Now, close your eyes for a moment and picture this scene: in the middle of a bustling city—maybe Beijing, New York, Tokyo, or any other busy metropolis—people are rushing around the streets and office buildings. Everyone’s in a hurry, too busy to notice the soft glow of the setting sun. They’re all caught up in the hustle and bustle of life.

But amidst all this chaos, brave cats and dogs stand still, unfazed by the noise around them. They quietly look up at the sky, enjoying this fleeting moment of peace. A moment like that is captured here–this painting is the first one in my “Furry Friends” oil painting series.

I have noticed a lot about pet behavior through observing my dog, Doberman Xiaoba. My wife and I adopted him when he was only several months old. During the seven years that we have had him, he has witnessed our transitions through our lives in the US. While always having an innocent child-like face to us, Xiaoba also shows the most calm and relaxed attitude towards the outside world, like an old person who has experienced and seen it all. When we are camping, Xiaoba would always be the first one to take a breath and contemplate nature, while we were busy setting up and cleaning up everything.

Seeing him, I realized pets could often have a more fearless spirit than us, and thus taking more time in actually exploring and enjoying the larger world.

In this painting, I used a lot of blue and a five-point perspective to show the hustle and coldness of human society. Yet, for these furry friends, this seemingly cold, blue world is actually warm and calm.