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| Kato on Lake Tiogue |
I've done a few portraits of animals that belonged to other people and decided it was time to paint the pooches in my life. I guess I wasn't a very good "mother" because I can't find too many photos of my first dog, Woody, who was a Jack Russell. Probably because he wouldn't sit still long enough for a picture.
But I did have some nice poses of Kato, my Belgian Shepherd. He was quite handsome, a great Man Magnet, and the sweetest dog until the side effects of Phenobarbital turned him to the dark side. His thick coat of black fur and big brown eyes made him so huggable. He was so big it was almost like hugging a human.
I miss them both and wonder if is time to find another addition to my family. I'll be sure to take good pictures this time. And I'll go online to find some images that look like Woody. Wouldn't want him to feel left out.
The commissions I've been asked to do for Christmas gifts both have a fun aspect. The gift of the house portrait will be presented along with the history of the house. An historian researched the home, the builder, original and subsequent occupants, along with the history of the neighborhood. (This is a package offered by New England Farm and Artist in W. Greenwich RI)
The second commission, of two huskies, were to be set in a "castle." The client is a fan of the King Arthur stories and wanted them to look "arthurian." We played around with backgrounds from the internet and added their favorite toys. More importantly, I decided that I would only use colors that might have been manufactured during that time period. Yellow ochre, terra rosa and blue black. Yes, only three colors, and white. The limited palette and color selections help keep the painting looking as if from that era. They were also a nice "kingly" size of 2 feet by 3 feet.
