Ch. Pipers Mr. Longfellow

Oil on museum quality archival ampersand gessobord™ panel - 8” x 8”

Although Mr. Longfellow, A.K.A. Henry, is a star performer in the show ring, his poise and posture propelling him to 16th best dachshund in the country, he is loathe to perform for the camera. It took a lot of perseverance to get him to acquiesce to pose for his portrait. He and his cohorts reside in Ohio and provide service and amusement for their owner Anne. Many of the canine portraits seen on these pages have been her dogs. If you are entertaining the idea of having a dachshund or whippet companion, you owe it to yourself to check out her website: http://piperspuppies4u.com/ It is no surprise that painting animals has captured my imagination lately. Indeed, I have often tried to convince a portrait client to include the family pet into a portrait of a child to give the painting some added interest. A friend sent an e-mail the other day saying - "What's with all the dogs?" To her I can only say - "Get used to it; I like painting dogs." I have been using the daily paintings as a way of trying to figure out what it is that truly gets the creative juices flowing. This is one subject that I have a lot of fun with.