This is our pet Digby he's a wire-haired Dachshund and unfortunately, he is no longer with us. Why did I paint a dog what is the connection with dogs and my art? My father Stan Allsopp was a dog breeder and dog show enthusiast for many years we have always had a dog its a pet I grew up with.
I mentioned earlier on in my writings that influences come from all corners and from life experiences when I look back it was natural one day for me to paint a portrait of a dog. I have a wide portfolio of art and all come from events in my life, we all have memorable events Digby is a most pleasant thought, we had many happy hours with him.
Digby was painted in oil on linen canvas, I took several photographs of him as a source of reference, pictures are used by countless amounts of art people. From these pictures, I built up the picture of the painting you see.
Like all art paintings and portraits are a challenge, in this painting you not only see the subject you also see a detailed background. Sometimes the background can be as complicated as the subject, in this instance I decided after painting the dog that there something missing. What was missing ? was a detail of the background, art sometimes needs a complementary backdrop to push the main subject forward, I think I have achieved my goal in this painting.
We have always had a dog y father traveled miles to dog shows and was lucky to exhibit at Crufts. I have painted other dogs and will put them up on this blog for you to see in the future. I have quite a large portfolio of artwork produced over many years, its only now when I can concentrate on producing more art and I intend to publish new work on a website that is currently under construction.
I am often asked why is a Telecommunications Engineer producing oil portraits, I am not unique many people have hobby interests that seem to be far removed from their normal work. Radio and art are connected, art is very technical together with Engineering it is something that I have enjoyed for many years if I wasn't building crystal set radios I was engaged in Disney coloring books.
I came from a home that was very happy, my Dad was always involved in doing alterations and improvements to our house, he worked as a Blacksmith at the F Pit in Washington County Durham. My Mother Doreen was very good with her hands and enjoyed designing many new types of knitting patterns, She was a very practical person making new things from old all the time knitting and cross-stitch were crafts that she excelled in maybe art and creating is a trait I inherited from my parents DNA
More info: johnallsopp.blogspot.com
Digby Dachshund captured in oil
