Here I give you, “The Mail Man.”

In the armrest up close, I was planning on drawing a person’s feet in socks.

But as the image came into focus in front of me, I started to realize that the mere presence of a human being in this image gives a completely different feeling than a painting without.

Humans and dogs go well together because we’re both social, cooperative, tribal creatures. We survive by trusting each other and working together to create, sustain, and protect a circle of safety from the dangers outside.

We’re so alike that we not only understand why these dogs are doing this, but we can empathize with their emotions in this situation.

These dogs are on alert, ready to protect their bubble of safety from a possible outside threat. And I think the fact that they are completely alone defending a completely human habitat is a beautiful reminder of what a great little sidekick species they are. 🙂

Doggies!!