Penny & Octavia portrait in progress 6 - A soundtrack and a video
- Kevin Roeckl
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
“Feet Off the Ground” - the perfect soundtrack!
...and a video of Octavia the moment Penny won Westminster that will make you laugh and cry at the same time.
As Andy Linton’s assistant, Octavia traveled with Penny for two years while Penny was being campaigned. She cared for Penny on the road, exercised her, slept with her, and got her ring-ready….through 66 Best in Shows, 40 Reserve Best in Shows, 35 Best in Specialty Shows, and ultimately this historic achievement of Best in Show at Westminster.
VIDEO:
Octavia’s response the moment Penny was named Best in Show at Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show....
THE PERFECT SOUNDTRACK
The music I listen to in my art studio while I'm working is an important part of my process. I think of it as the "soundtrack" to a particular portrait. The day I started on Octavia’s face, I got everything set up in my studio, laid out the colors for Octavia’s skin, and reviewed the notes I took when I asked the Chans to tell me about her. Then when I was ready to begin on Octavia’s face, I started the soundtrack.
I have thousands of songs I’ve added in custom playlists on Apple Music. When I am working on a face, I choose the theme of the music and I start the music playing at random. I don’t choose the songs, I just start that theme. In this case I chose “Love Songs” because of the bond between Octavia and Penny that I want to capture in this portrait.
I really trust the process of songs that are "sent" to me when I’m in my art studio and tuned in to the individual I'm portraying. I do a lot of memorial portraits and often I'm blown away by this stream of songs that seems like they're being sent directly from the spirit of a beloved dog as messages to their owner. About how much they were loved, and about specific things, for example swimming in a river, that was meaningful to them in their life. Sometimes I share the songs with the client. I have had clients who were hit hard because the song was so deeply meaningful and like a message to them. Including specific phrases or wording that no one else could have known.
The day I started on Octavia’s face, when I set my studio up and started her “soundtrack”, the first song that played could not have been more perfect!
“Feet Off the Ground" by Brent Cobb
Octavia definitely had her feet off the ground when Penny won Westminster!
The first verse says,
"We're too high for them. Not comin’ down.”
This verse sounds like Penny going around the show ring!
"You keep hold of my hand
We'll spin around
Round and round again
Faster than sound”
Octavia’s arms are finished now and I’ll start on Penny’s head next.
"Penny & Octavia" portrait, in progress
Octavia Stensen and Penny (Grand Champion Connquest Best of Both Worlds)
🎨 Prismacolor pencil on Canson paper, 12 x 16 inches.
Commissioned by Greg Chan and Theresa Conners-Chan, Penny’s breeders/owners, as a gift for Octavia.
From a photo by Claudia Bibaud
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