August | 2012 | Paint Fumes

Oil on panel, 12″ x 9.”

For an upcoming “Creatures” show, this little painting is a tribute to my dog Melvin. My husband (who never met a dog he didn’t like) brought Mel home from the pound almost sixteen years ago, and shortly thereafter taught him to fetch the morning paper.

Our squirmy black puppy purported to be a lab mix grew to be a gentle giant who looked more like a stocky wolfhound. His morning paper routine has turned into tragicomedy in the past year. He still desperately wants to do his job, but usually forgets what he’s up to halfway through. He struggles to find The Denver Post- Where could it be? If he finds the paper, he drops the paper, pees on it, then wanders halfway up the street with my bathrobe-clad husband yelling at him to come back. He is stone deaf, so this never works.

I admire his spirit to keep working at what he loves until the bitter end , and hope to do likewise.

This is more of an impression of Melvin than an accurate portrait; I have omitted the warty growths on his mouth and the tumor that looks like a third eye. My youngest daughter would say that he has an untouchable face. I think he still has a lot of charm.