Monday, June 23, 2008

Skeeter - A Mother's Love



Skeeter belongs to some wonderful people that I have known for years. They also own Jack my dog Bailey Boy's full litter mate. The boys are 11 1/2 years old now. Where did the time go?

When Skeeter's parents came to me and wanted a painting it was so flattering. The main photo of Skeeter used for his painting was part of their Christmas card. In the photo his left ear was flipped behind his shoulder and he had two collars on. They also gave me a cd of puppy photos that were used as additional reference material. Generally I use a number of photos to create a painting and one primary photo is just not enough for me to gather all the detail needed.
This particular photo was not something that would have popped out to me as a great candidate for a painting. I worried there was too much going on and, at the same time, not enough going on. Skeeter's mom wanted the painting to show the reflected love between dog and owner without giving evidence to the identity of the owner. This way all dog lovers could enjoy the bond of love and be able to personalize the emotion.

Now that the painting is done the vision that Skeeter's human mom saw is so crystal clear. May this painting remind us all of the simplest message of what our dogs are for us - love - unconditionally - love.
Thanks for reading about my art and don't forget to give your animals hugs all day long!


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