"The Greeters', oil on linen, 36" x 48"

 

My wish, and I  assume everyone else's, is that the day we reach the other side, all the dogs we have loved in our lifetime will be there waiting to greet us.

This painting is the greeting line up of all the wonderful dogs that belonged to an individual in Bethesda, Maryland. She loved her dogs intensely and with all her heart and when she saw another "lifetime of dogs" painting that I did she knew she wanted a painting of her own. She is an amazing person and besides loving her own dogs, she loves all animals and was very involved with the Washington Animal Rescue Alliance for years. 

When she started sending me photos of her dogs I fell in love with them as well. They were all so different and unique. There is Kiki, the black lab who was wonderful with children, and Senta the beautiful German Shepherd mix with the most soulful eyes. And Daisy the yellow lab who loved the water so much -- she was wading in every photo. And tiny Moose, (perfect name) the cheerful Yorkie, who could hold his own with the big dogs. Then Laila the white and caramel terrier mix who looks tough until she rolls over and her tongue flops out to show she is a total love. And the amazing and much loved Mango who has both incredibly expressive ears and a way of sitting on one hip that is totally endearing. And finally Wolf the big, beautiful Husky with a smile so wide you can't not smile back. 

These dogs were so special on their own I decided to let them have center stage, sitting or standing in an open landscape with water and a big blue sky. I wanted their surroundings to feel like what a dog might imagine as heaven. Their owner has a house on an island in New England so she had the perfect setting for this. And just to add a little movement and color there are seven sailboats for the seven dogs, sailing behind them -- a touch of existentialism to symbolize that they live forever in their mom's heart.

Madame et Le Chien, oil on linen, 22" x 30"

 I have a close friend who is naturally elegant. She is tall and graceful and has lovely refined features. She also has a beautiful and elegant Weimaraner named Greta. Whenever I see them out walking together I have a strong urge to paint them in a double portrait. But I had not figured out how to do it and elevate it beyond being a pedestrian likeness. Also my friend is modest and I couldn't imagine that she would enjoy the process of having her portrait painted. One day I was perusing a gorgeous book on John Singer Sargent with full color plates and I was mesmerized by the studies for and the the final painting titled "Madame X" which Sargent painted in 1883 of the young socialite Virginia Amelie Avegno Gautreau, the wife of the French Banker Pierre Gautreau. It is a stunning and mysterious painting. As I was studying it the subject Madame Gautreau suddenly brought the image of my friend and her dog Greta to mind. There was something so familiar. So after doing a few sketches I decided to paint Greta and have Madame Gautreau stand in for my elegant friend. I composed the painting so that Greta's stance and profile mirror Madame X's, and in a setting that echoes the late 1800 period. The breeze lifting the sheer curtain and what the subjects are gazing at beyond the window- remain a mystery. 

Here is more about the original Madame X, which caused quite a bit of controversy in its time.

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-madame-scandalized-art