This is smilin’ Chuy. Like most little dogs, he makes up for a lack of physical stature by means of a massive personality. I love this portrait! Let me tell you why. First off, you can’t look at Smilin’ Chuy without smiling back. I think I captured his happy nature with this portrait. Secondly, in terms of technique, I love the sense of depth I created by carefully placing dark areas next to lighter areas. …
It’s almost 2023 and I’m still alive. Not that I was in any serious danger of dying in 2022, but at sixty years, one does start to count each stair step when coming down for one’s Lucky Charms®. Maybe it’s time to install a handrail. As a rule, I don’t much care for those “Year In Retrospect” stories that get written this time of year. I’m mostly a Looking Forward kind of fellow, except when …
This is Hobee the Basset Hound. Not much to say about this happy fella, except I really like the coloring. Specifically, the way the bright blue background sets off the orangey tone of his head. I added electric orange tones on his cheeks that create a nice glowing effect, making the shadows more interesting. Since I use photos as references, it’s tempting to simply copy whatever I see there. But that’s not how I work. …
Time is different when you’re retired. It slows down. But you know what doesn’t slow down? Snowstorms.
Our trip to Glacier National Park, in which I struggle under the weight of two sleeping dogs and almost succumb to a killer chipmunk.
A very challenging portrait that took a long time to get right.
My yearly tribute to Boris, our big black Mastador who passed in 2019, this time featuring a new graphite portrait of the big guy.
A funny story about dogs and bears, and the night I took my dog out to answer Nature’s Call, and Nature was waiting. About 1:30 in the morning I’m awakened to the sound of big floppy ears swatting the side of my dog’s head. Even asleep, my ears are finely tuned to certain sounds, like gunshots, thunder, puking dogs, Salma Hayek’s sultry voice (never happened, but I’m ready if it does) and, in this case, …
