I Got My Art Fix

Sean Callahan had a demo on Saturday at his new gallery on Whitehead St, here in Key West.

Sean is an amazing artist.  His medium is watercolor.  I met Sean a few years ago when I attempted to learn how to paint.  He was the teacher.  He is a "learn the basics" kind of guy.  It did not work well for me. I was impatient and I felt like I was back in Jr High School art class. 

 But I think he is a great, giving guy.

He opened the gallery about 2 months ago.

It is a charming space.

Sean has been painting for 27 years and specialized for quite a while, painting dogs.  Bailey and I sat patiently watching him turn that piece of white paper into a dog.  Well, almost a dog.  We couldn't stay all afternoon.

He painted and talked and shared so many details about his journey from VT to Provincetown to Key West, including his battle with HIV.  He shared his philosophy about being a watercolorist and the years and years it takes to befriend the paints.  He told us his paint is his best friend. The things he said I found powerful and inspirational and all while he continued to paint.

When he does the dog portraits he works from a photo.  

Often he will grid the photo and draw the outline of each section with pencil.

You can see the pencil in this photo.  Then the pencil outlines just become guidelines for him.

I was not there from the beginning, but he told me that he paints the eyes first.

 It looks so realistic, doesn't it?

There was a dog portrait that is almost done.

He truly is a master of watercolor and you can see on the walls that he paints a lot of other topics. You can see more of his artistry at www.DogTiredStudio.net

What a great way to spend the afternoon.

I think I may need a painting of my girlfriend, maybe on a quilt?