This piece was the first I painted with the intent of giving it to someone and wanting to convey a very specific emotion. This piece was given to a friend of mine as a going away gift. Inspired by one of his favorites songs, Otis Redding's "(Sittin' on the) Dock of the Bay," I found this image online taken by photographer Denver Bryan. The evening light casts a silhouette of the man and dog sitting on the dock of a lake set against the warm light created by a setting sun. The lake reflects the warm coloring of the sky and clouds, and the trees offset the light blue color of the lake water.

Before I added color to the canvas, I sketched the image and utilized an under-painting technique. Under painting consists of painting in gray scale to capture the values and depth of the image before color is even added. Once dry, I went over the canvas with color. Under painting allows the artist to lay paint over the image and easily bring out the values of the color.