Sarah Graham - Dolly Duck

After the success of ‘Quack’ in my first print release in 2008, I’ve always been asked if there would ever be anymore ducks. However that particular piece was not my idea initially, I’d been approached by a collector in the states who wanted to commission me to paint a huge ‘rubber ducky’ for his wife! At first I didn’t even know if he was genuine, and thought it was a joke, but after several emails and a phone conversation, I realised my first ever overseas commission was going to happen, and they wanted a huge rubber duck. The painting was about to go to the states when I got signed by Washington Green, and they loved it so much, even though the original was sold, the client agreed it could go to print, and so ‘Quack’ came to be, and even made it onto the front cover of ‘Picture Business’ magazine. I always kept an eye out for toy ducks, but after having such a tough time during the painting of ‘Quack’ (it was technically very challenging for me at the time, being very big, as at the time my studio was tiny, and the out of focus bubbles proved a tricky thing to get right for some reason), I think I was slightly dubious of ever tackling the subject again. I was also wary of becoming known as ‘the duck lady’, as earlier in my career I’d been labelled ‘the fish lady’ after a particular series of paintings. But then one day, while on Ebay, I stumbled across a set of vintage rubber ducks, and something clicked! When Dolly arrived, I fell in love with her, and knew she would make a great painting. She had character and most importantly a retro look, so it was simply a matter of finding the right composition. Some of her family are slightly out of focus around her, and you will notice the distinct lack of foamy bubbles this time…

Boxed Canvas
Image: 32" x 32"

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