Chiko and Tina

This is the second commission I donated to the Chilliwack SPCA at their annual Paws For a Cause event. It was awarded to Roz Miller for her successful fundraising efforts last year for this worthy cause . Her chihuahua and dachshund, both rescues, posed beautifully for Roz's excellent reference photo, making this portrait a special joy to paint. I really like the high contrast lighting, and the contrasting brilliance on white and black fur. To see this painting in its earlier stages as a work in progress, and Roz receiving this award, see my Facebook Page entries dated from January 7 to January 13. 

Schatzy

Every September, the SPCA in B.C. holds its annual main fund raising event, the popular walkathon Paws for a Cause. While significant funds are raised this way, other volunteer SPCA advocates are busy on their own raising awareness and considerable revenue throughout the year. I was asked by Chilliwack SPCA manager, Ivanna Ferris, if I would donate pet portrait gift certificates as part of the annual award package to this area's two top fundraisers, to be presented at Paws for a Cause. It was, therefore, a privilege to help honor Juanita with this portrait of her sweet little Schatzy. Thank you SPCA for the important work you do, and thank you Juanita and others for helping make this possible.

Jenny

Jenny is our 11 year old rescued greyhound who we have had for three years. A track winner in her day, she can still run faster than most dogs if she wants to. But she doesn't want to. A trip to the off leash dog park will finding her schmoozing with the people, while the other dogs run and play. I had her certified with St Johns Ambulance as a therapy dog, and for a year and a half made we made weekly visits to a seniors home where she was a good fit. She is a senior herself, after all. It is not commonly known what an excellent pet greyhounds make. They are especially quiet, gentle and make few demands of your time. In spite of their reputation as performance athletes, they are not at all high strung, nor do they require huge amounts of exercise. One of the oldest breeds, they have proven their value as a companion to man. If you are interested in learning more about greyhounds, look for books by Cynthia Branigan, such as Adopting the Racing Greyhound.  Her website here tells more. We adopted Jenny from GRA in Ontario.

Shanty

My cousin Heather asked me to do this commission of Shanty, in her memory. A great family dog, Shanty loved to go out on the sailboat, and run along the beach with Heather's boys, Cameron and Stewart. In fact, the photo that this painting was based upon, was taken just after one such west coast run. Ultimately, however, she was Heather's dog, and I was honored to paint this tribute to a beloved canine friend.

Oh Zephyr!

Our time raising Zephyr for the National Service Dogs was quickly coming to an end. (See the blog post of Aug 30 2007). We had trained and nurtured him for nearly a year and a half, and he thought of himself as part of the family. We nearly did as well, but we held on to the belief that his was a more noble future. Knowing that we would only have him for a few more weeks, I took him out for a photo shoot. As usual, he happily obliged, and this portrait is the result.

There had been the usual puppy mishaps, the inevitable slipper chewing, the house training accidents and the like. But as he grew, we discovered that he was becoming a very strong dog, and was generally more excitable than his peers. Great strength combined with over excitability are not traits sought after for service dogs, and we became concerned. Sure enough, only two weeks into his four month professional training, we were informed that Zephyr had been "released from the program". Did we want to keep him? We could cover the cost that he had incurred to the service organization, such as vet fees, and he would be ours. Or we could pass him along to another group, and with little hesitation, we agreed that he should be given another try. For the second time, we said our good-byes as he went off to school, this time the Lions Club Guide Dogs of Canada. We had hopes that with the chance of training for one of their four categories of service (seeing, hearing, physical, and seizure) he would soon find his place.

I always said that Zephyr was a 'boomerang' dog due to his great ability to retrieve, but I hadn't expected that to also mean that he would keep on bouncing back to us. We were informed that he did not have the right stuff for Guide Dogs either. Better, perhaps, but still short of the mark.

As I write this in March 2009, Zephyr is on his third try. His retrieving skills may be his salvation, since, based on his enthusiasm and tenacity in ball retrieval, he easily passed the qualification trials for yet another school. He is now training with the Canada Border Services Agency to become a 'sniffer' dog of contraband goods. I am optimistic about this match...we'll see.............................

Jersey Remembered

I was asked to paint another portrait of Jersey, this time from a photo of her standing in a field. I hadn't done a landscape, which really is what this would be, in a long time, so that would be a challenging change. Also, Tim and Melissa requested that it be done very large, to go over their mantle. Twenty-two inches by 30 inches seemed like a lot of paper after working for so long on an 8"x10" surface.

I wanted to convey the sense of bigness of the sky and field, and yet not loose Jersey in the landscape, since, after all, this was a painting about her. She will be remembered here in this harvest time field near the family cottage on Lake Huron.

Santana

Mark and Robin adopted this regal Belgian Shepherd cross from the London SPCA when Cassie and Hayley were very young. True to his shepherd calling, he faithfully watched over the children, keeping them safe by cottage lake or backyard pool. A loyal companion for fourteen years, the family will miss him this Christmas.

Chocolate Chunk

At 89 pounds, Chunky is one big chunk of chocolate lab. Labrador Retreivers come in three colours: yellow, black, and brown, which is known officially as chocolate. Jan and her family in Ingersoll really have their hands full with this very active and large one year old.

Lighting does interesting things to a solid colour, and I found it facinating to work with such suprisingly rich colour and shade variations.

Jersey

I have always had a fondness for a good old fashioned 'farm dog'. Perhaps this was due to the many stories my mom told of the great dog they had on their farm during the depression. Although I did not meet Jersey, it is clear that she was this kind of dog. She and her brother had been abandoned as pups and found wandering in the country. Janet's family adopted this noble collie shepherd cross and had many happy years with her.

Bluejay

At my first studio tour exhibit, I was offered a commission to paint Deborah and Don's cocker spaniel. Gone, but certainly not forgotten, Bluejay's silky fur was so black that it had beautiful blue highlights. I enlarged a small portion of a good snapshot of Bluejay, and completed the painting by working quickly and steadily over the next couple of days . As it would happen, only hours after completion, I was emailed a much clearer image of him with the suggestion that this photo might be easier to work from. Deborah was very surprised that I had already tackled and completed my assignment. We arranged a time in the following week to get together. Meanwhile, I wondered how the painting would have turned out if I had worked from the second image. Finally, a couple of days before they arrived, I decided to give it a try. I think they were surprised to be offered a choice between two paintings. After some consideration, they chose the second one. Which one would you have chosen?

Montana

Montana, or Tana, is a Golden Retreiver owned by a Lisa, good friend of mine. I chose this pose to paint due to the sweet, alert expression that she had. Like most of her breed, she has proven to be a great family pet. Here was one time that she didn't have her favorite chew toy in her mouth!

Mitsy

This painting was done in memory of Dave and Esther's sweet cocker spainel poodle cross, Mitsy. Right from the start, she was a good fit for the family. She was a young adult when they got her, and she proved how bright she was on their first walk together, when she knew exactly which house was their's going home. She was a very special friend to their son, Paul.

The National Service Dog

A few years ago, while at a freeway service center, I noticed someone with a puppy at the food court. This puppy, although small, was wearing a jacket such as those worn by working guide dogs. I learned that this puppy was in training; becoming familiar with many indoor public locations in preparation for the full time training he would receive from professionals before becoming a full fledged service dog. The puppy raiser would only have the dog for just over a year, and several months later would be invited to attend it's graduation and meet the dog's new owner. I made a mental note at the time that puppy raising was something that I would like to do.

A couple of years later, my son and I attended an open house for Guide Dogs in Oakville, and learned more about this facinating service. Demonstrations were given to show what these fully trained dogs were capable of doing to assist their owner, be they blind, deaf, or quadraplegic. At the time, we did not have a suitable home for puppy raising, and so it remained a dream.

And then, a series of connected events occured over the summer; the dog show in July got me thinking of dogs again, a chance meeting with a guide dog owner in early August informed me of another service dog school which was closer to home, and wouldn't you know it, their annual open house was to be held the following weekend. Of course we went, and two days later we had our seven week old service puppy. Zephyr. A Labrador/Golden Retreiver cross. Cute, smart, and teething. And not house broken. We suddenly had our hands full.

The National Service Dog organization trains dogs to work with children with autism. Their dogs have been very successful in helping keep these children safe, as well as calming them, which allows them to focus in class, and to better interact with others. As a puppy raiser, I see that Zephyr gets out to lots of public venues, and experiences a wide range of things. I take him to obedience class taught through the organization, and follow up with daily practice. And for a little over a year, he is with us to enjoy. And paint. This painting was done from a picture taken the first day we got him.

The Dog in the Basket

As soon as I saw it, I loved the reference image that this painting is based on. The rich colors and dramatic lighting were inspiring. It is amazing how certain lighting can transform an otherwise ordinary scene into something worthy of a closer look, as if to underscore the beauty of creation.

The Dog Days of Summer

Another day, another dog. This is a Norweigan Elkhound, which is something between a German Shepard and a Samoyed, or perhaps like a small Malamute. I had seen several of them competing at the Woodstock dog show. They looked as though they could have pulled a dog sled. The challenge here was to paint a kind of fur which is wooly and thick, with hairs that are often light with dark tips. This was a diffent type of dog, and I wanted to learn to paint as many types as I could.

The Jack Russell Terrier

Sometimes Jack Russells lie still, but not often. An interesting effect happened with this painting. Up close, as of course it was as I worked on it, the image was somewhat indistinct. Certainly I could tell what it was, but there was a slight blurring to it. But what a surprise I got when I first viewed him from the usual critique spot at the end of the hall. Visually, this little guy just popped right out from so far away. Even this painting seemed to contain the explosive energy of the Jack Russel breed.

Don't Fence Me In

It is with good reason that Golden Retreivers are such popular dogs. Smart, loyal, gentle with kids. I think this lonely pup must be missing his family. As with the spaniel, I wasn't about to paint in every blade of grass. Its really about the dog anyway, and not about the grass, and so I improvised an impressionist approach.

The Terrier

This, I believe, is a Cairn terrier, like Toto in the Wizard of Oz. I wanted the challenge of painting unruly curly fur. I called him the 'Purple Terrier' for a while because initially he had a very strong purple background. Backgrounds can be tricky. They play a supporting role and must enhance and not compete with the subject. I usually try to link the background with the subject by adding color from one area into the other. The trick is not to overdo it. This little guy patiently sat at the end of the hall, while I would view him from a distance every so often to discover correctable imbalances. I think he looks happier now.

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

There is an interesting history behind the name of this little spaniel. I had to do the research to find out what it was. It seems that this breed was recreated about 80 years ago, based on written evidence and as seen depicted in paintings that were hundreds of years old. The English King Charles was a fancier, and one is nearly always seen with him in royal portraits.

The Sheltie

It was at this time that my computer suddenly died, and for the next two weeks I found I had plenty of time to paint. I was suprised by how much I was depending on a computer, and how much of my time was taken on it.

While waiting for repairs, I gave myself the assignment of painting as many dogs and cats as I could, in order to develop my skill in painting pets. I printed a stack of reference photos from Wet Canvas using another computer, and dove in.

I would like to have painted Sheila, the sheltie I once owned, but due to computer technical difficulties, I relied on the images that were available to me. The funny thing about dog breeds is that each dog can look so like the next and yet be so different. This certainly was not Sheila, and yet this dog reminded me of her in many ways. They have such an intelligent yet sensitive gaze. Sheila was the only dog I ever had; I may one day have another.