True confession: I love dog art almost as much as dogs. In my dream home, I imagine a dining-room wall turned over to paintings, drawings and photographs of, well, you guessed it, dogs.
One piece I'd include is Juan's Bad Dog (above) by Robert McClintock. Years ago, he had a studio in Federal Hill, and I'd make excuses to walk by just to look at the art in the window. He's in Fells Point now, and JBD has become a top seller in his gallery.
I've always been curious about the story behind the piece. Unleashed gave me a great excuse to find out.
Turns out that Sindee, the name of Juan's bad dog, was Robert's first dog portrait and the worst-behaved dog he's ever seen. The dog's owner commissioned Robert to photograph the dog. When he got there, she jumped on the dining-room table, and he began shooting. He turned away and the dog bit him, tearing his shorts but not his skin.
"It was this bizarre, twilight-zone experience," says Robert, who with his wife owns four cats.
The piece, which is actually a photograph that Robert painted in Photoshop, has helped bring him attention.Baltimore Dog magazine featured him in its winter issue, and WJZ's Marty Bass called the piece "a cultural icon of the new millenium." (Hmm, anyone know what that means?)
What intrigues me most about it is the sweet/sinister expression on Sindee's face and the funhouse background.
Although Sindee is often described as a Jack Russell, she was really a Toy Fox Terrier. Robert learned that she died last year, naughty to the end.
P.S. To read about Robert's home, click here.
Photo of Robert McClintock at a Pugs benefit by his wife, Sue McClintock
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