Ruckus, a golden retriever, was my older brother. In fact, my mother referred to him as her first born.

Eventually, there were other dogs and they would follow me around, steal my toys, play with me, listen to me or just sit quietly with me. We used to walk for hours in the undeveloped lands surrounding my childhood home in Maine. These dogs, golden retrievers and black Labradors, were my constant friends.

After a brief, dogless period in college, I adopted a golden puppy and together we would visit the New Hampshire coast and my retriever “siblings” every summer.

Many of the dogs in the paintings are gone now, but there are two studio assistants, Coast and Measure. 

They help me paint outside:

And when it was time to photograph some framed prints, they were there for me too:

And not just with the tripod:

When we aren't painting and printmaking, the dogs and I compete in the sport of dog agility. Coast retired in 2023 at age 13 and a half, but Measure is still enjoying her time in the ring.

In 2024, Measure and I were eligible to compete at the Westminster Masters Agility Championship for the first time. We made the final (televised on Fox Sports) and earned third place.

In July of 2024, we hired a new guy.

 Melee has been training hard to join us on some art excursions soon.