Wild Things Artwork
by Patsy Lindamood

This piece was commissioned as a Christmas gift in 2006. We took her out on the green at a local development. We got her to run and play for some 20 minutes or so while I took a couple of hundred shots of her. When knew she was wearing out when she finally lay down, near her sock throw toy to take a breather. By that time, the October sun was low in the afternoon sky, casting gold and orange hues across the green. Lilly is a mix of chow and yellow lab, which gives her some striking physical characteristics - not the least of which is a smooth coat with orange and gold tones to it and russet-colored ears, nose and tail. When she suddenly pulled up her head to look across the green at something she heard or saw on the road behind us, the sun drenched her coat and Lilly seemed to glow in its warmth. We concluded the photoshoot after snapping just a few more frames.

We had lots of great action shots and other "Lilly on Alert" types of poses to choose from, but in the end we decided to base the portrait on one of the last few frames taken so that I could use that dramatic lighting. We also decided I would work in colored pencil on mylar to help capture that smoothness of Lilly's coat. I took advantage of the the three-quarter turn of her head, the strong contrast of light between her left and right sides, and the strong color of the green itself to accentuate Lilly's distinctive features. Not only was the client pleased, but this piece has been accepted into several different juried exhibitions as well.