We are delighted to announce the winner of National Purebred Dog Day’s Fine Art/Poster Competition for 2023,  and our official poster for the coming year.

“Dog’s Dream” was created by Kenneth Lu who won a $2,000 cash prize for his authentic woodblock.

Our juror, Mr. Alan Fausel, shared his thoughts about this winning entry: “Since my association with The AKC Museum of the Dog, I have been fortunate to be asked to judge the NPDD’s Fine Art/Poster competition. I appreciate the honor, but more importantly, it allows me to get a glimpse into the variety and quality of artists who are producing dog art. In judging the numerous and diverse entries, I always ask myself, ‘Would I want this hanging on my wall?’ Certainly, the parameters of the competition need to be considered, but ultimately it must be a compelling image. This year’s winner, “Dog’s Dream, meets that standard. I appreciate the artist’s woodblock-like representations of identifiable breeds, the inclusion of ethereal shadows all below a billowing sky. Overall, it it is a joyous representation in which you seem to find something new each time you look at it.”

As former art critics in another life, we can’t resist offering our own thoughts about why this piece is so good.

As we look at this woodblock, most apparent is the number of dogs heavily clustered at the left, and the build up of clouds over them. Normally, this risks having our eye “tilt” left and leaving the image unbalanced, but several elements keep this from happening: The number dogs winnow down as they get closer to the fire hydrant, and the red hydrant itself serves as a “bullet point” that counterbalances the left. It’s easy to dismiss the importance of the white dogs in the crowd, particularly the Old English Sheepdog and the Russell Terrier, as well as the white collar on the Bulldog. but remove them from the composition (use your thumb to prove our point) and the dynamics of the image changes entirely. The image is authentic to its medium, and deceptively technical in execution. it is easy to see why it was chosen by Mr. Fausel as his “Best in Show.”