Romeo's Last Thunder

Romeo's Last Thunder_____Pastel pencils on archival paper_____Family Collection
Our beloved "Good Dane", Romeo died on Thursday....He has been in our family since he was a baby, given to my oldest son as a Christmas gift. Of course, when the son went away to college, I claimed Romeo....He truly was a gentle giant who made a great impact on all who net him...I have spent the past few days moping and missing him....terribly.
I got to hold him in my arms when he went "away", but I made sure not to cry till he was gone. He was brave, and gentle and a lot of fun, even just a few days ago!...I sketched this today, from one of his last photos. He was looking out the window, a little bit nervous that there was distant thunder in the area...he never liked thunder....

***My Workshop next week in Fredericksburg is FULL...THANK YOU to all who signed up...For those of you on the waiting list, we will do it again in the fall! More details to come!
***There might be a spot or two in the Saturday workshop in Smithville... vvaughan8@yahoo.com

Full Howl_Romeo, Great Dane, Dog, sketch, howling

Full Howl__from my sketchbook, ebony on paper__$90
After a couple of days of Romeo sketches, I found a great photo of him at the farm. Here is my sketch from that photo. He is in "full Howl", but I forgot what he was howling at. It was either a far away ambulance or some coyotes...A great feature of Great Danes is their big jowls...they blow in the wind and flap around when they shake their heads. In the past few days I have sketched what I call "woo"...when the dog "talks" to you by making a growly "woo, woo" sound. When a Great Dane does it, his "lips" pucker up, sort of and it's the only time they don't flap around. The "full howl" is an extreme version of this. ...I know...This is more info than you wanted on our "good Dane". If you are reading this on my blog, please scroll down to see yesterday's post. I forgot to hit "publish" yesterday. If you get my daily mail, then you saw it! If you would LIKE to get the daily mail please EMAIL ME at vvaughan8@yahoo.com and I will sign you up.
IF YOU LOVE DOGS, you will LOVE this sweet video<>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H17edn_RZoY

Woo 2_Romeo, Great Dane, Dog, sketch

"Woo 2"__our Good Dane Romeo in pencil__$90

Romeo understands when someone is looking at him. He is "self conscious". He still feels privileged to be an "inside dog", since his early years were spent on the farm, outside, where he had an entire shed to himself! He is so big and used to get in trouble for knocking things down while wagging his tail...things like small children. So, even though he knows his place better, he still has that great guilty conscience. That's probably why, as I draw him and look at him a lot, he wonders why. So he comes to get in my face, to make sure he's not in trouble. I had the camera handy and snapped him looking over my shoulder with the sketchbook today....

remember, if you want to reply,you can leave a comment below or click here to e-mail me vvaughan8@yahoo.com

Woo__Romeo, Great Dane, Dog, Sketch

"Woo"___ Good Dane, Romeo__from my sketch book__$90
If you look him in the eyes (at eye level , by the way), and say in a deep voice, "w o o o o", then our "good Dane", Romeo, will "woo" back at you. He is a real lover boy and loves it best when you look him in the eye and say "woo"...

E-mail: vvaughan8@yahoo.com
web site: http://www.v-vaughan.com
USA blog: http://www.vvaughanUSA.blogspot.com
I have a new shipment of my book Last Year on the Farm: A Story of Change
Great for Christmas gifts! Be sure to ask me to sign it $34 soft cover $39 hardbound...INCLUDES shipping