A Painting of Gavin

It is always a fun experience when people approach me to paint one of their pets and tell me they have the perfect photo for my reference material.  They send me the photo to view, and yes, they have the perfect photo.

The painting of Gavin started with such a photo.   For those of you who own dogs, we all know "the look" they give us at times.  It may be they are being invisible for whatever doggie reason they have, it may be they are pouting because we are leaving, it may be dozens of reasons for the look.   In the perfect photo, Gavin had his head up with a slight breeze blowing.  He was proud and doing what he wanted.  I would have loved to have known what he was thinking at the moment the photo was taken.

Gavin's owners wanted me to down play the white beginning to frost his aging muzzle.   Also, his coloring had lightened with age.  I used some photos of a young Gavin for his coat color.   In the background was a large tree.  It was agreed that the tree competed with Gavin as a focal point in the painting, so the tree was omitted.

I always love it when people share a little bit about their dogs.  Not everyone wants to do so.  Gavin's parents were comfortable talking about Gavin and here is what they shared:

      Windwood Celtic Flame Afield (Gavin) - BIS/BISS Ch Windrose Who’s On First? X Am/Can Ch Windwood Flambe’ O Redridge

Having owned many setters, both Gordon and Irish, Gavin has been a joy to live with for the past 12 1/2 years. He began a show career as a young dog earning 9 points and one major; however, his real life Dad deployed to Afghanistan and showing stopped for over a year and he never returned to the ring. For the past 12 plus years Gavin has excelled at being a companion and friend. He is an arrogant Irish Setter and he knows he is beautiful. In his opinion, the world revolves around him. Not only is Gavin beautiful and athletic, he is extremely intelligent. He demands your attention when he wants it (all of the time for the most part), but should you decide you want his attention he will become aloof and act as if he is the untouchable.

Each year it has been a tradition to take a yearly photograph for Christmas sharing. The photo submitted to Dawn was taken on our property in WV at the end of the fall season in 2017. Gavin is extremely photogenic and the secret to getting good shots of him is to take him out somewhere and to sit down and let him settle in, wait, and watch for his beautiful moments. He will not fail at producing elegant poses all on his own. As you take photos, he will hold his head high in the air enjoying the attention as he did in this photo and remind anyone watching - “I am handsome, and I know it. I am ALL Irish.”

Dawn has done a remarkable piece of an artwork for us that will be cherished for many years to come. We were lucky enough to see her work in progress with this piece at the Irish Setter National in Asheville, NC. It brought tears to my eyes when I first saw it as I noticed the accuracy in which she has captured every detail down to the fine texture of his hair on his face and head. Her work is stunning and we are grateful to her for this beautiful piece of art.

John and Rhonda Donohoe - Afield Setters, Milton, WV

Thank you to the Donohoes for having me paint Gavin.  I enjoyed every minute!  And a special thank you to John Donohoe for his service in protecting the great USA!

Liz

This is a painting of Liz.  She is no longer with us, but definitely she is there in the hearts of those who knew and loved her.

I asked her owner to share a little bit about Liz.  Here is what she told me:
       
    She is the sister to BIS Sh Ch. Quinniver's Old Time Rock N Roll.  The best "girlfriend" ever!     I miss her terribly.


It is always a heart tugger for me to paint a dog that is no longer with us.   It is an honor and so very important to give the dog's owner a special painting that will touch their hearts in a personal and tender way.   Having lost dogs myself over the years, it is an unspoken bond I hold with the dog's owner.   The pain can take your breath away and time stands still.   For me, the pain doesn't lesson with time, I simply learn to deal with it.   There are times, years after losing a dog, unexpectedly I break out in tears.    When a person asks me to paint their dog that has passed, it is personal for me.

Thank you Pam for having me paint your special girl.

Painting of Bebe

This is Bebe.  She is an English Setter.   I've always loved English Setters.  As a young girl, I just thought the setters were like Siamese cats and came in different colors.  At that time, I wanted a setter in every color.   It is fun to look back at how we viewed life as children.   Embarrassingly I must admit, I also thought a Flat Coated Retriever was a black Irish setter.  

When Bebe's owner contacted me to paint Bebe I was thrilled.  The painting was to be a gift for her husband.   So....we could have no Internet contact, no Facebook contact - we were in a stealth mode because Jennifer's husband could figure just about everything out.   She paid me with cashier's checks.....all stealth.   It is interesting how she handled my waiting list time frame.  Jennifer told her husband that the gift was on back order - ingenious!  Seems like nowadays, everything is on back order.Now, one has to ask, who is the more clever of the two??  This was the first time Jennifer was able to fully surprise Norman!! A win win for both of them.

To my delight, Jennifer's husband, Norman, called me in person to talk about his gift once it was received.   What a great guy.   He talked about how special dogs were to his family and how the painting brought forth some tears.   Seems like the true gift recipient in this painting was me.   I never expected to meet all the fine people I have through my paintings.

I'd asked Jennifer and Norman to share a little bit about Bebe and this is what they told me:

Bebe is a wonderful 8 year old English Setter.  After a lifetime of dog ownership, she has become my husband's all time favorite. We got Bebe when she was a year old from a breeder. She was shy and immediately took to my husband as her protector. A few weeks after asking Dawn if I could get on her waiting list to do a portrait, within 48 hours, Bebe became totally blind due to SARDS (Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome). It has been a difficult adjustment, but Bebe is doing very well. She is totally spoiled and has trained my husband to make her toast for breakfast every morning! Dawn has truly captured her essence and beauty.

Thank you Jennifer (and Norman) for the honor of painting your special girl!

Kobe

This is Kobe, Multi BISS GCH Jadestar Ride Em' Cowboy.

I've known Kobe for a number of years and have watched him mature into a beautiful dog.  Not only is he lovely on the outside, he is a dream of a dog with a gentle kind heart.

When his owners approached me to paint him, I was thrilled.  We met up at a dog show and I took a number of photos of him.   The photos which were my primary reference photos were taken in the shade.  He'd really been squinting in the sun therefore, we moved him to get some shots of him in a cooler area.   We didn't want him to become too warm and start panting.  

Three photos were used to create this painting.  One was his primary reference pose, another was for his eye shape (where he was fully relaxed and not squinting at all) and lastly a photo taken from him sitting in the direct sun for his coat coloring.

Kobe lives in Arizona.  His people family wanted a southwestern background.   I have a ton of photos in my reference library from all my trips between California and visiting my family in Texas....so, reference photos of Arizona were plentiful.

Thank you to Kobe's family for having me painting him.   It was a wonderful experience and I'll keep a place in my heart for this wonderful dog!

 

Commission of Emma

This is a recently finished commission of Emma.   When her family approached me to paint her I was thrilled.  Another art collector had suggested to them that I paint Emma as I had painted their senior dog, Ruby.   As an artist, nothing is more heartwarming than to know someone is asking me to paint their dog because someone else is so pleased with their painting.  

When they brought Emma to me to take the photos, my heart melted.   She is a veteran girl with the softest eyes and the most amazing ears.   We took a ton of photos of her and it really was a hard decision to determine which photo best represented Emma.

The painting was done a few months ago, but the family allowed me to hang on to it until the ISCA National Specialty so I could have it there on display.

If you'll be at the National - and want to see the painting in person - please come by my art booth!

Thank you to Emma's family for choosing me to paint her portrait and thank you to Ruby's family for suggesting it to them!!

Hunting Dogs

The dogs featured here are Rowdy, Speck and Hero.   I had met their owners at a hunt test.   They saw me taking photos of dogs and came over to see what I was doing.   Ultimately, they commissioned me to paint the two dogs with them.   One of the dogs in the painting, Rowdy, had passed some time ago.   I photographed Speck and Hero for the painting.   Rowdy was an American Brittany.  Speck and Hero are French Brittanies.   Looking at the painting, you can see the differences in head shape and muzzle length.   I love watching dogs in the field working and doing the job they were bred to do.