When I decided to paint Baron, I knew I wanted a large, commanding portrait of my best friend. The funny part was finding the reference photo. I scrolled through YEARS of photographs before finding one in which he wasn't smiling at me with his tongue hanging out.
The result is a decidedly regal version of Baron—handsome, composed and perhaps a little more serious than the dog I know every day. The real Baron is rarely still. He is happiest running beside me, swimming, riding on my paddleboard or carrying a ball in hopes that someone will throw it one more time.
I love this portrait for the beautiful, dignified side of him it captures. But after painting it, I realized there is another Baron portrait still waiting to be painted—one with that enormous smile, tongue out, looking exactly as joyful as he does in nearly every photograph I have of him.
