi, "Wouldn’t it be nice to have a place where there are lots of positive messages of encouragement before you drift off to sleep from a really hard day?”

For Costandi, this project is a form of therapy. She explained further, “...doing this type of project really helps me cope with my feelings because I feel for them. Because we’re all part of this world, we’re all Americans and you know, we should care about one another.”

The mural also serves as a reminder of togetherness for the community. “I wanted to spend my time doing something that makes me feel good and let other people know that we’re all in this together,” Costandi said.

Costandi shared that she would be having more pop-up events around the Greater Cincinnati Area in the future.

If you'd like to leave a message of encouragement for local health care workers, you can visit the Twitter Costandi created. Just search: @suppcincyhc

BRUNSWICK, Ohio — Dayle Keefer, a Medina County man who calls himself "the Picasso of fire hydrants," is giving back to the community, one brushstroke at a time.

Keefer moved to Brunswick not too long ago from Jamestown, New York, to be closer to family. The 72-year-old retired from his job as a church pastor after more than 50 years.

“We were walking the dog, and we saw these grungy fire hydrants all around,” Keefer said. That was the catalyst for Keefer to become involved in the city’s Adopt-A-Hydrant Program. Instead of praying and preaching from the pulpit, Keefer is painting and praying.

“While I'm doing this, I started praying, and God started to do work in my heart. This community needs you, and this has helped me connect,” explained Keefer.

Last year, Keefer painted a dozen faded fire hydrants. In a little more than a month this year, he is up to about a hundred. But, Keefer explained, it is not about how many of the 3,000 hydrants get a new coat of paint; instead, for him, it's about making each one beautiful.

As part of the Adopt-A-Hydrant Program, the city supplies the safety red paint, and volunteers supply the labor. Usually, volunteers paint one or two hydrants.

“He’s painted more hydrants than everyone combined,” said Brunswick Fire Chief Greg Glauner. But, Glauner explained, Keefer’s labor of love is more than about beautifying the community.

“It’s not just a hydrant that is unsightly. It is absolutely the most important tool when we arrive that we are going to utilize,” added Glauner.

“Dayle is an inspiration to everyone. He has a good heart and genuinely cares,” Glauner said.

“My heart’s goal is that every one of these is red and shiny throughout Brunswick,” said Keefer.

Tracy Carloss at WEWS first reported this story.