Nice Doggy

11" x 14" Oil on linen.
In a private collection
Lynnwood, Wa

Victor is a very docile dog. He doesn't really get bothered by a good pat (Bonk!) on the head. Here Carmen is giving him a pat goodbye. Compare this to Bye Bye Victor where Carmen is reacting to a slight scolding for being a little rough. I enjoyed visiting this set of reference photos again. I wanted to capture the moment and motion of that vigorous pat. The amount of details involved quite a bit of time.

Compositionally, there are a lot of interesting points to draw your eye. The sharpest contrasts and the natural focal point of a face are toward the top, but the pyramid of the figures anchors the painting. Her swinging hand is near the center of the picture, but not quite; the motion helps your eye to Victor's head. I liked playing up the relative motion of her arms and the tip-toe on her left foot that she has from the good back-swing.