Painting from my popular Puppets series. This acrylic painting on canvas, titled New Friend by Max Horst (2023), presents a surreal and evocative scene set in a vast, open landscape with a striking blue sky and reddish-orange terrain.
In the foreground, two pairs of figures stand apart, each holding onto a leash. On the left, a woman dressed in a dark coat and red beret holds the leash of a muscular brown dog with a tense posture. On the right, a taller woman in a long green coat, with an expression of quiet solemnity, stands with a small child clinging to her side. The child, dressed in a brown coat, grips the leash of a tiny white dog that appears to be curiously approaching the larger dog.
The figures have elongated faces with melancholic, wide-eyed expressions, characteristic of a slightly surreal or naive art style. The background features sparse, stylized trees with dark green foliage, adding to the dreamlike atmosphere. The contrast between the rich blue sky and the warm earth tones enhances the scene's visual impact.
The title New Friend suggests a tentative moment of interaction between the two dogs, possibly reflecting themes of connection, apprehension, or social encounters. The slightly distorted proportions and subdued color palette contribute to the painting’s introspective and whimsical quality.