anatomy of a folk dog: irish setter

i don't usually sketch out dogs on the canvas before i paint them. i just sort of, well, start painting. occasionally, though, someone asks me to paint a specific breed of dog, and for the life of me i cannot conjure up what the heck that kind of dog looks like.
 

case in point: irish setter.
 

i started shuffling through the catalog of dogs in my brain: not the wolfhound; not a spaniel; not terrier ... irish? what the?
 

i must have run through 15 breeds before i caved and googled it. lo and behold, irish setters sort of look like frida. i know for sure she's half golden retriever, but the other half is anyone's guess. certainly she exhibits the paranoid personality some sites attribute to the irish setter.

anyway, i found a good image, quickly sketched it on a notepad – complete with not-very-detailed notes – and started painting. i think i didn't get the ears quite right, but at least i know what an irish setter looks like now.
 
this little guy will go up in the march show at tart in the emerson.

more folk dog anatomies coming in the future! and happy new year, everyone!