Georgia • 18 • Dublin

Cagney, Lacey, Mosi and the Half Door is a picture that exists only in imagination. It concertinas time and shows adored family pets together at ages that existed more than twenty years apart. Mosi our six-year-old (circa 2024) Spangold Retriever stares intently at me while peering over the kitchen’s half door, a half door in a house that Mosi has never seen. Whilst Cagney and Lacey, our year old (circa 2002) Golden Retriever pups, look towards the left of the picture, distracted by the movements of a passing squirrel in our garden, a garden in which they played throughout their lives. Cagney, Lacey, Mosi and the Half Door is a charcoal on paper composition, a medium that brings a timeless feel to the piece, but also evokes poignancy and nostalgia. My initial sketching and tonal work was completed with willow charcoal. I then used compressed charcoal on swathes of the background, charcoal pencils for fine details and a kneadable eraser to create highlights. Finally, hairspray was sprayed on to the composition to help lock in the charcoal.