My Blue-eyed Wonder Dog: Australian Shepherd - Pet Portrait Painting

What stares us in the face sometimes goes unnoticed but not this morning. This is a portrait of my dog Cisco, a lively 9 yr old australian shepherd. I love his enthusiasm and his smarts.

Cisco is full of beans and insists that I play tug of war with his leash while we are at the beach. Against my better judgement, I turned his leash into a spontaneous toy... now with aussies being so smart he learned that one very quickly.

This portrait of Cisco is painted in acrylic on stretched canvas, 20 inches square. It is based on a photograph shot last week by my friend Mike W. (Thanks Mike!)

Check back later this week and see the progress.

Clicker Training the Aggressive Dog

I have begun to read this great book, Clicking to Calm: Healing the Aggressive Dog by Emma Parsons.
Cisco is a joyous and friendly aussie... for the most part. Lately he has started to show signs of leash aggression towards several dogs who exhibit the same behaviour towards him. For the 5 years that he has been with me, this behaviour would only occur with 2 dogs on our block. Then since winter, it escalated. I am not sure why the change but it only happens on our block... and no where else.

Of course I felt like a bad owner... what part did I play in all this? Then I found this book and I am now starting to feel hopeful.

The author shares her own experiences with owning a dog that became aggressive. Grounded in positive reinforcement, there are many clear exercises that she presents to desensistize and calm an aggressive dog.

I don't like to use a head halter with a herding dog as she suggests however I do use a martingale body harness and this is proving to be easy to handle and effective.

I'll be posting again with our results in the near future.

Painting a Pet Portrait - the process of Jax and Holland

Lately I was asked to show the steps of painting a pet portrait. Interviewed in January in the Snap Beaches Newspaper about the process, I thought it's great to share it with you.

This is from an earlier painting, the portrait of Jax and Holland, commissioned as a birthday gift. They are both black shepherd mixed breeds who were adopted into a loving home.

I had assembled a collage of photographs of Jax and Holland. After discussing with owner the importance of creating the relationship of the two dogs in this portrait, I have placed the older dog in front as he is always on guard overlooking everything that is happening. Always eager to play, the younger dog is looking at us with an excited look on his face.

Using a soft pencil, I have lightly sketched directly onto a stretched canvas, 24 x 30 inches.

I begin with the underpainting in black acrylic. It is very loose and light with the texture of the fur. This is a quality that I want to keep.

Next, I paint the eyes, which I feel is the soul of the dog. Then I paint the background. I continue building up the layers, much like I do when creating a sculpture, giving the dogs more dimension.

This is the final painting of the two dogs, Jax and Holland. As art lovers, the owners were ecstatic. In it are captured the qualities that they love... the colour blue, the effect of water over rocks in the background, and most of all the love of the two dogs and the everlasting bond between their owners.

Overcoming obstacles ... outside of the studio

I don't think that I am any different from many other artists out there when I say that creativity happens in a bubble. The bubble in this case is the studio or even the conception stage, that burst of an idea in one's mind.

Today I overcame a huge obstacle! I approached a local shop in my neighbourhood about exhibiting my pet portraits! Fifteen minutes later i walked out with an invitation to return in a few days and hang my work in an exhibit!

Now don't get me wrong... I have exhibited my work for a few decades in various cities in Canada and also the united states. But it is walking into that unknown territory that can be anxiety producing.

Marketing doesn't always come naturally and that is due partly to one's experience and partly to how our minds are hardwired - left side / right side of the brain. Creativity and intuitive process on one side. Logic on the other.

Being in the studio we artists use our creative intuitive side. Even when out for quiet walks, it is the creative side that is quietly working away, looking at how the light might fall on something, admiring the shadow on an object, the reflection of light on the water, the way ice glistens.

So approaching a gallery or shop to exhibit one's work is out of the ordinary. Because it isn't an everyday routine, it gets left to the "do it later" list.
I guess I am quite happy with this as i would rather be in the studio, thank you very much.