Painting Of A Little Boy And His Puppy Sharing A Meal

I painted this for all animal and pet lovers, and specially for one who really likes Jack Russel terriers so much that he sometimes thinks he might even be one! I always think carefully about color and this time chose a limited palette. This is a story of a quiet, gentle and intimate moment of innocence between a little boy and his puppy so I wanted to avoid loud colors and details. As I conceived the idea for the painting I pictured it being like an old storybook illustration or retro-like print appropriate for hanging in a little boy’s room, and now it is!

Otter’s story for this painting…

Animals are always following me home, usually because they want me to feed them. That’s how it is living in the country and wilderness. There are many hungry animals around. The little ones want me to give them food and the big ones think I am their food. They all think I’m an easy meal! Still, I like all animals, even the ones that hunt me more than I hunt them. Today I wanted to send you a postcard showing a little animal that likes to follow me everywhere. This is Jackson, a little Jack Russel puppy who lives down the road.

Jackson likes following me back to my house to see my room and some of my toys. Every time I come in with Jackson my dad says, “Oh Otter, look at what you brought home! He sure is small and cute, but you know you can’t keep him”.

Jackson likes sleeping on my bed and playing with the toys in my room. He mostly enjoys chewing on my hockey pads which is how he tells me he’s hungry. That’s when it’s time to have breakfast together. In this painting I am sharing my cereal with him. After breakfast we play for a while and then I have to bring him back to his house.

Every time I bring Jackson back to his house his owner says “Oh Jackson, look at what you brought home! He sure is small and cute, but you know you can’t keep him.” Then he invites me in to play with Jackson and have another bowl of cereal together. This goes on all day, back and forth between houses, playing, napping and eating cereal until we both have bloated bellies about to burst. It is great way to spend our days. We sure are lucky to have each other!