I’m continuing to work on my dog series. This time, I thought I’d incorporate a lot more texture with the dog’s face. Usually I use more solid colors for the dog portraits, while saving all the texture for the background. It was fun changing things up for this piece.
I’ve decided to revisit dog portraits, to tackle a series of different dog breeds. Over the years I’ve had a tendency of tackling the same sort of dog portraits, and I’d like to study a few different types this time around.
I enjoyed collaging this Husky collage. It was my first time collaging a Husky, and I enjoyed working with the shadows for the dog’s eyes and incorporating bits of texture.
Bosty wanted to get away for the weekend, but didn’t feel like traveling too far away from DC, so he decided to visit Chincoteague in Virginia. Chincoteague Island is in Virginia’s Eastern Shore, and is known for its beaches and wild ponies.
Aside from bird watching by the shore, Bosty also did some strolling along the beach.
And when he grew tired of the sandy beaches, he decided to watch the kayakers before doing some kayaking of his own.
He was only able to see some of the wild ponies from a great distance away, so for all his touristy pictures, he had to pose alongside a horse at one of the local farms.
During Bosty’s last night in Chincoteague, it got really foggy outside. He thought it looked almost like an enchanted storybook when he wandered around the town.
Earlier this month, Bosty had a chance to check out the cherry blossoms in Washington, DC during their peak bloom.
It was a dreary and cold day, but Bosty still had fun checking out the views of the Jefferson Memorial by the Tidal Basin.
He liked taking a few pictures in different angles before exploring other areas where the cherry blossoms were blooming.
He especially liked the trees by the Washington Monument, and how a few of them had kites caught in their branches from the Blossom Kite Festival.
Although it had been a chilly day, he thoroughly enjoyed getting to see those beautiful flowers while they were still in bloom.
Bosty wanted to take a break from the grind of city life, and spend some time lounging by the beach. So we jetted off to Tampa, Florida to do just that.
He had a lot of fun walking down the beach, searching for seashells and hoping to find shark teeth that had been washed ashore.
He was fascinated with the palm trees in the area since they are so different than any of the trees back home.
Bosty loved how beautiful the sky and water looked during different times of day, like early in the morning, and when the sun would set at the end of the day.
And after a relaxing trip of sunbathing and splashing in the ocean’s waves, Bosty wanted to end the trip by admiring one last vacation sunset.
Bosty is actually a pretty big fan of the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling, so the other day he went on a weekend trip to Harry Potter World in Orlando, Florida. He loved visiting their recreation of Hogsmeade.
And had to stop by Honeydukes to get some chocolate frogs.
Next, he wanted to go to Hogwarts to wait in line for one of the Harry Potter themed rides.
Afterwards, we headed to the Hogsmeade train station to catch the Hogwarts Express to the other end of the theme park.
He really enjoyed all the recreated storefronts like Screed and Sons.
And what do you know? They even had the Knight Bus that visitors could pose in front of!
Before ending the day of wandering all around the park and waiting in line for different rides, Bosty wanted to take a look at their recreation of Diagon Alley.
One of his favorite parts of Diagon Alley, was getting to see the dragon that actually breathed fire every few minutes.
It was definitely a fun day, filled with strolling by beautiful recreations of settings from the books, popping into magical shops, and getting a quick thrill from theme park rides.
Bosty wanted to escape the winter in Washington, DC, so he jetted off to…Montreal, Canada. I suppose he wanted to swap one cold winter for a colder one. Anyway, he decided to spend a weekend exploring the streets and running through the snow.
He also really enjoyed a lot of the street art in the area. Even though it was his first time to the city, he decided to admire the overall environment instead of playing tourist the entire time.
Murals even caught his eye at night when he strolled through the snowy streets.
He loved seeing all the night lights, especially ones that were strung across the street.
And on the last night of his trip, he decided to do at least one touristy thing – ride the La Grande Roue de Montréal, otherwise known as the Montreal Observation Wheel. It was a wonderful way to say farewell to the city by getting a good look at the skyline.
I haven’t explored collaging different dog breeds all that much, so the other day I figured I’d tackle a Collie portrait. I decided to use a simplified background with a warmer green, to create more of a contrast between the Collie and the background. I worked in bits of texture as well as solid colors, and I like how this dog seems to be smiling.
It’s always good to explore different ways to tackle a medium. Sometimes I like to work with more patterns and textures in the magazine strips I use, while other times I like to focus mainly on solid colors. Other times I have no idea what direction I’ll lean towards, and that element of surprise is all the more reason why I continue to make collages.
Bosty wanted to visit Canada the other day, so he could check out Quebec City. He spent the first couple of days strolling around the streets, looking at all the colorful buildings with window boxes filled with flowers.
Since it was his first time visiting the city, he just had to pick up a few souvenirs at some of the local shops.
Then he went off to enjoy the sunshine while looking at sculptures and fountains in public spaces.
Bosty especially liked the public art he ran into, like this art installation of woven boats that were suspended above the water.
It was such a beautiful day to admire the area’s architecture and parks.
And he had a chance to get close to the Salvador Dali elephant sculpture.
Next he walked along the boardwalk to enjoy views of the city by the water.
The Quebec City Film Festival was going on during his visit, so he had a chance to watch a few films that were being screened outside.
Then he was back to wandering around the streets to take a look at the street art. He really liked the intricate murals that were painted on this overpass.
And he enjoyed how every now and then he’d run into an incredible mural that was painted on what would otherwise have been just a regular and plain building.
Before ending his trip, he went whale watching in St. Lawrence, Quebec. It was actually a pretty foggy day, where he couldn’t see very much in front of him.
While riding the boat out on the water, he got to see lots of whales. Unfortunately they moved too quickly for Bosty to pose for a touristy photo.
Overall, Bosty had a wonderful visit where he had a chance to see lots of beautiful murals and public spaces.
I’ve always been a bit of a dog person. I grew up with a dog, and I always appreciate getting to visit my friends who own dogs. This is a piece inspired by one of those furry friends.
If you look closely at the Golden Retriever’s fur, you’ll notice that it looks like the texture of hair. That’s because I cut out fragments of images of blonde hair from models in the magazines I paged through, in order to construct this piece. The background is composed of fragments of landscape scenes, and the nose is made up of a few interesting textures I found.
Overall, I enjoyed making another collage of a grinning dog. Golden Retrievers are such fun dogs, and I’m especially a fan of adorable Golden Retriever puppies.