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She Can Really Fly by Jay Raymond


She Can Really Fly
2010, Acrylic on Canvas
3x8 feet

We have a Boxer dog named Leila, and I'm positive she imagines she's flying as she runs through the forest we live in. The crows that inhabit our trees made their way into this painting, since they're most likely the source of her fantasy. She's adopted them as part of her pack...or she's joining their flock. Either way, wings are beginning to materialize over her as the ground screams by. She can run and bound so athletically, I myself am beginning to imagine she's flying! This painting was recently accepted into a juried show at the Franklin Art Center in Brainerd, MN where it received rave reviews.

This is a bit experimental for me in that I drew references from video footage I captured of my dog as she ran through a flooded ditch. Photographs are a traditional form of reference, but with new, inexpensive technology it is now possible to capture crisp, detailed images through the use of small High Definition video cameras. The camera I use, a Kodak Zi6, cost less than $200.00. What I love about pulling references from video is that there is an inherent dynamic quality to the images one normally doesn't find in a photograph. An added benefit is that there are hundreds of frames from which to choose, each subtly different than others before and after, and this expands possibilities.

I had selected several interesting frames from a particular video I had captured with the idea I would create a series of paintings based on my dog. My intent is not to paint the dog, but to paint the movement and spirit of the dog. I'm interested in the use of space within the canvas to emphasize movement.

In this painting I went so far as to use an elongated horizontal format to amplify the movement. Not only are the dog and crows speeding together from left to right, but the ground is composed of streaks of green, brown, pale blue, yellow and white, working together to produce an effect of velocity.

My family and I really enjoy this dog. She seems to have an unusual intelligence and personality. She loves to run, and we could almost hear her giggling like a child as she charged through this flooded ditch, her splashing paws leaving trails of water in the air behind her. She seemed so joyful that I think she imagined she had wings and that her bounding would break out into flying any moment.

This painting is available for purchase through my Etsy store.

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