Brazilian Artist Turns Life Around After Wife Leaves Him With Nothing But His Dog – Page 9

Rafael Mantesso’s life after his 30th birthday is a classic case of “when life hands you lemons”. On his – or, to be more precise, his dog’s – website, Mantesso relates how he turned his life around when his wife left him with nothing but a dog – and a wealth of white walls. Oh, and a couple of essentials: a bed and the fridge. The dog in question is a spirited bull terrier named Jimmy, christened by Mantesso’s divorced wife after – you guessed it right – shoe designer Jimmy Choo.

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Life after divorce can be sad and boring; Rafael found himself often doodling on the walls of his newly-empty house. He could have drowned himself in beer and misery but instead, he decided to turn his life around with the greatest things he had available: Jimmy, the clean white walls, and his artistic gift. While watching Jimmy cavort around the empty house, a brilliant idea struck him: to place the dog against his sketches, and capture adorable photographs.

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Rafael Mantesso took his brilliance to the social media and uploaded his first Jimmy artwork to his Instagram account. He had no idea that would be the start of a series of wonderful changes in his and his canine best friend’s life.

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Even before his genius creative idea, he was already uploading pictures of Jimmy to his account – random pictures of him doing the usual and the unusual doggy stuff. Back then, he already had thousands of followers because, well, the Internet just loves dogs.

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Jimmy reached celebrity status when Hollywood A-lister Ashton Kutcher shared a photo of Jimmy “singing” to a sketch of a microphone. Of course, what could happen when a name like Ashton with tons of Internet mileage shares a photo? It attracts loads of attention, likes, and re-shares.

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Since that epic moment, Rafael watched the number of his followers grow from 10,000 to hundreds of thousands in just a few days. His inbox kept popping with inquiries after inquiries about his artworks.

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The most life-changing e-mail that Rafael has received was from the office of renowned designer Jimmy Choo himself. At first, the visual artist thought he was in trouble, probably because of Jimmy the dog’s name.

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To say that he was surprised when he read the content of the e-mail is an understatement. The letter said that Jimmy Choo’s label was interested in collaborating with Jimmy the Dog for a special collection.

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Sandra Choi, the creative director at Jimmy Choo, was one of the hundreds of thousands who fell in love with the English Bull Terrier. She found Rafael’s works to be so playful and witty, and just what she wanted for their next collection.

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The director and the artist immediately struck a friendship online, and after much brainstorming, Jimmy the Dog was launched as the face of Jimmy Choo Pre Fall 2015 Collection. It was a seven-piece capsule collection that contained an immaculate white tote bag, cute pouches, a dog collar, and phone cases.

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The Jimmy the Dog-Jimmy Choo collection was launched at an afternoon tea held at the upscale Ivy Chelsea Garden in London. The cafe was decorated with installations that screamed of Rafael Mantesso.

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Jimmy’s collaboration with the designer was only the beginning for both the artist and the dog. People’s clamor for Rafael’s talent and Jimmy’s charm cannot be satiated. There was a huge anticipation for what was coming next.

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While waiting, the Internet kept sharing and re-sharing photos of Jimmy in different states, such as wearing a stormtrooper helmet, counting sheep in his sleep, and wearing a polka dot brassiere over his eyes.

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Rafael’s Instagram account kept getting attention as people tagged their friends to share Jimmy’s cuteness and Rafael’s artistry. That was a sign that there were more things to come for the unstoppable duo.

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Four months after the launch of the Jimmy Choo collaboration release, Avery published the 160-page hardcover book “A Dog Named Jimmy”. The book, released in different states and countries, featured a splendid collection of pictures that perfectly meshed Rafael’s talent and Jimmy’s high level of obedience.

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Only a few weeks after the release, the book made it to Amazon’s bestseller list in the Individual Photographer Books section. The book received raving reviews from readers who were touched by Rafael’s tongue-in-cheek humor.

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Just in case you haven’t gotten your hands on the book yet (what have you been doing with your life and why don’t you have it yet?!), here are a few photos:

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Here’s a rendition of that famous scene from “Lady and the Tramp”:

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No dog lover or rock star or any hybrid of the two could resist this picture of Jimmy as a member of Kiss.

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What about this one of Jimmy being charmingly playful?

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Late last year, Rafael Mantesso released “Jimmy the Bull” 2016 calendar. As expected, it is filled with snaps of the celebrity Bull Terrier in various states to keep everyone amused each month of the year.

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With a calendar like this, who could wait to turn a page?

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What makes Rafael Mantesso even more amazing is that he uses Jimmy’s influence to advocate adoption, support, and rescue of Bull Terriers in Brazil and the United States.

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Bull Terriers are often stereotyped as among the dangerous breeds of dogs – one of the common reasons they get abandoned and/or overlooked at rescue shelters. Who’s willing to bet that Jimmy the Bull has changed the minds of some who think that way, too?

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With the recognition Jimmy the Dog has received across the globe, the Internet populace speculates on what Rafael’s ex-wife could be thinking right now – “I should’ve taken that damned dog, too!” is a common guess.