Page 77 - JRT Magazine - 2023 Issue 2

Sketch for Butter Fishing
Finished:
Butter Fishing

Grisaille (underpainting) Butter Fishing

several paintings going at once allows me the
flexibility to address different layers depending on
drying time and my focus that day. Using a mirror
or placing a portrait upside down, can show
something amiss to be corrected. Sometimes I
turn it to the wall to allow a “fresh eye” at the next
session.

Which breed in your opinion is the most fun to
work with?
Oh, this is easy… Jacks! Our rescue Cooper was a
senior when I brought home Carly. A few years
later, puppy “Bug” joined our clan and I know they
added extra time to Cooper’s stay with us, (though
he would never admit that.) Each dog had their
Composition and underpainting own personality of course, but there was such
fun watching the interaction and relationships
and less toxic paints, for my health, and the planet’s, they developed. Some photos I had taken of my
without sacrificing the beauty of the painting. little models begged to be painted and these have
I show the steps of the drawing, composing the been recognized in juried exhibitions, including
rhythm, and the grisaille in some images above. the AKC Museum of the Dog in Manhattan.
Perhaps the hardest decision is deciding when to In 2016, I decided to have a pop-up show, so I
stop. I work in natural North light only, so having encouraged friends and fellow artists to each

A Worldwide Magazine for the Jack Russell Terrier / Russell Terrier • Issue 2/2023 | 77