"Generally, I tend to reject commissions involving pet portraits, but this was an exception. I agreed to paint this picture because I admired the dog and enjoyed his friendly disposition. Also my client gave me free rein to paint the picture in any way I chose.
Labs were originally bred to retrieve waterfowl. This particular dog is not trained to hunt, but will, like most healthy dogs, chase rabbits, so that is the way I portrayed him. the setting is similar to that where the dog lives, although I designed it myself, rather than painting it from a specific location. The arrangement of light and undergrowth was designed to give an illusion of motion and camouflage.
This is not really a life-and-death struggle between dog and rabbit. The rabbit will outrun his pursuer with ease, and the dog knows it from experience. My point here was to demonstrate the dog's good nature, typical of his race, and his vigorous means of showing it." - George McLean