Faust: "Prince of the Neighborhood"




This is a piece in progress I have been working on for a friend who recently lost her beloved companion, Faust.

She sent me many photos to choose from. I then asked her to write about Faust and e-mail me her notes. I asked her to write about what she loved about him, and to tell me what he was like, since I didn't have the opportunity to know him. Knowing myself, I knew that her writings would inspire me. She sent me an e-mail full of her thoughts and Faustisms, many of which I've included in the collage. What stood out for me was that the other doggy parents in the neighborhood called Faust "Prince of the Neighborhood". What immediately bloomed in my mind was that we needed to crown Faust. He needs to be officially crowned "Prince of the Neighborhood".

So I took that idea and ran with it... I had the background painted and textured, I had the 3 background pictures printed. Then I hit a creative block with this piece... I couldn't move forward, something was missing. This lasted for too many weeks... I could play around with the background... maybe add some words here and there but that was it.

Then Lisa sent me more photos. Immediately I had it. I had the perfect crowning picture. And... at the same time a photo from my library came to mind, a picture of an angelic little girl, of all things she was reaching down touching a dog! She would be the one to crown Faust!

I hope you enjoy this piece. I hope it draws feelings of a lost pet of your own. I know most of us have experienced it... it's a horrible thing, just an awful experience.

Merriam- Webster's definition of "Faust"
:a magician of German legend who enters into a compact with the devil

Cool.

I'm not quite finished with this piece... still needs some finishing touches. Also, I must add that I cannot scan the whole thing... it's too big for my scanner so you are seeing a cropped version.
I created "Prince of the Neighborhood" on 10 x 10 inch Gallary wrapped canvas. I used photo's of Faust and a photo of a little girl. I created texture using plaster, acrylic paint, vintage paper and printed words then I distressed it with sandpaper and an exacto knife.
The photos of faust that I used in the background kind-of disappeared when additional texture was added, so I hand painted them back in.

I would like to give credit to a friend of mine who gave me the photo of the little girl... She knows my work and contributed to my photo library as a wonderful gift! Thank you Joan!

Thanks for taking a look everyone!

I plan to list a couple pieces on eBay and I'll put some new items on Etsy by the end of the night tonight.

Thanks again for visiting,

Brandie