Friday, April 2, 2021

DogThematic

My training was in the Hans Hoffmann era, at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. I grew up loving Abstractionism but the rude awakening was that as Fine Arts evolved the American Public didn’t and unless there was something to identify. I decided in the late 90s that if I wanted to continue painting abstractly and sell my work, I’d have to adopt an identifiable subject matter. I chose “Dogs.”

I grew up with dogs and horses, But Dogs, painted via abstractionism, took the lead in what people were most likely able to identify: Bassett Hounds, Spaniels, Birddogs and Irish Woolf Hounds. I wasn’t able to bring myself to paint lap dogs or Pugs.

    Here are a few samples of my paintings and drawings. Thanks for looking. . .
    –– Tom White, Oakland California. 2021.