Since January, Laura and I have had a dog ... a two-year-old black mutt. How she got here is a long story and she's clearly changed life's routines, as well as given me ample subject matter. In this composition, she's chewing a much-loved old slipper that came along with her, and it's the first painting I've done since 1968 without a human figure in it.
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Dog with Slipper
5 3/4" x 11 1/2" oil on linen 2016
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On an abstract level, I liked the dark shape created by the dog and slipper, and wanted to enhance it further by surrounding it with a palette of pale and subdued warm colors. The long piece of white rawhide, together with the whites of the teeth and the baseboard bring some energy in counterpoint.
Except for her ears and the tail, she's not unlike the dogs that have appeared from time to time in earlier paintings, like In the Garden:
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In the Garden
62" x 72" oil on linen 2006-07
Private Collection, New York
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And Woman with Autumn Leaves:
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Woman with Autumn Leaves
36" x 72" oil on linen 1994-95
Private Collection, Michigan
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Two drawings:
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Final drawing
5 3/4" x 11 1/2" pencil on paper w/ pastel tone on reverse 2016
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| 6" x 10" pencil on graph paper 2016 |
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