Buddy

Here's Ann's baby boy Buddy. Judging by his proportions and coloration he's part Corgi. She got him to be a companion to her other dog Sandy, who is getting infirm and needs some guide dog assistance. I wasn't sure about working from the photo I had as it was small and fuzzy but surprisingly enough this turned out better than I expected.

Chopper

I'm showing my work at a dog grooming business called The Kennel Club in Mill Valley CA . I didn't have a lot of dog portraits around so I did this painting from a photo that Linda the owner took. This dog looks like a real character and I had a great time painting him.

Frankie at the Beach

This is Frankie, aka FrankieBear, Doodlebug. Belongs to Jules. She had a rough beginning but is now living the good life with her brother River. Took about a year of trying before she would let me pet her without growling. I worked a little looser than normal on this painting and rather like the effect. It requires a good basic drawing to begin with, otherwise I have to start painting things out and making corrections and then it starts looking labored.

Salem

Friend Martha shares a rambling house in Mayesville, South Carolina with three cats. Two of them are 'fraidy cats and usually hide under the bed when visitors are around. Salem is the newest and youngest of the gang but he's quite social and not shy about lounging wherever he wants. In this scene he's decided that one of Martha's projects is a good daybed.

Juice

The only reference I had for Juice were two small, low quality internet images but I decided to proceed with the painting. I haven't done animals in motion very often but despite all that I'm pleased with the result. Juice, aka Principessa Guiseppina, aka Chester, is Jeff's cat.

Phoenix ducks

There's a group of lake reservoirs near me that supply Marin's water. Phoenix Lake is nearest to me so I ride my bike there, hang out, and enjoy the wildlife. A system of pipes runs across the lakes. Ducks and turtles like to lounge on them and I've often thought doing a painting of this and finally got around to it after being in Marin for almost twenty years.

Cindy

Cindy belongs to cousin Joyce. I don't know what breed she is but if there's such a thing as an Antarctic dog that's what she would be.  Big hair!!!  Although she has no history of boating activity, Cindy will NOT be left behind when Joyce and Don go fishing.  So this is Cindy hanging out on the boat in her Dolce Banana life jacket. 

Montybear, the painting

Cathleen commissioned me to do a black and white portrait of Montybear using the photo from the woodblock collage. I can see the reason for the bear reference. He's got a powerful head and from the body I could see in the photo he probably weighs at least 80 pounds. I don't know what it is about this image but it looks like a person sitting for a formal portrait. Maybe I should have added a jacket and tie. He's a little hairier than Cathleen's other kids.

Montybear

This is something different I just tried. I saw some painted wooden blocks that an artist created and decided to try one of my own. Never work this small so it was a challenge. I started with a length of a 2 by 4 piece of poplar wood and cut it down.  I'm guessing poplar is a hardwood, at least that's what the exhaustion of my arm told me after sawing for five minutes. This is a collage of different elements based on a zerox of a couple photos  with some paint and drawings. The dog is named Montybear and belongs to a friend, Cathleen.

Fonzie II

I did another version of the Fonz that is more of a colored drawing. 

Rosita Conchita Morita

Here's a study for my nieces' pet chihuahua Rosita. Since my niece Lauren is holding her she looks oddly placid when in fact she's a typical nutty chihuahua that moves quicker than a pickpocket. I'm going to do a painting of her and anticipating the challenge of doing her white face that is mainly in shadow. What's life without a challenge? It will serve to hone my technical chops. At least that's what I keep telling myself. 

Study for Daisy

I'm starting a portrait of Daisy, who belongs to Ed and Niamh.  All my paintings begin with sketches as this gives me a chance to get an understanding of construction and proportions. It's like taking some practice swings or warming up. Some things also require a little more studying to figure out, like animal's noses. Because they're totally unlike a human's, I had some difficulty with them initially but I'm feeling comfortable with them now.  Gee, that makes me think of  a dog loogie story...