Painting Our Four-Legged Friends
A village full of dogs
I’ve always had a soft spot for working dogs. For years I sketched sheepdogs out in the field - sharp-eyed, alert, utterly focused on their task. But it wasn’t until I started meeting the pet dogs around my village that I really began to see another side of them.
This new collection is a celebration of the dogs that are part of our everyday lives. The muddy walkers. The doorstep greeters. The ones who sneak biscuits and bark at the postman. Each one has their own way of being, and that’s what I’ve set out to capture.
More than a portrait
This isn’t about painting every strand of fur in perfect detail. It’s about expression. Movement. The particular way a dog tilts its head or curls into a favourite spot on the rug.
Some of these paintings came from quick sketches made in passing, others after long conversations with their owners (and a lot of enthusiastic tail wagging). What they all have in common is the same thing I look for in every painting: character.
Because dogs, just like people, are full of quirks. You see it in the way they wait at a gate, in the spring in their step when they’re off the lead, in that look they give you when they know exactly what you’re thinking.
A village project
This project grew naturally. At first, it was just a sketch or two, But as the news of my project got around I met more four legged friends.
It’s been a joy. Not just because I love dogs, though I do, but because painting them is a way of sharing the quiet bonds we form with them. There’s something deeply comforting in that, and I hope these paintings carry a little of that feeling with them.
Alison with her German Shepherd models
Coming soon…
The new dog collection is still growing, and I’ll be sharing more as it takes shape. For now, you might just spot a few familiar tails appearing in the gallery window…
And if you’re out walking and see me with my sketchbook, do stop and say hello - especially if you’ve got a dog with you.