Studio Dogs

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

Cella Sleeps

A good studio dog is as indispensable to making our art as any of our well-loved painting tools are. It is hard to pin down exactly why this is so - it just is. A studio dog certainly is good company in those lonely quiet hours when we work late at night or early, early in the morning. They do not sit, or more accurately, lie, in judgement of our latest struggles on paper or canvas. They always patiently listen to us complain about or explain what we are doing, as though by their wise silence, the answer will be given (and it often is). They also make great models and will pose, reclining, for hours on end. They do not run away at the first sign of trouble, either, although they might make a beeline for the door if a squirrel comes round. They wear those smudges of paint gained while sniffing the trash as badges of honor, as if to say, “One wants a little color, now and then.” Perhaps these are a few of the many reaso…