This year, I’ve begun many of my watercolor abstracts with arcs and other round brush strokes. In this experiment I began with more boxy strokes. My first ‘random’ strokes were purposely rectilinear. The outline reminded me of a dog.

It’s A Dog Life – Initial Strokes

I spent the rest of my painting sessions trying to obscure the dogginess of the composition. But after I painted the purple and yellow stripes to that end, I was reminded of another dog-like creature – a hyena.  I gave up trying to obscure the animal and added a central spiral, a symbol that represents life, in certain cultures.

It’s A Dog’s Life
Watercolor Abstract
16″x12″ 140# Cold Pressed Watercolor Block