I thought I would share some progression photos and some thoughts about this current work in progress.
I recall when hand held GPS devices first came out on the market in 1994, and how I needed to acquire one of these miraculous gadgets. A person could go out into the middle of the woods anywhere and navigate back to their car after several hours of not knowing where they were. That was the idea anyway, so it was surprising to find out after getting one of these phenomenal inventions that they were more trouble than they were worth. My friend Bob and I went to Canada to chase grouse with our setters. We each pulled out a GPS unit and begin to read the instructions on how to use them. After a few minutes I laughed and said, “All they will find are the bones of two idiots holding brand new GPS’s along with the instructions.” We tossed the devices back into the truck and went with a more proven technology for not getting lost, a compass and our dogs. Dogs seem to always know where they are, as if they have a built in GPS.
This current painting I am working on reminds of that trip and how all the best bird hunting was on the edges of the woods, next to the grassy meadows. I love how grass turns orange in the autumn and look forward to putting in all those details. A Gordon Setter blends so well into the colors of the woods up North. It is something I want to amplify in this portrait and think Blaze of Glory might be a good name for this oil painting. There is still perhaps another 100 hours that need to go into this work and it is nice to remember past dogs, good friends, and time spent together in the woods.
