I met Louise through her friend Ann, who saw my art in the Bank of Marin – we just never know how the connections are going to happen. She came to my house with Ann to take a look at the rest of my work and saw the painting I’d done of Bud the Dog. She also has a lab – Bessie, as well as a wired-hair dachshund, Golda – and thought of a photo she had of them that she wanted me to paint. Here’s the photo as it was taken:

I thought the large trunk was too dominant a feature and would distract from the dogs, so I started playing in Photoshop to make some improvements to the composition. I then needed to move the smaller tree to balance. I also thought that if it were cropped so there wasn’t so much space above Bessie’s head, it would focus in on the pups more – this also had the benefit of removing the buildings in the background. Here’s where the re-arranging ended up:

This was the first official commission I’d done, so it was a bit daunting taking it on. Painting beings for the humans who love them is a responsibility! I went to meet the two dogs and took more photos so that I could have information to fall back on if necessary. Louise wanted to make sure I captured Bessies “beauty mark” – a spot on her right side (left as you view) – so these other photos were helpful to place it correctly. Painting Golda was a challenge, my first wild-hairy subject. I just kept working it and it came together. I painted their eyes last. One evening my folks were over and the painting was propped up against the dining room wall. My mom said she felt like there was someone watching her!

When I went to Louise’s to reveal the finished painting for her approval, it was fun for me to hear the two of them barking behind the front door! She has it in a place of honor in her house. I’ve seen her several times since and she tells me all the time how much she loves this painting. I’m so happy to be able to do this for my dog-loving clients.

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