A Jack and Two Minnies

Joey is the Jack Russell in the middle, the Minnie Pinschers on either side are Sadie and Lucy. What sweeties they all are. Joey and Lucy were easy to make friends with but since Sadie was a rescue, I had to earn her trust more slowly. Thank goodness for liver treats. They each posed for me like pros (one at a time, of course)- taking their positions on the ottoman like they knew what I was after...

Lucky Dogs

This is Minnie. She suffered from a serious kidney disease and although her human knew there was something wrong it took years to determine an accurate diagnosis (if only dogs could talk). Since having her operation, Minnie is healthy and happy and acts like an 11 year old puppy. This composition was based on an image provided- one taken at the backdoor of the cottage where Minnie loves to spend her days surveying the land.
























Roman scored big when his humans adopted him. The women are involved with the Greyhound Rescue organization and this is the 11th greyhound that they've adopted over the years (not to mention the fostering and saving other breeds and species).
Roman couldn't be in better hands- after the hardship of his early years he truely has 'come home'.

Loved and Missed

Katie the cat and Kelly the dog were best of friends. As fate cruelly dictated, they passed away within a week of each other. Their human, understandably, was devastated. Her husband came to me and we devised this composition. Kelly and Katie used to hang out together, sitting in the door, watching the world go by...





















Kayla's human lives up north. His daughter approached me just as Kayla was in her last days, dying due to age and illness. She shared Kayla's story with me; that although Kayla was a rescue herself, she, in a way, rescued her human family with the love she gave them during a very difficult time in their lives. Kayla loved the outdoors- and she had an expanse of fields and mountains to enjoy. I thought a backdrop of wood and maple leaves would keep her happy in posterity.

Christmas Commissions

All of the commissions at this time of year are 'surprises'. The studies have to be collected in secret. In most cases the photos were supplied -the animals had passed and the studies were whatever the client could find without the recipient finding out...





In this first painting, the client wanted me to incorporate images of all the family pets that were with them throughout the decades. This was a surprise gift from my client and his siblings to their parents. What a lovely idea! What a challenge! I had very limited source material- and all the photos were taken from very different angles. This is what I came up with.


'Extended Family'











'Mickey' was a sweet little guy who passed away and is greatly missed by the client's parents. Like the painting above, this painting was also a gift from the client and her sibling to their parents. Mickey liked to sit in the front window of the family home and watch the world go by. This composition reflects that.






'Princess Delilah'. True to her biblical namesake Delilah is adored like a true princess. The client liked my off-centre compositions and we decided it would be fun to play with the princess idea by putting a little tiara on Delilah's head. Even though this painting is a surprise gift for the client's husband, I was able to sneak over and snap some studies...





'Tyler' needed to be a rather small painting as it was going to be carried on a plane for someone in the States. This work is 16" x 16" and quite straight forward. The client only had one photo that I could work from- Thankfully it was a good one!

Double Trouble

In each of the following paintings I had to take the photo studies individually and then put the images of the dogs together afterwards. A bit challenging but rewarding!



Dandies
Two wonderful Dandie Dinmonts. Both characters, each very different than the other. Gracie in front, loved the camera… Healey was more reserved; as you can see, they are each in their element. Their favourite toys are in the foreground- the pink one for the girl and the brown one for the boy.








Toby and Maggie
This is Toby and Maggie. These girls were like two little kids-playing and chasing the ball. I decided to depict their home the way kids themselves might represent it- like a crayon drawing, loose and ‘coloured in’.

Exhibition

Presently, I have an exhibition of my Dog Paintings at the Miles Nadel JCC in downtown Toronto. Here are some new images created for that show.

Chihuly
This boy is a Chinese Crested. Look at the royal stature of this little dog. I put him against this red as it is the consistent accent colour of his human’s interior design choices; and it suits his personality perfectly. Chihuly has no reservations telling you of his likes and dislikes- besides, he’s so darned cute you listen.
















The following two works were painted just for the exhibition and just for fun.








Karma is a big wacky boxer puppy. She was mid gallop when I caught her sneaking a peek at me from the corner of her eye.








Greyhound
What a beautiful graceful dog. Tenney is a rescue. I wanted to mimic the curves and angles of Tenney’s form in the surrounding graphic landscape.

3 Very Different Compositional Styles

This is Lady. Her little pink tongue always sticks out... I just had to photograph her and when I saw the results I knew I had to paint her. I love the composition of this image. 'Walking Lady' refers not only to the little Pug but her human as well.




This young and playful Collie is Jesse. His human wanted bold colours with a bit of the 'Pop Art' feel. This is what I came up with. I love how he's smiling at us.





Speaking of Collies, the photos of these gorgeous Collies were provided for me. This was commissioned as a gift for a London Ontario family. All I really had to go on was that the middle dog was the only female and the senior dog of the pack. Painted on wood panel I allowed the natural grain to be part of the floor in the composition.