In July of 2018 while discovering I could still draw; I completed an 8×10 pencil portrait of “ZARA” our much loved Whippet. However I did not make any commitment to starting an art project. I did like that my drawing skills were good and drawing was at least enjoyable! I wrestled with the fact that my entire career had been based on creating “art that works not works of art” and it would take a huge commitment to develop a no fee based project that had no client requirements or deadline. My creativity as well as my artistic drive was always based on fee first; the better the fee the better the performance!
It wasn’t till September of 2018 that I wrapped my head around creating “©abm545 Gallery” what might turn out to be a collection of pencil sketches of every AKC recognized Dog Breed. My thought was that it would be curated by me with its content for viewing only. I did not know how long it would take or if I could be committed to this type of project and see it through to completion; I began to draw and at first it was one at a time, spending time for research, time to read about the breed, time to think about the pose, then finally committing to a detailed under sketch, in 4h pencil and then completing using only the white of the background vellum, and 3 types of artist pencils 4h, hb, and 4b as my color pallet, with the pencils sharpened to different degrees I could alter my brush strokes. After a few completed portraits I decided to work in groups of 10 at a time; and so it began to take shape. Once I reached 30 completed Portraits and was comfortable with my commitment, I launched the website, developed a logo, and set up a home page as the link to the current Pinterest gallery**.
As summers and winters rolled by; I stayed committed to the project and it became a flexible part of my daily schedule. My Wife and I split our time between New York and Florida. When in NY we spend a lot of time with family, friends and of course our grand children. Covid put an end to our longtime commitment to lure coursing competitively with our sons and our whippet kids CJ and Zara. I started showing some of the portraits locally on long island and was invited to teach a class for teens on sketching dogs. The shows and Teaching have become an annual commitment. My e-commerce business involvement keeps me pretty active. There is always golf and my Trophy winning two-seater in the garage. If you add in the joy of summer on the east end of Long island, LI dog Pac walks and events it fills up a lot of my time. Each portrait can take between 6 and 12 or more hours and I like to draw in a very relaxed environment.
When winter comes it’s off to South Florida, it usually starts with condo craziness, it is a little quieter in Florida, so I have a little more time to draw. I also show my car at local events, play more golf, spend lots of dog beach time, and tend to e-commerce commitments virtually, my wife and I get lots of time for casual living and enjoying summer type weather for the next 6 months of the year.
As the effects of Covid retreated and new normalcy returned, while in New York in the summer of 2022 I was recognized with a 3 page LI Newsday Story about My life and Drawing Dogs…My teen Drawing Class was done and I was nearing completion of all the AKC portraits and had 30 or so to complete the collection; it was May of 2022! When I started there were 180AKC breeds, 12 more had been added over the years bringing it up to 192. My goal was to finish it up before I left for Florida in November. That did not happen!
In July of 2022, I passed out from a 95% artery blockage… my entire plan for completion was upset. Things got back on track by the time I had to leave for Florida… It was now the week of April 3rd 2023, normally it is Dog week for us in Florida. Our Son comes down with CJ we celebrate our son’s Birthday; CJ and Zara do dog stuff all week.
This year also marked the completion of all 192 Portraits of the AKC recognized breeds. After 4 years and 8months they will all be on permanent display at abm545gallery **. My current plan is; to do an annual update of any new breeds as AKC accepts them and develop an online shop based on the gallery portraits, with some of the proceeds directed towards charitable causes.
I want to say a special thank you to my son Heath…on one of our early morning walks almost 5 years ago we discussed if I could still draw and in my usual fashion now I can honestly say “Yes I can!”
These are some links that refer to this story as it evolved.
**This project is not endorsed or funded by AKC and depicts the breeds in “the artist’s interpretation not to specific breed standards”. The Entire collection is on display for all to enjoy but not for reproduction. © alan b. meschkow is the creator, owner, and exclusive licensee of the ©abm545 gallery and all art created or licensed from or added to the collection.
For further information contact: Cell: 516-983-6407 E-mail: inquire@am545.com
follow me on:
