an excellent duck

image copyright and by kindest permission of sue gerber artwork

Ducks are marvelous creatures. I cannot believe anyone cannot be swayed by the sheer likeability of a duck. That's why you're looking at this one: I meant to post one of Sue Gerber's dog portraits, but I could not pass up this excellent fellow. Besides, it's in charcoal, a medium I truly appreciate for its warm and velvety qualities. You could almost imagine you see him (her? I'm not up on my duck gender specifics) breathing or shaking out a feather here and there.  So I was delighted to be borne out in that observation when Sue wrote me:  "I don't usually use photos for portraits, I prefer live drawing which is fresh and full of vitality."
She also creates pet portraiture, and that requires a different sort of seeing: "With someone's pet though, you have to be very accurate and photos are the best way. The more I looked, the more I saw in the photos and I became quite intrigued with the process."  She executes these portraits in watercolor.  You should drop by Etsy and have a look at them.
"I studied textile design in art school," Sue wrote, "but I taught myself to paint in watercolours. That started off with me painting a dog portrait as a present for a friend so I was very, very careful to get it right...I love watercolours. There are so many happy accidents with that medium that you can take credit for!"  Longtime readers of the Museum know that's also one of the things I truly love about that medium.  A splendid motherlode of pet portraits is ready to delight you at her website.  There's a certain ginger tabby...I could just reach out and run my fingers through its cheek fur.  Time and love, captured.