For Skip Hartzell, "The Dog Artist," Inspiration Comes In The Form Of A Furry Friend

Renowned South Florida artist Skip Hartzell creates unique art inspired by man's best friend. His inspiration comes in the form of a morning walk, accompanied by a furry friend. The canine-inspired artworks that he creates are figments of his artistic imagination and creative vision. Hartzell creates directly from his emotions and instincts, his work is inspired by dogs of all shapes, sizes, and varieties.

The artist creates large paintings and works on paper that capture the essence of "dog." He is best known for his unique sculptures recognized immediately by their distinct form and style that only Hartzell can produce. His painterly expression captures each dog's own personality with beautiful textures, line and brush strokes using mixed media to bring each dog to life. Whether he's painting or sculpting, Hartzell's dogs have a wonderful quality of friendliness about them, and it's hard to keep yourself from reaching out to touch. And that's perfectly okay with Hartzell. He's never been one to place a rope around his artwork.

"The texture is so important because the tactile experience of sculpture is so primal for me," he says. "You grab with your hands and just start to mush things together and get your fingers on the materials, and there is just such a richness to the feel." He says whenever he's doing a show, he is quick to hand his sculptures to the patrons so they can enjoy the feeling, too. And whether it's paint on canvas or sculpture, the texture is one of the most captivating and inviting parts of experiencing his artwork. Hartzell may not set out to mimic the look of someone's beloved pet, but he says his sculptures and paintings often evoke a fond memory of a furry family member.

“When you walk into Skip Hartzell’s studio you are greeted by hundreds of dogs in all shapes, sizes, textures and colors. There are dogs on the wall that create an intriguing color field installation. There are medium size dogs standing or sitting and hanging all over the place. And his large dogs just ask to be hugged,” said Rickie Leiter, Publisher of The Rickie Report. "If you love dogs, you are going to love Skip Hartzell's soulful pieces. His work is representative of caricature features of dogs," said J. Marshall Adams, the executive director of the A.E. Backus Museum and Gallery in Historic Downtown Fort Pierce.

The artist has held numerous solo exhibitions at notable art galleries and prestigious art fairs such as Art Palm Beach, A.E. Backus Museum, ArtHouse 429, Paul Fisher Gallery, Aqua Art Fair during Art Basel Miami Beach and many more. Skip Hartzell is a longtime supporter of no-kill animal rescues and donates proceeds from the sale of his artworks to animal-rescue, no-kill shelters. For sales info, private commissions, general inquiries or exhibition updates, email: skipperhartzell@yahoo.com / visit www.skiphartzell.com