Alison Friend on the Art of Dog Portraits: Give a Dog Human-Like Eyebrows and They Look Hilarious

What is so irresistible about a dog in a sweater giving you a sidelong glance? It’s something that science isn’t even close to figuring out, but British artist Alison Friend doesn’t need the answer to that question to lean into the charm of it all. 

Friend’s signature style of animal portraiture nods at the old masters while remaining arch and whimsical. The paintings benefit from her ability to channel childlike wonder, which she’s developed through her work on children’s books over the years. A full menagerie has come from the bristle end of her brush. See, for example, her illustrations in books like A Hullabaloo at the Zoo or Bear’s Story or even Little Rabbit’s Big Surprise.

Dogs are the subjects of most of Friend’s paintings on canvas. These dogs often look side-eyed at you, the viewer, with big, dubious eyes. Many are holding a goofy object or wearing a sweater (no pants). They all make you smile, because you know these dogs instantly. Then you think of the dogs in your own life and their singular personalities, and then you just wish you had the talent to capture them in oil paint. 

Thankfully, Friend has compiled some of her finest dog portraits, plus a little bio about each one, in a book called Dog Only Knows: The Dog Portraits of Alison Friend. In honor of the book’s recent publication, Digest spoke to Friend about her own relationship with dogs, where these canine personalities come from, and why you simply must give a dog a pair of human-like eyebrows. 

Digest: All sorts of animals have been subjects of your painting, but what is it about dogs in particular that inspires you? 

Alison Friend: I have always loved dogs. Give me a dog over a person any day! 

I also think people connect more easily with the dog paintings. They recognize those looks I try to capture. As you can see, I haven’t painted as many cats—but there’s definitely an increasing number on my easel recently. In the early days, a lot of my characters were bunnies and bears. Maybe I was influenced by the kinds of books I was illustrating. 

Hopefully this isn’t a silly question: what’s different about painting a dog than a human? And, if you like, what’s similar? 

A dog is a lot easier (for me) to paint than a human. I am terrible at painting humans. Although I anthropomorphize the dogs and other animals in my paintings—I get them sitting like a human and doing human-like things—their limbs and joints don’t work in the same way. Sometimes I use quite a bit of artistic license with a dog’s real anatomy to get them sat in a human way or hold funny things. Eyes and eyebrows are great features in both animal and human characters to convey feelings. 

What’s the most difficult thing about painting dogs, and how do you solve that problem? 

Definitely getting those limbs to work in a convincing way for some of the poses I choose for them. As I said, I take a fair bit of artistic license with the anatomy sometimes. 

Do you remember the first dog you ever painted? What can you tell me about that subject, the resulting painting, and the process? 

One of the first dogs I remember painting over and over was the dog we had when I was a teenager. A West Highland white terrier called Cindy. I painted [Cindy] many times over the years we had her—for my mum. I’m sure I painted dogs prior to that, but those were the paintings I remember most.

So many dog owners can relate to filling in their pet’s personality—especially the more human aspects of their personality. How do dogs lend themselves to these character sketches? And where in the process of painting do these characters reveal themselves? 

I often come up with a title first and make written notes. They’re usually quite detailed descriptions, sometimes accompanied by the roughest of composition sketches. A lot of it I work out on the canvas. Most of my subjects are from my imagination, and their character appears as the painting progresses. It’s the part I love the most. I keep the beginnings of a painting very loose. A few brush marks can create a particularly funny expression, and all of a sudden: there they are! 

The side-eye, the glance—what is it about these canine expressions that inspires you? 

The eyes and the eyebrows are the most important for character and expression. Well, for human-like expressions. Of course, animals don’t actually have eyebrows as such. But you give a dog or a cat or any animal eyebrows, and they look hilarious—you open up a whole vault of expressions. At the beginning of a painting, I keep the outline of the character very loose, and—a few brush marks can create a particularly funny expression and, all of a sudden, there they are! It sometimes throws up a surprise and the character goes in a direction I wasn’t intending, so I go with it a lot of the time. 

Do any dogs who are special to you appear in your work—and, if so, what character do they assume? Can you tell us more about them and your lives together?

I don’t have a dog right now, but I do look after Blue quite often—who is with my ex. He’s a border collie. He’s a very special boy….He’s sat next to me now as I type this! 

When I painted Douglas, Blue was definitely on my mind. Also the painting “Life Is Stick,” Which pretty much says it all about Blue.