Yes, I'm an artist, but I'm a dog first!

The art exhibit on Saturday night at No9 Tasca Bar was a treat. I had been worried about sneaking in, but as it turned out no one really paid any attention to me. I kind of hung around outside until the music started then I slipped in unnoticed. By this time people were pretty focused on the music and I was able to get a close look at the paintings. This one is my favourite.

"Exodus" by Michael Fuller, acrylic on canvas, 50cm x 60cm

His ability to capture a person’s face is obviously much more advanced than mine as you can see from these sketches I did of some of the people there that night.

jam session sketches at No9

I guess it makes sense. I feel comfortable doing sketches and paintings of dogs because I relate to them, I’m one of them. Sometimes when I’m painting a dog I actually feel like I AM that dog. I’m guessing it might be the same for Michael when he paints people. I think you actually have to feel your subject’s emotion to get it down on paper. Hmmm. Wait a minute. How does that work then if I’m painting a cup of coffee or a car? Do I feel like a cup of coffee? Or a car? How does a car feel? Oh, now I’m confused.

Okay, so the art was good, but the tiny bits of food dropped on the floor were even better!  Bacalhau a bras, sweet potatoes fritas em azeite, Galician octopus, Marcella … I was in heaven! Yes, I’m an artist, but I’m a dog first. Food rules!

Exhibitionists or artists? Is there a difference?

I just saw a notice for a painting exhibition opening at the No9 Tasca Bar (click the green text for more info) here in the village. It’s this Saturday night at 10. I hope to sneak in and have a look. The paintings are by a man I met here in Burgau a couple of years ago. Last year Michael started painting in acrylics (he had done some painting before but it was theatre set painting which is another thing altogether) and he asked me if I would add a dog to a painting he was planning to do. I was happy to make my mark on his work. He had a particular image in his mind of Murphy, a very handsome and chilled out dog who had been rescued from an animal shelter just a couple of months earlier.

Michael working on another acrylic

We went down to the slipway and had Murphy pose, looking out to sea. The idea was that Murphy was dolphin watching.  So, from the photo we took of Murphy sitting on the slipway, Michael painted the whole scene and when he was finished he handed the canvas off to me and I added Murphy. I was a little nervous working on someone else’s painting so I did a sketch first to get a feel for what I was going to do and also to let Michael see it and be sure that it was going to be okay. 

watercolour pencil preliminary sketch of Murphy

Even though the sketch was done with watercolour pencils, it still gave me a feel for what I needed to do later with the acrylics on Michael’s canvas. Here's the finished painting.

"Dolphin Watching", Michael Fuller & Ruca, acrylic on canvas, 50cm x 60 cm

"Dolphin Watching" detail

I'm hoping everyone at No9 Tasca Bar likes dogs so that I can hang around and have a good look at what Michael's been working on this past winter. Actually, digging up the photos of our collaborative piece and the preliminary sketch has got me itching to do another acrylic so that's my next project. Here’s a little teaser for you. This will be the photo I’ll work from. 

inspiration for my next painting

 Now it's off to tackle some preliminary sketches!

Tchao-wow