Whether he’s rendering the nuances of a hunting covert or conveying the barely restrained energy of a dog on point, Bob Bertram believes it’s all about what happens when light hits the subject. Years of hunting quail and pheasant in the Midwest—over dogs, of course—have given him the field experience he brings into the studio. He works with that light, showcasing small details such as the height of a proud pointer’s tail, the heft of a retrieved bird, or the knots in a gnarled blowdown.

When asked his favorite subject, Bob replies, “No contest—dogs.” The owner of a Gordon setter and a Boykin spaniel, Bob has a keen ability to identify what to emphasize in each dog he paints.

“The most successful paintings are about something, some aspect of the dog that needs to be highlighted. That could be a striking head, the powerful shoulder structure, the richness of the coat. The light has to hit it and what is most important gets the detail; subordinate things get less focus,” he says.