Afghan Hound Head Study-Alanna-

In Sept. 2007, I was given the opportunity to judge the Tara Afghan Hound Club Specialty in Atlanta, Georgia. I was also commissioned by the club to paint the Best of Show winner, which would be the Best of Show trophy for the winner of that award. The winner was a lovely 7 year old bitch named Alanna. Alanna's registered name is "Ch. Dragonfly's Whiter Shade of Pale" and she is owned and bred by Thayer and Lucia Brown, co-owned with Sharon Ferraro. She was handled expertly to this win by Philip Schafmayer. She flowed with excellence around the ring in a proper gait and her beauty in the stack was undeniable. She reaked with arrogance, which is a quality that I love to see in Afghan Hound bitches. It was such a pleasure to judge her and then to actually get to paint her as I see her. The photos that the owners sent were so good of her that I had a hard time deciding which one to use. I chose this head study from a full body shot of Alanna, in actuality I was tempted to do the full body and would love to do that at a later time. This photo really captured Alanna and how I see her and was great reference material for the oil painting. I sent a photo of the completed oil painting to the owners last night and here is a quote from Lucia.

Terry!

It came out beautiful! I LOVE it. You did an excellent job and I cannot thank you enough!

Lucia

I love painting portraits of animals. If you have a favorite you would like me to capture in oil, please let me know. Enjoy the painting of Alanna. I will have this painting on display at the 2008 Afghan Hound Breeder's Cup in Virginia Beach. Come by and take a peak. Terry (below is a photo of Alanna winning Best of Show at Tara Afghan Hound Club)