Comments are open! Please add yours below. About the AuthortopdogTopdog is Steve Merryman, a graphic designer (retired), and illustrator. Living in the woods, Steve can often be found working on portrait commissions. In his spare time he paints, writes, shoots guns, cuts trees, hikes with his dogs, savors a beer or two, and searches for the perfect cheeseburger. He studiously avoids social media and is occasionally without pants. Almost Dailies: Mr. Mo Is Happy to …
Falling Leaves and the Hazard of Experts
The Death Rattle of Western Civilization continues. As the foundations of our culture are being destroyed from within by means of 1) hysterical panic over a 99.9% survivable virus, and 2) spittle-flecked irrational hatred whipped up over a media-enabled fictionalized caricature of the President, it’s important to take time to appreciate the little things. It’s almost Halloween, and the leaves are still on the trees. This is unusual. Also, we were buried in eight inches …
Rejected by Shutterstock
Tonight I had a batch of cool photos rejected by Shutterstock, and I’m a little pissed off, to say the least. It’s certainly Shutterstock’s right to reject photos. As a new contributor, I’ve had a few photos rejected and it’s part of the learning process to find out what Shutterstock wants. In each case, I understood the reasons given for the rejection. But this is different. I shot a large collection of rose images using …
Pet Portrait Commission: Sydney
For this pet portrait commission of Sydney, a charming Black Lab, I used two photos as reference. In one he was dressed for St. Patrick’s day, looking into the camera wearing a green feathery luau thingy around his neck and a goofy headdress with two green Irish top-hats on springs (I’m not judging, we’ve all been there). As charming as it was, the customer requested that the St. Paddy’s gear not be included in the …
Loss, Second Lives, and a Soft Retirement
It’s been a long two-weeks to flatten the curve. Honestly, it feels a lot more like seven months (but who’s counting?). Cases are up. It’s amusing how the media are fixated on the total cases. They’re always growing! Yeah. Cumulative lists are like that, you idiots! But if you look just a little harder, you might discover that little percentage number that even the Health Department seems reluctant to highlight. That’s the number of recovered …
Yes, Governor Jay Inslee Really Is This Stupid.
Today Washington Governor Jay Inslee dropped the following Stupid Bomb on Twitter: Dude! Did you think of that yourself or did the bubble bath, plastic boaties and rubber duck help? “What aircraft carriers were in World War II, masks are today.” This is not just stupid, this is a black hole of Stupid so densely Stupid it attracts all galactic Stupid to itself, and gathers into a whirling mass of Stupid so thick and heavy …
Smilin’ Beorn the Bernese Mountain Dog
Beorn is our Bernese Mountain Dog and he’s a sweet guy. He loves The Missus, so for our Anniversary, I painted a big portrait of the big guy. At 36″ square, this portrait demands attention, but in a friendly, “Come Let Me Lick You” way. I love the orange-red background that reflects Beorn’s coloring and creates a warm and friendly effect overall. The biggest question we have now is where to put it. Fortunately, we’ve …
Numb and Number: My Weed Experience
I had weed for the first time. This is the story of my weed experience. A month before, The Missus and I went to a wedding. At the reception there was a Weed Bar. I didn’t partake, but later they handed out some two-inch square Cannabis brownies/caramels. I saved one and brought it home for later. I was talking to a Marijuana frequent flyer (Frequent Higher?). He told me that since I’d never had pot …
Cat Portrait: Blue Cotton
Most of my portrait work consists of dog portraits, but I’ve done a few cat portraits as well. A couple weeks ago I was feeling the need to work on a cat portrait as a nice change of pace. At that same time, a friend posted a photo of her cat on Facebook. I liked the photo and knew it would make a great practice portrait. Legally, I can’t just use reference photos without the …
Mastiff Puppy Portrait
Here’s a quick portrait of Hudson. This is from when he was 7 months old (five months ago). Hudson’s color and unique folds in his coat have been giving me fits ever since I started trying to paint him. With this portrait, I think I’m starting to figure out how to handle that distinctive face of his. More practice will help me nail down how to create fold patterns, and better tackle his subtle coloring. …