Waiting

"Waiting"

oil on canvas 8x8
 Carol Horzempa

My Gordon Setter Shawna, waits every day for her favorite people to put on their boots and take her for a walk. She is 12 years old, gray in the muzzle and a little arthritic but still acts like a bird dog out in the woods. This is the third time I have done a painting of Shawna laying next to boots. This time I spent more time trying to capture her special look while waiting to go for a walk.

Polly Madel of Daily Paintworks challenged artists to paint "mans best friend" and their favorite thing. Shawna knows when my husband and I put on our hiking boots that means she gets to do her favorite thing! 

Shawna

"Shawna"

oil on canvas

This painting was my first submission for Karin Jurick's biweekly challenge on Different Strokes from Different Folks Dec. 3, 2008. In this challenge we were asked to paint our interpretation of a photo of Karin's work boots. I wasn't planning to enter the challenge but I kept seeing a painting of my Gordon Setter Shawna curled up next to Karin's boots. I barely finished my painting before the deadline. Since then I decided it needed to be developed further so I included more of Shawna in the painting as you can see.

This sweetheart of a dog was rescued from a shelter and was only hours from being put down. Shawna was a year old when we adopted her and has been part of our family for 8 years. She still looks and acts like a pup except for her graying muzzle, which I love to paint. You will be seeing more of her I’m sure, since she is a great model in front of my camera.