At the French door...

Several weeks ago I was visiting my daughter. At the time, the family had only two dogs. (now a third has been added - a story for another post) The dog in this post has been part of the family for ten years or so.

Uncle Wally is a Cavapoo (a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel/Poodle). He has some idiosyncrasies - he likes to lick the painted walls - but he is adorable. When they brought him home he was just a little ball of curly hair. So cute.

I am a dog person and I have wondered for years why a dog is always on the wrong side of the door. He wants to go out. You let him out. Then he wants to come back in, you let him in... and so it goes.

That afternoon my granddaughter and I were in the kitchen. We had let Wally out... Of course, he saw us in the kitchen and wanted to come back in. He looked so cute peering in the window of the French door. I grabbed my camera and my granddaughter tried to get him to pose!  Gotta paint this!

I began with a pencil sketch. Then just a little pastel.

I wasn't sure what to do with the background and how to get all that curly hair looking good so I put it aside for a few days.

The background in the photo was very busy with lawn furniture, the grill, etc. I needed to simplify and make the painting about the dog, not the backyard. I also wanted to suggest the frame around the window in the French door without making it too complicated.

The background became various shades of 'green grass,' the curly hair was softened and the French door window fell into place. A few light streaks in the glass... voila!

I may work on the window frame a little more, but I need to be careful. I tend to 'over-tweak.' The picture frame is waiting...