Nathan Dolde

Duck! Acrylic on Gesso Board 5x7

2011-10-28T13:42:00.001-04:00

Duck! 5x7 at about 50%. About 30 minutes of actual painting time. The gel medium gets a touch streaky if you put too much on at once, until a nice base is built up. Started this guy with a sienna underpainting to determine tone. Adding local colors and more tone here. What will get tricky on this one is the weird way that the light bounces off the background and turns the thin spots in the Duck! (i.e. the neck) to an translucent orange type thing. Hopefully next session I can clean it up and finish it off.

Paper Crane #1 Acrylic on Canvas 8x10

2011-10-21T11:35:00.001-04:00

Crane is done. Very subtle shifts from the last in the wings and the neck area as well as the shadow underneath.

Crane #1 Acrylic on Canvas 8x10

2011-10-20T16:17:00.002-04:00

Paper crane nearly finished. Still need to work the "yellow" paper part and the highlights and shadows in there.

Chip #1 Acrylic on Panel 6"X6"

2011-10-19T11:17:00.002-04:00

Chip is done. This was way harder than it should've been. still not 100% pleased but for a 6x6 it's best to take it for what it is and move on.

Time to look for the next one.

Chip #1 Acrylic on Panel 6"X6"

2011-10-12T13:19:00.002-04:00

Chip #1, almost finished. It's a little cool, I will warm it up tomorrow. Chips are hard to paint. the more it sits on the paper the more grease is drawn out and the more transparent it is becoming. Very strange. I'm also noticing on the gray background the yellow in the chip is creating complimentary shadows with more and more violets in the shadows and also the yellows are increasing in the outer edges of the board.

More details to come with the blistering of the chip and that should wrap this one up.

Slow going...

2011-10-07T13:56:00.001-04:00

Multiple distractions today. No pic but chips are tough to paint. Will finish next week.

Starting tomorrow

2011-10-06T16:54:00.001-04:00

All set up to start tomorrow. Potato chip. Should be done by 2:00. Not a moment too soon...

A different approach.

2011-09-26T15:37:00.001-04:00

I can't seem to stay on top of the weird dog. I am going to roll some painting and other things into this as well. New series of work along with semi daily paintings.

Where have i been?

2011-08-08T09:48:00.001-04:00

Didn't realize it had been that long. Lemme try again

Romare Bearden, the weird dog/cat and the dove.

2009-07-14T10:51:00.002-04:00

Romare Bearden, The Dove, 1964

I'm not sure if this is a weird dog or cat in the corner but alas there it is. Bearden has all kinds of things going on in this Collage from 1964. Some things that jump out are the repeated angles of the hands / cigarettes everywhere and the repetition of shoes. My favorite is the connection made by the weird dog/cat in the corner's ear and the gold triangle of the shoe above it. This is part of the classical triangle that points to the dove. *bonus- see how many "dove-shaped-things" you can find.

Titian's Weird Dog #1

2009-05-19T13:54:00.002-04:00

Titian, Bacchus and Ariadne, 1524

The weird dog is the least weird of the weird things in Bacchaus and Ariadne by Titian.

How about a weird severed cow head-thing? Check out the diagonal set up by the legs and the nice zig-zag. Then of course there is the repeated dog feet shapes and the dog head shaped cymbals...

Tintoretto has a weird dog...

2009-05-12T13:16:00.002-04:00

Tintoretto, The Last Supper, 1594

Tintoretto has a weird dog that's hard to find. He's under the table, repeating the weird feet shapes that move across the bottom edge. He also continues the arch that moves through the weird cat. There are lots and lots of dog head shaped things and lots and lots of dog ear shaped patches of light.

Georges Seurat and the weird dog in the corner. Part II

2009-05-08T11:00:00.002-04:00

Georges Seurat, Sunday Afternoon on the Isle of La Grande Jatte, 1884-1886

In La Grande Jatte, Seurat is using lots of weird dogs. And don't forget the weird monkey. The weird dog on the edge sets up a neat diagonal to the other weird dog. The negative space in his tail mimics the monkey ear and the random red spot below the little girl in the white dress. The big weird dog's tail echos umbrella and hat shapes all over the place. Compare the big dog's head to the elbow of the lounging man, it's got that opposite tension happening again. Old Georges is also echoing the dogs neck with the tree about 1/3 in from the left. The true "weird dog in the corner" in this is the bright green triangle in the lower left. Notice the right edge and the reddish triangle acting as another "weird dog on the edge". How's that for compliments?

For extra credit see how many "monkey head-sized things" you can find.

Georges Seurat and the weird dog in the corner.

2009-05-07T10:59:00.001-04:00

Georges Seurat,Bathing at Asnieres, 1884

Georges Seurat is notorious for his use of the "weird dog in the corner". This is quintessential "weird dog in the corner.

As composition gets more complex it is not only about the placement of objects but also the relationships or connections of those objects. The weird dog brings the eye back to the visual center with his line of sight. If you focus on the dog-shaped things (thanks paul) you can pick out the connections to the weird dog in the corner. Look at the dog head compared to the shape of the dark boot and directly below the white towel. Also notice the dog body shape. It repeats all of the hat-things. The black dot of the dog's nose connects to the black dot in the man's ear. There is also a sense of tension created where the dog's body curves out opposite of where the man's body curves in. The dog's nose curves in where the man's shoulder curves out. These echoing and opposite tensions serve as a means to connect the elements diagonally. Seraut is also connecting foreground and background with "dog colored" things and "dog colored" dots.

What is the weird dog in the corner?

2009-05-06T15:18:00.000-04:00

The weird dog in the corner is a "theory" I learned from painter Paul Hartley in all the years I had him as an instructor at East Carolina University. I studied under Paul, in various forms, from 1993 until 2002.

The idea behind the weird dog in the corner (or on the edge) is a compositional tool that helps to bring the eye back into the painting. This normally will work in conjunction with other shapes and directional movements within a composition.

Why is it the weird dog in the corner?

For some reason lots of painters will stick strange things in their paintings that occasionally make no sense or seem arbitrary. Often times these strange things are random dogs or the like. So the weird dog in the corner can really be anything placed as a compositional element, in a corner or on the edge, that re-directs the viewer back to the focal point.

My plan for this blog is to post the weird dogs in the corner from art history and discuss their many compositional uses. There are plenty of weird dogs in the corners and on the edge of many works of art.

Have a look at the Arnolfini Wedding by Van Eyck. The weird dog on the edge is actually a weird dog on the edge. The weird dog in the corner happens to be the shoes.