Anyone who's ever visited a gallery or museum and thought, "Hey, my pet could do that," won't be surprised at the newest art trend: dogs and cats that paint. 

Yesterday, at the 105 DeVoe Gallery in the heavily artist-populated Williamsburg area of Brooklyn, a Jack Russell terrier named Tillamook Cheddar hosted an art opening, her second solo show. 

On display were about 30 abstract images, which the canine artist achieves by scratching and digging at color transfer paper. Her efforts leave red, yellow, blue or black marks on a "canvas" that's actually a piece of white matboard placed underneath the transfer paper. 

Tillie, as she's known, is named after a popular brand of Oregon cheddar, but the impressive results of the 16-pound artist's efforts are anything but cheesy. Ranging in price from $75 to $150, they've prompted comparisons to modern masters Cy Twombly and Willem de Kooning. 

Her next opening will be in Manhattan in early December, at the lobby exhibition space at 176 Grand St. 

"I don't guide her paws at all," says Tillie's assistant (and owner), Bowman Hastie. "But I do need to rein her in sometimes, to prevent her from destroying the work. She digs so furiously, she's torn some corners off pieces in the process of making them." 

Hastie attributes Tillie's creative diligence to the fact that she's a terrier, a type of dog known for its tenacious digging ability. "Tillie is super-focused when she works," Hastie says. "It's like she enters a trance." 

Tillie frequently attends gallery openings and is expert at networking. Her fans include such hip young (and human) artists as the controversial Tom Sachs, whose use of live bullets in his most recent show led to the arrest of his art dealer, Mary Boone. 

Sachs owns several Tillies, as does artist Phil Frost, who met the canine art star when she attended his recent opening at Chelsea's trendy Jack Shainman Gallery. Tillie also has a Web site, www.tillamookcheddar.com. 

Artistic expression isn't limited to canines. "Why Cats Paint: A Theory of Feline Aesthetics" (Ten Speed Press, $16.95) is a best-selling book whose authors, Heather Busch and Burton Silver, claim that many cats enjoy expressing themselves artistically. 

Its pages are filled with photographic proof of creative felines using their paws to make bold, abstract artworks reminiscent of the work of Jackson Pollock. 

Dogs and cats aren't alone. Animals of various species possess artistic talents just waiting to be unleashed. 

The Russian-born artists Vitaly Komar and Alex Melamid, a.k.a. Komar and Melamid, are renowned for their creative collaborations with animals, including dogs and beavers. They believe that animals, when given a creative outlet, really do become artists. 

"In Moscow, we gave a Polaroid camera to a chimpanzee," Komar explains. "When he looked at the photo he took, he understood the connection between the picture and the reality. He became an artist at that moment." 

Next fall, HarperCollins will publish the duo's "When Elephants Paint," with an introduction by Dave Eggers. The book documents what happens when a paintbrush is placed in a pachyderm's trunk. 

"The elephant is the biggest artist in the world." Komar says. "Bigger than Picasso!" 

Works by Tillamook Cheddar will stay up through Nov. 11 at 105 DeVoe, 105 DeVoe St., Brooklyn. Gallery hours: Saturdays from 3 to 6 p.m.; call (718) 398-6956 for information