PAWS FOR EFFECT

Dogs of East Lothian by Kirsten Boston

29 Sept – 1 Nov

East Lothian Artist, Kirsten Boston, has been inundated with canine models since deciding to curate this exhibition, celebrating Man’s & Woman’s Best Friend. Kirsten has set out to show the personalities of these much loved friends in a series of small portraits.

There will be fabulous mutts of all shapes, sizes, breeds, backgrounds (Rescues, Prize-pooches) from in and around East Lothian. The portraits will be multi-media using watercolours, acrylics, pastels, pencils, photography, collage – in fact, just whatever suits each unique dog and its character.

It all started in WhyNot?, in North Berwick, when Kirsten was re-stocking there ahead of the Easter Weekend….in strolled Bertie, a gorgeous Scottie (Scottish Terrier), with a keen eye to greetings cards she was pricing up, or maybe it was the cake she was enjoying as she did so…..Kirsten was so taken by the handsome stranger, that the idea of a Doggy Exhibition was borne and she went straight to the studio and started painting….a Jack Russell.

We’d love to find Bertie, because he really did sow the seed and the least Kirsten would like to do it to paint his beautiful portrait.

Kirsten has developed her skills using old and new art techniques to create individual bespoke works of art. She prefers to meet the dogs “in person” and to take photographs herself. It’s been like a cross between Crufts and a Professional Photo-Shoot in the Gallery over the last few weeks! We’ve loved meeting all the four-legged models, especially those with the most vibrant personalities…. The portraits are head shots only, and measure only 6″ x 4″ (150 x 100mm) or 8″ x 6″ (200 x 150mm). They will all be framed in the same way and hung together to maximise their impact.

Paws for Effect, will first be exhibited in June in our Gallery here at Fenton Barns, before then moving into North Berwick. It may be shown in other parts of East Lothian through out the summer if we can find suitable venues.

We plan to make other dog portrait merchandise available to buy online later in the year. The merchandise will include greetings cards, cushions, mugs etc.