If you know me then you probably know that I'm obsessed with Watson- my fiery, funny, adorable mini pinscher. I blame him in part for my procrastination of at-home projects including my canvas paintings. It's hard for me to paint when he's pawing at my arm while my brush is in hand, with big yellow eyes that say things like "please play with me", "let's go for a walk" and "I bet you can't catch me!". I usually reluctantly cave in to his demands, but I'm grateful for those distractions. Our walks around the neighborhood and runs around the yard helped me to really notice nature coming alive this past spring. The local flowers, plant-life and sky of this past spring and summer were direct inspiration for many paintings I completed recently. So many of our neighbors maintain lush gardens- some of which I've admired for a while, but some that I may not have noticed if I wasn't circling the neighborhood again and again with my furry friend. A lot of time and commitment comes with having a dog, but one of the things we dog-owners get in return is a new reason to appreciate the great outdoors.
This painting is of Ginger, who's part of Brett's sister's family. I painted this for his sister and brother-in-law's 10th anniversary, as Ginger's been with them longer than their children. The painting took longer than I hoped- in part because in the early stages it looked so good that I was afraid to work on it more! It's all about capturing the personality of the dog, and Ginger is a sweetheart who loves nothing more than fetching a ball. This particular scene comes from a round of "Chuck-it" at the beach in Northern California with her biggest fan, Brett.
