I've always loved animals - especially dogs. Their loving expressive

nature makes them wonderful subjects for portraits. What makes

all dogs unique is their distinct personality, and in order to capture

the "essence" of the dog, I rely on a photograph that portrays the

dogs typical mood or expression. I then sketch it on a 36"x 36"

canvas. The large size allows me to make the dog larger than life,

and the square format lets me be specific in the placement and

cropping of the image. I generally have a portion of the dog visually

leave the canvas, to accentuate the "in your face" characteristic, I strive to portray. I also enjoy using the composition to accentuate what it is that I find interesting or unique about each dog.

Then comes the fun part, which is painting the acrylic portrait!

How much joy, companionship and pleasure our canine friends

give us! How better to convey this then through an expressive use

of color? I study the portrait sketched out before me and feel what

color is needed in the background, which starts the energy flow of

the painting. The bold contrasting colors, loose, uninhibited brush

strokes and repeated layers of colors reflect the energy I have put

into the artwork. This energy is what brings the portrait to life, and

I believe that all the energy I have put into the painting comes back

out, impacting the viewer, resulting in a big smile. After all, a dog

and a smile are a few of life's simple pleasures.