The project started with a simple idea: make drawings, sell them, and send the proceeds toward saving dogs.
Over three years, that impulse became i promise to…, a limited-run illustrated book about the responsibilities that come with adopting an animal. Hart directed the profits from the project to animal-rescue organizations, with Austin Pets Alive! among the principal recipients.
The dog featured throughout the book is Bonham, one of Hart’s rescues. He was pulled from a Texas shelter’s euthanasia list while severely heartworm-positive and later became the central character of the project.
Art can be an object, but it can also be a mechanism: a way to raise money, create empathy, and move someone toward action.
The original edition was limited to 500 copies. The project remains part of Hart’s larger commitment to using art in support of companion-animal welfare.
