There are many reasons why people do not let their dogs on the furniture but I must say I find it adorable to see. I believe that is why I have portrayed so many like this. I appreciate a dog resting on a five thousand dollar leather chair, especially if it’s my dog and my chair. The Gordon Setter in this group was my Sam, but we didn’t have a chair like that in the studio. It was much more modest. The English and Irish Setter however, did get to sit in the leather chairs and the moment I saw them I wanted to paint them just the way they were.
When I was a kid my grandparents had plastic over all the furniture. Apparently, this would provide protection so it would never get dirty and last a lifetime. They would take the plastic off for special company like the President of the United States or Queen of England, but those people never seemed to visit my grandparent’s home. I never found out what the actual color or the furniture was. They would put beach towels across the furniture because the dogs didn’t like the feel of the plastic covering. I am not sure if Better Homes and Garden would have approved but these are some of my earliest memories combining dogs and furniture. In my paintings, the dog is the president and there isn’t any plastic on the furniture.
