Steve Goldstein's pet is a publicity hound. The 8-month-old coffee-colored Labrador retriever named Kahvi craves attention so acutely that he often tries to bite and pull off Goldstein's shorts.
"Getting him to stay in one place when he's not totally exhausted is a real chore," said the Town of Chevy Chase resident.
But Kahvi recently got a chance to mug for the camera when he stood still long enough for town artist Kathryn Freeman to take his picture. Freeman has photographed nearly 50 town dogs and their owners for a large painting, probably about 5 or 6 feet long, that will capture the individual canine personalities in the town and their owners.
The painting will be publicly displayed, although Freeman isn't exactly sure where yet. She and other dog owners have also discussed the possibility of using the work to raise money or supplies for the Montgomery County Humane Society by selling reprints of the work, or asking for donations during a display period. The painting will probably be finished sometime this winter.
The painting is meant to signify just how important dogs are to the area and how they strengthen bonds in the community, said Freeman, who also recreated a mural of Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School during the 1940s and worked with eight art students there to paint a contemporary version. The work will be a narrative sequence of the dogs in poses, according to Freeman, the proud owner of her own mixed-breed puppy named Rembrandt.
Enthusiasm for the project is running high. Some of the people who have e-mailed her to set up photo shoots have insisted on getting their dogs groomed beforehand, Freeman said with a laugh.
"It's so cute. They feel so passionate about their dogs," she said.
"I've yet to encounter a dog owner who didn't express interest in this," Goldstein said.
Freeman, in turn, uses dogs often in her paintings because they are strong, energetic compositional devices and signify important emotional elements in the painting. Her portrait of a woman posing in front of a hall mirror shows a dog intently watching her, so that the dog becomes an observer just like the woman examining herself and the person viewing the painting.
"They my symbolize companionship, faithfulness and devotion," she said.
But in the town, Freeman was struck by the contrast between the unifying power of pet dogs and divisive issues that have recently arisen in the community, such as mansionization and the Purple Line light rail project.
"I always go into the community and interview the people who are going to see the mural, to see what they want," she said.
Freeman is still taking pictures of neighborhood dogs for the project, although she has promised a spot in the painting to Rembrandt. Goldstein, meanwhile, is impressed with Freeman's ability to control scenes off the canvas.
"I think Katie's abilities as a photographer exceeds my abilities as a dog handler, or a dog whisperer," he said.
