When I first chose to do animal portraiture I thought 'this is going to be easier than painting humans - no hangs ups about which is their best side, restoring natural hair colour, or airbrushing out a few wrinkles or extra unwanted pounds. Dogs do not have egos.' But at least humans will sit when asked, face this way or that as required and cooperate with the person wielding the brush. A dog will take one look at the brush, and think, 'Oh Boy! A stick!' All they want is for you to throw it. And frankly, you may as well. So how do you persuade a dog to pose while you capture its best side, when all it wants to do is play with its favourite toy? Click on the photo to see how Judith grapples with the challenge... |