Dog in Art, the Running Dog

The Dog in Art, the Running Dog:

Dogs.... we all love them, so we paint them in so many positions and poses, that really reflect their nature and character.

But when it comes to drawing a running dog, why is it that so many artists still seem to get it wrong.

When I see so many drawings where an artist has depicted the dog in action, and how many times does that drawing of the dog seem wooden in so many ways.

Now "wooden" is a term that depicts something that is static (not moving). And you want to really draw an animal in action,  yet it just looks funny in some way.

That's because you have the dog drawn in a running pose, but it does not really look like it is naturally running in the way that we want the dog to. Sure we have the legs out stretched and the body lunging forward for instance.

But there is no power, or exertion of power that reaches out to us as we look at the drawing.

But the artist has drawn the dog in the right posture, haven't they?

Art Courtesy: Telltale Crumb

So how can an artist bring out the best of their drawing to emit that promise of "action" that we most crave for.

 I just want to mention here, that when I say "the promise of action that most we crave for" you might not know it at the time, but your sub-conscious is on the look-out for it.

And if your subconscious can't find what it feels is right and natural, and meaning exactly what the art is trying to portray in dog in art, then you automatically decide that that particular drawing is not as good as you would have hoped for.

I will write down some basic ideas for you here:

• It could be the certain way the dog's leg is bent:- could you do better?

• Have you put enough detail in your dog's muscle structure?

• Does the fur of your dog look too static?

• Is your dog focusing on what is ahead of it with emotion?

" For me a painting is like a story which stimulates the imagination and draws the mind into a place filled with expectation, excitement, wonder and pleasure"
~J. P. Hughston, painter

These ideas might seem simple enough, but when it comes to bringing motion to any animal, you need to decide these things firstly. If you just go ahead and draw a running dog, sure you can do this.

But have you done enough to your drawing to really make it pack-a-punch!

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