Tribute to a canine

May 23, 2025 Natalie Wargin

Here is another memorial to a beloved lost canine. Or maybe to all beloved lost canines. I let myself run with this one. Lots of color, lots of flowers, no spare space. A big, wild tribute. Here the tomb is very close to the house. If the weather’s inclement you can see it from a front window. Or, coffee in hand, you can wander over in the morning or maybe in the evening thinking thoughts of a special friend whose amusing antics or gentle ways made your life richer. This is the third Memento Mori to a dog that I’ve drawn. The others have been more restrained but this, as it’s turned out, is a memorial and a celebration.

“Memento Mori #3”
14 x 12 inches
$220
Available in my Etsy shop.

Free Domestic shipping through May 27.
Follow the link below to find the original drawing.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/4306276939/original-colored-pencil-painting-memento?ref=shop_home_active_1&logging_key=4ba841777903cb8750eeb52232eb7806cd605c3f%3A4306276939

My Wild Dog - New Work

May 19, 2023 Natalie Wargin

I have featured black dogs in my paintings before. Sometimes I showed my own dog, sometimes the dog was a stranger to me. But this wild black dog is mine all mine. This is Tilly, doing one of her favorite things: tearing flat out through my garden in pursuit of an unfortunate squirrel.

I have asked myself if I would have taken this dog home from the shelter had I known about her tremendous prey drive. It certainly was a shock to me the first time I watched her catch and kill a squirrel. And another squirrel. And then the poor ground hog. I’d never seen behavior like this other than on nature shows and that was when I would turn the program off. But we fall in love, don’t we, and we come to accept even the parts we dislike.

So here she is, single minded, ignoring the bunny and the turtles, careless of the things beneath her feet. My wild roses and spider wort trampled, the lilac blooms scattered, the ferns bent and broken. Bad news about the squirrel.

“Dog”
Acrylic on claybord
18 x 24 inches

Big sale in my shop!
Prints of this painting are available in my here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1484937881/black-dog-chasing-squirrel-through?click_key=0b78c99c726c05e9de87c013b0f95fbfde31a5c6%3A1484937881&click_sum=44ae15b0&ref=shop_home_active_1&sts=1

Thanks for taking a look! I truly appreciate it.

Two Dogs on the Hudson

April 20, 2015 Natalie Wargin

I was asked to do a painting of two dogs in a Hudson Valley setting. I have always loved dog portraits, especially old master formal pieces. You know, the hunting scene with the dogs large in the foreground, horses and riders in their "pinks" in a tangle behind them. Or better, the stiff profile of a dog standing in the foreground of a country scene; river, hills and woodland always in the background. I admit I was a bit nonplussed by the request. I have never thought of myself as a portraitist but the opportunity intrigued me. I was provided with a number of photos of two handsome creatures. This is the result. Like so many of the old portraits I placed the dogs front and center. The requested Valley landscape -- Hudson River, Catskills, red barn, farm animals, foliage -- are present and also mimic the old portraits. But instead of a stiff traditional pose with the dog oblivious of the viewer, I have these two looking straight at us. Less formal. More like the dogs I know.

Prints of this painting are available in various sizes in my Etsy shop:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/230363174/art-print-original-watercolor-painting?ref=shop_home_active_1

New Work -- Circle Avenue, Kingston NY

January 19, 2015 Natalie Wargin

I was in the Stockade sitting at the bar having a glass of red. A woman sat down next to me. We struck up a conversation and when I told her where I lived she said we were practically neighbors. She said she lived on Circle Avenue, very close. I'd never heard of Circle Avenue. It turns out Circle Avenue is a couple of miles from me, circular, and completely charming. The houses are close together at odd angles, painted an assortment of colors. It feels cozy and private. I think it might be nice to live there. I saw dogs but the goats are invention. Or maybe a suggestion.

The painting is 6 x 6 inches (15 x 15 cm), watercolor and gouache on board.
It's available in my Etsy shop.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/216656451/watercolor-painting-original-circle