My Buddy

It’s been a minute since I was able to get into the studio and paint, but the other day I was arranging the “family wall” and the absence of Tucker was so obvious. Fortunately, he decided to be photogenic on the same day, and I was able to get some source images to work from.

Tucker is what one might call a “good boi”. He’s not the brightest bulb on the Yule tree, but he’s loyal to a fault, and sweet, and very laid back. So I wanted to symbolize this as his essential nature. The Claddagh symbol is meant to represent “Love, Loyalty, and Friendship”, so it seemed like an ideal background flash.

Tucker loves him some pizza and chicken wing (meat…we take off the bones!) so I thought that would make a good ring, but when I tried it, it didn’t read. It looked like bludgeons and party hats: definitely not my guy! So I decided to focus on his sweetness. My sister suggested the ice cream, both for it’s sweetness and because of his adorable aversion to it. The wrapped candy is just, well, a sweet. Like Tuktuk.

One of my favorite things is always adding that coat of polyurethane gloss and seeing the painting “pop”.