RIP Fritz the Wonder Dog

Fritz, 20x16, oil on panel - Died 6-4-20 at 15.5 years of age

Yesterday was a sad day, but yet a relief. Fritz finally let me know on Wednesday he was ready. I found a wonderful Veterinarian who came to the house. This is all he does, which takes a special individual. And he was very good at it. A big shout out to Dr. Jason Cordeiro. This was my first experience with home pet care, but I would not do it any other way now. I was able to hold Fritz as he passed out of this life into the next. He is missed and will be missed. He was a little shit in a many ways, but he was my little shit. He had such a personality and was a verbal dog, letting us know what he thought on the subject. The past year he was showing his age, but still, for the most part, vibrant. The past several months I knew the time with him was coming to an end. Knowing and accepting are two different things...please forgive me if I wasn't listening to as closely as I should have. With much love.

I did this portrait of Fritz 6 years ago. It was for a class project where texture was the theme. I tended to paint with a smooth surface and this was to try and break me out of that mode. I thought I might be able to add more paint texture to his hair, which for me, was a help. I will never be an impasto painter but my paintings are no longer smooth to the touch.

Fritz, quick sketch, 9x12, oil on panel

I could only find this one image of a quick sketch I did of Fritz many years ago. (looks like the paint was still wet when I shot it) He was waiting for Richard to come home. He had heard his cab drive by so had his eye on the gate. This quick sketch was painted in less than 5". Fortunately, I had the paint already on the palette as I had been painting in the garden just before I saw him sitting there so intently.