Dream Spot for a Retriever

Maisy's Beach Walk

It's no coincidence that a large percentage of the dogs that live in my neighborhood are Golden Retrievers.    And if I was a retriever, where would I want to live?  Green Harbor of course, a dream spot for a retriever.  The wide, sandy, world class beach is perfect for us humans as we run, walk, fish, sunbathe or stare dreamily at the horizon.   It's perfect for our neighborhood retrievers, who also run (chasing tennis balls), walk (occasionally sniffing a nice, ripe, old dead fish), and stare (panting) while owner talks to other beachgoers.  

One regular walker had a retriever that would pick up a five inch rock and walk all the way to Duxbury beach with it in his mouth.  Another would enter the water and swim along (much slower of course) while his owner, a runner, would run way ahead.   On the way back, when she reached him, he would reverse direction and continue his swim to their finishing point.

The retriever in this painting is a lucky dog with an owner (my neighbor) who takes full advantage of our beach.   She brings multiple tennis balls and one of those expands-the-distance-of-your-throw-without-touching-saliva-and-gooey-sand devices.    I often paint the beach scenes, and when I saw Maisy's extraordinary coat (plenty of cadmium red light with shiny pale yellow highlights), the pair became my center of interest.