This delightful stencil print by Jessie Oonark is likely based on a graphite drawing c. 1968. The grays of the dogs are far from the rainbow of colours usually associated with Oonark prints, but as a subtle study of textures, the tones bristle like the fur of animals at odds with each other. Hints of teeth, pointed ears, and claws offer signs of aggression, even if the animals are merely play-fighting. The dogs have the familiar traits of Oonark’s creatures from the late 1960s: a solid body atop long, slender legs, with sharp black eyes visible even against the grey. There is a lively energy to their movements that jumps off the page.

References: Dogs appear quite regularly in Oonark’s drawings, prints, and works on cloth; in fact a dog appears in Oonark’s earliest known drawing from late 1958 or early 1959 - see First Arts Auction, 1 December 2020, Lot 52. See also First Arts 13 July 2021, Lot 81; First Arts 14 June 2022, Lot 106. See also various works in Jean Blodgett and Marie Bouchard, Jessie Oonark: A Retrospective, (Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1986) including cats. 13, 16, 55, 59. Generally speaking, Oonark’s depictions of dogs and wolves are quite similar; her dogs usually have raised tails.