The above artwork is the finished May page for my Longhaired Dachshund calendar. It was inspired by a walk I took with Darby in my neighborhood down a rural, farm-filled street called Sky Pines. The first idea was based on a blue heron that flew right over us, low, fast, prehistoric, and awe-inspiring. This was the initial sketch...
This was the first pass...
Then this...
Then, I got a lot of great feedback from readers. I really do appreciate your suggestions. For this piece, my favorite comment came from Suza Johnston in London who owns an erudite Dachshund named Archie. She said, " Why not a flying, soaring, exultant feel… as in a Chagall – with Darby’s ears flapping back and soaring with the heron?"
I loved that idea. So I played around with painting Darby soaring. Here are some attempts...
I thought soaring Darbies looked like too blob-like, and I wasn't happy with the colors. So I made these images out of a magazine ad...
I liked the blue heron but the blue Darby got lost against the blue background of the sky. So I added some green. This would give the heron a sense of motion and it would capture the glowing psychedelic feeling of a spring day in Grass Valley...
But the blue Darby wasn't a strong enough focal point. It was too inconsistent with the photos of the sheep. So I built a Darby composite out of several photographs of him. His ears aren't flapping in the wind, but I was happy with the shape and color and the way he looks neslted in for the wild ride...
Overall, I'm pleased with the final version of May. Once again, here it is...
But I couldn't resist playing around with the soaring Darby. And this is the image I made that hangs on my wall (I'm not crazy about the frame, but it's all I had)...
Thoughts?
