W.R. Pursche, author of the Canine Commandments, wrote: “Everyone thinks they have the best dog. And none of them are wrong.” I love doing pet portraits because I recognize the value pets bring to our lives through the boundless joy and pure love of life they exemplify, the companionship and unconditional love they give to us. A recent client expressed embarrassment that they were “one of those kind of people” who had paintings done of dogs. I tell them how I see it so differently. I feel it speaks well of them because it expresses a special kind of love. That alone makes a pet portrait art. When humans live with pets, the bond formed is as strong as any other kind of relationship can be. Their constant presence in our lives allows us to learn their special personality and read meaning into their faces and body language. They read us in the same way. Because of this, the inclusion of those familiar forms and faces within a work of art, I believe, creates a special alluring and expressive appeal.
Dogs have been showing up in art for millennia. Here is a famous portrait in the 18th Century European style by George Romney. Lady Hamilton. 1782.
King Charles Spaniel by Manet. 1866
Dogs with children was a notable subject in the art of the Victorian Period exemplified by the prolific illustrative works of Charles Burton Barber. I am hopelessly in love with these paintings. Here are just a couple of my favorites.
I am also a sucker for every Norman Rockwell illustration that ever depicted man’s best friend! One of my favorites:
And now, my humble post of my latest painting, (presumptuously beside these masters!)
12 x 12 oil on panel We love our dogs. And we should. “ Dogs are how people would be if all the important stuff was all that mattered to us”- Ashley Lorenzana, author.
I love dogs, too! They are most times better than many humans at least in their ability to hold fast to that “unconditional’ love” we all talk about. Thank you, Kathy.