The Allure of the Dog

I don't know when it happened to me, when I became such a dog depicter, but it seems like they're the animal I draw most these days. I still think of the classic bunny as my number one creature, the iconic ME symbol, but the dogs just come out. They just happen to me.

I think it's probably because of the wobbly lines I tend to adopt. I do this for dogs, but usually not the other animals. Dogs are just curly to me. They are curly little spaniels, very much based on my aunt and uncle's dogs.

The dogs in question.

I just love a wobbly line too much. It's too enticing. The gorgeous wiggle of it all. We need that.

I forgot the L in wiggly because I was just too excited. Forgive me.

Any animal can have it, in theory - that lumpy, curly quality - but it's the dog that has attached itself to the curls in my mind. The dog is the ultimate sidekick animal, in many respects, and the dog is also one of the most insane pets. There is a bespoke goofiness to the dog. One cannot deny this.

The long, discerning snout also appeals to me. That nose can become the perfect prodding stick, an investigative device, a kind of visual representation of the great, inspiring sense of smell and stink.

I'm not actually the biggest dog fan in the world. I grew up with cats, and so my destiny was to be a bit more of a cat person. But in art, the dog has an incredible humanity to it, and for some reason, in my mind, a probing, lucid gaze. Not to mention that fluffed up, eternally wagging tail.

It's a dog world. What can I say?