Pugsie

The Pug is the big dog of the small dog world.  While other little dogs, like chihuahuas and toy poodles try to compensate for their impish size by ferociously taking on leashed dogs that outweigh them by a factor of 10, the pug is more pragmatic. The pug is bolstered by confidence but not enslaved by ego.

MikesPieHole.com.  was approached by Herman with this portrait assignment.  Herman the cat is one of Pugsie's (Pug-zee) dear friends. Together they are the Snoopy and Woodstock of suburbia, the  Turner and Hooch of crime fighting, and the Pinky and the Brain of geo-political problem solving.

Originally, Herman's request was to paint Pugsie's portrait painted over one of the original members of the Mount Rushmore painting.   MPH.com: did not completely rule out that idea, but we agreed to wait under Pugsie becomes eligible for The Mount Rushmore Club...which means being elected president of the USA.

It is feasible that a terrier from a Western state could be elected President of the United State after considering the other candidates in the current campaign cycle.

Based on how this portrait conversation started, our Senior Executive Canine Portrait Artist at MPH.com: took creative control of the assignment.  This is the first of a "Big&Bigger" series of paintings we will work on throughout 2016.  In these paintings the big Arizona sky will be complemented with our dramatic mountain fringed horizons.  A BIGGER subject will anchor each composition.

In this case, we have painted a smallish plank of wood.  The McDowell Mountains are in the background.  The middle ground is taken from the view looking north from Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd at Thompson Peak Parkway. And the foreground you may one day see on Mount Rushmore.

Long live Pugsie