tbd (help me title him on my Facebook page!)
Click here to see a larger photo of the painting.
If you know me or are fairly familiar with my art, you know I love animals, especially dogs.
All dogs are great. Allow me to explain and get Seuss-esque for only a moment;
Fluffy or sleek, loud or meek,
Agile and spry, or just happy to lie,
I love dogs, the great and the small.
I love the dogs, I do love them all.
Yes, breeds A to Z, their pups I adore,
Except that I love,
Small ones a bit more.
WAIT! Don't get me wrong, and don't sic your Staffie on me. I've loved my fair share of medium and large dogs. My first dog was a chow chow and my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th were Aussie mixes. (Super smart and loving dogs!) Neapolitan Mastiffs simply melt my butter. If we ever live in a colder climate and have the acreage, Husboo will certainly be in search of a Russian Caucasian before we unpack. I'm also in love with Irish Wolfhounds. But when you've had the experience of being rescued by a teeny tiny canine and her becoming your companion, it's hard not to project those same feelings onto similar sized pups.
I may like small dogs, but guess what;
I hate painting small.
For my second September painting (I'm not even going to say it's the 2nd of 30, because that's just insane) I attempted my first teeny tiny watercolor portrait.
For me, watercolor is so nice because it flows and has a mind of it's own. You think you know what will happen, then the paint laughs in your face and you either readjust or go with the flow and see where it takes the painting. This aspect of the medium is also what can be ultra annoying if you have a specific end in mind. Couple that with a 5"x7" portrait on aquabord and quite a bit of strife can ensue. By no means was this a fast, whip it out in under an hour, quickie painting.
I struggled to retain a wet-on-wet technique and still have the detail I wanted for this piece.
(A couple of paper towels were harmed in the making of this painting.)
It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of fight in the dog. And this one gave me a pretty good round, now to give him a name...
