Image of the Week: Portrait of Finnegan
© Durga Yael Bernhard
Here's a portrait I did in 2006 of a dog who belonged to a couple who are dear friends of mine. Finnegan was a Saluki, a type of "sight hound" that was originally bred in the Middle East. By the time I did this painting, Finnegan was already old, and lay quite still while I worked. I only needed a photograph to do the finishing touches. What a beautiful dog Finnegan was! Salukis almost look like a cross between a dog and an antelope – and like an antelope, they are born to run across great distances.
In a way this is a double portrait, as the Peruvian blanket behind Finnegan was a wedding present to my friends, and they wanted it to be commemorated, too. Woven from wool, it's really a beautiful hand-crafted textile. It offsets the dog very well, as does the white embroidered bedspread that we threw over the couch.
Portraits are a great challenge. I don't normally work realistically, and capturing a likeness is a special skill. To be honest, I haven't tried a portrait of a person for many years . . . only dogs, houses, and landscape views (usually from someone's home) that people want to preserve. I've also done paintings that portray an experience – or an impression of it – such as a bar or bat mitzvah. I have three such portraits in progress now – one of a view from a home that sold, one of a house newly purchased, and one of a woman's adult bat mitzvah. If you're interested in commissioning such a painting, respond to this post and I'll send more information. To see some of my other portraits, click here.
I'd like to take on the challenge of people portraits, too. (Pam, if you're reading this, I still want to do a painting of you and your beautiful daughter . . . )
A good week to all!
D Yael Bernhard