Ancestral Portraits Gone to the Dogs!

Venues for treasure hunting increase as the approach of fall means a gradual decrease in  temperatures. People are returning from travels up North, where they've escaped the furnace-like blast of hot air that greets us in the sunny Southwest each time we open a door!

There were estate, garage, yard and moving sales all weekend, but my favorite was a sweet little lady selling all sorts of china, crystal and art. I found a pile of paintings and prints to sift through and immediately picked up a charming twig framed postcard from 1908. The subject of the card is two roses on a black background - striking! The humble bent twig frame gives the roses a "homey" feel and would be perfect in a cabin or bungalow!

Cute as that was it didn't compare with the treasure I found further into the pile! Nine prints framed in black wooden frames - all identical - of dogs in ancestral costumes.  I bought them all, remembering the beautiful dining room at Ballyduff House in Ireland last fall, where ancestral paintings graced the dining room. Not having my own, I figured the dogs would suffice, and will probably hang them in the guest bath rather than the dining room!

Research gave me the artist - Thierry Poncelet, who put together a book of his dog paintings you may enjoy titled "Sit! Ancestral Dog Portraits". I'm not sure if these prints were taken from the book, or another source.

Here's a sampling of the prints I found:

Now all I have to do is add little plaques with the names and - ta da - an ancestral wall of my own!