Welcome to my 'Dog Blog'


Last July (2008), I decided to paint a series of dog paintings in the spirit of the 19th century European dog painters. These painters portrayed the everday life of the dogs of their time, wih academc prowess, creating masterworks no less worthy than any other painting genre. In studying these paintings, I realized that even with the surge in representational painting today, animal painting as a genre, largely follows a Modernist aesthetic, and is rarely seen in fine art or academic art circles. I want to bridge the divide, both as an academic painter and as a dog lover and present dogs, not as one-dimensional stereotypes, but as living breathing spirits. In each painting, it is the domesticated individual, along with their wild heritage that I hope to capture and memorialize, and in doing so, bring the same dignity to them that they bring to our lives everyday. Our culture has a tendency to anthropomorphize our dogs; maybe this is the reverse in action, our dogs' nature teaching us something about ourselves.

This series of work was shown at Lora Schlesinger Gallery in Santa Monica, CA at Bergamot Station, April 25th-June 6th 2009. http://www.loraschlesinger.com/

Commissions are welcome. Contact the gallery or email me at km@kimberlymerrill.com


Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Commission delivered...Whew!




Last Sunday, I delivered the first of four paintings commissioned by my client, Bernie. This will, most likely, be the most complicated piece, so it is an huge relief that it is done and met with great approval! It was an added challenge to include a landscape that alluded to the special ambience of Bernie's property. Landscape is not my forte', so it was great to have the challenge and learning exercise to make it more interesting to paint. Those of you who know my work may be wondering about the uncharacteristic frame choice? When the painting was commissioned, the plan was for it to hang in his Laguna home, which is very modern. This is the first time I've had to face putting a frame on my painting that is so minimal, modern and so not me!
I can't wait to paint these two again when they are full grown! When I saw them this weekend they were already 60lbs! On to the next...
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2 comments:

  1. Angela ElledgeJuly 22, 2009 at 5:45 PM

    Hello, I'm not quite sure how I stumbled on your blog, but I'm so glad that I did. Your paintings are stunning...when I grow up, I want to be just like you. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sue ClinkerJune 8, 2010 at 12:01 PM

    What a beautiful painting - Rotts are one of my favourite breeds and you've certainly done these two justice :o)

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