THE NEW BARKER 81 www.TheNewBarker.com My Medium I started out using only acrylics but within the past few years, I have migrated toward oil and watercolor. I now enjoy using them all depending on the subject of my painting. Most of my dog and animal portraits are in oil, but I am additionally finding I love the amazing results with painting them in watercolor. My Two Main Influences, Dead & Alive In the not living category, I would have to say John Singer Sargent. I selected him because of his love and masterful ability to paint portraits. He stopped painting portraits and said in one of his greatest quotes, “Every time I paint a portrait I lose a friend!” I would love to hear his thoughts on why he thought that was the case. In the living category, having a conversation with Adeline Halvorson would be exciting. Her dedication to painting pet portraits and other animals coupled with her lifetime of practice is amazing. The Colors Of My World Do I love the many tones of color a beautiful sunset has to offer? Do I love the effervescent blue and green hues of the ocean? Do I love the sensations on the eye as a result of the way an object reflects or emits light? I would have to say yes, yes and yes! These make up all, along with many more, my favorite colors and what inspires me to regularly put my paintbrush to the canvas. Dogs Literally Taught Me The Meaning Of Life Like most families, we usually had a cat or a dog in our home. Starting at the young age of five, our black Cocker Spaniel named Shelly, was my first example of what dog ownership was like. She was our first dog and the most memorable of all. The lesson I learned most with Shelly was the heartbreak one can experience with loving some- thing other than ourselves. She was my first love and constant companion as a little girl. Shelly was my Lassie. She slept with me and followed me everywhere. She was my best friend and the one who taught me true empathy early on in life. She also brought me the most traumatic event of my young life. One day we arrived home to find her lying in the busy road in front of our house, where she had been hit by a car and killed. I ran so fast to the curb after this happened that everyone thought I was going to run straight into the street to my dog. I was crying uncon- trollably as traffic stopped in both directions and watched as I mourned the loss of my best friend. As sad as this story was, it taught me about life, the joy and the heartaches that can happen and how short life can be for our animals. Since then, and throughout my life, we have had many dogs, each having their own funny quirks and personalities, but Shelly was special beyond any imagina- tion and truly was the love of my life. U