"Walking the Dog" by Jan Heath

I discovered the prints of Jan Heath in the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts gift shop in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. This linocut especially caught my attention because of the energetic, yet balanced composition. The woman's lean back is emphasized by the blunt cropping and aerial perspective on her feet, and that is pitted against the giddy pull of her small dog. The dog's flight is playfully punctuated by his perky tail, asymmetrically flopping ears, and the bottoms of his rear paws flatly facing the viewer. So much tension lands on that pointed finger and the thin line of a leash that connects dog-walker and dog. If not a puppy in age, certainly one in spirit. 

The subject matter, bright, complimentary colors and style of mark-making also reminded me of the late, great Stephen Huneck, who possessed a great love of dogs.