A portrait of a dog
I rarely look to paint specific animals or people – that is a portrait aiming to depict a strong likeness to a particular subject. I’m much more interested in animating a particular scenario, be it a landscape or an interior where there’s a significant relationship between the subjects and their environment, creating a sense of live interaction within a chosen space.
However a close friend asked me if I would paint a portrait of her partner’s much-loved dog, which had recently died, to present it to him on his birthday. She asked if it could be painted in the woods which are part of their extended garden. It was important that the dog be painted in the context she had lived in. My friend had a photo of the dog from which I could work.
The dog in question was a handsome golden retriever so it would lend itself to being painted against the darker browns and greens of the trees and woodland floor of late winter/early spring.