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MEDIUM: Watercolor on paper
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SIZE: 30" x 22"
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STATUS: For sale $1000, matted and framed
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ACCOLADES: This painting is one of 50 out of 192 entries chosen by juror Don Andrews for the Tennessee Watercolor Sociey's 39th Bienniel Exhibition, held in Knoxville TN in May, 2024. Mr Andrews also selected this painting for the Region II Award.
"My dog Maggie Mae has been the model in many of my paintings and this is one I've wanted to do for years. My reference photo was taken on the day we brought her home from the shelter as a 7lb. puppy. Even then, her big eyes were captivating. We were soon to discover that this innocent pose bamboozled us... her 'puppyhood' turned out to be the most difficult of any dog we've ever had. By age two she began to behave and now, at age 11, she is as sweet as can be. We all survived!
"My Boy," my latest watercolor which was half the size of this, was a bit of a test-run on depicting my dogs realistically but with abstract coloring. For "Puppy Love" I let primary colors mix randomly, wet-on-wet, on the background. I applied deep color above the dog, to contrast with the light fur on her back. Initially I thought I would also do bold color below her, but started with very diluted color there. When I completed the dog's body, including the shadows to anchor her to the ground and a look of reflected color, I decided I liked the very pale foreground and left it that way. Also, I didn't want to take a chance at messing up the whole painting by adding more color there!
This painting is larger than life and the bold colors, strong value contrasts, and loose areas alongside fine details helped create a dynamic portrait of a precious companion."
