Acrylic on hand-stretched canvas, “Sawyer,” a playful painting of a bright red and speckled dog, hangs in the Dean of Students Gallery. The artist, senior fine arts painting major Kyla Lakin, shows her first painting of her dog, Sawyer, whom she was forced to put down six weeks ago.

“It’s a big thing for me to be able to exhibit this,” Lakin said, “because I’m really focusing my art on him.”

At the exhibit opening Lakin shared her story. She said Sawyer was a sweet and goofy Australian cattle dog and American pit bull mix who needed some time to warm up to strangers.

Lakin said when she introduced her friend to Sawyer he was defensive at first, “but after 10 minutes of getting to know her he was curled up next to her like, ‘rub my belly!’”

One day her brother brought a friend to their home and despite their warnings, Lakin said, the friend approached Sawyer too quickly and the dog scratched his face. A week later, her family was being sued by the visiting friend.

Because of the law suit, Lakin said their homeowner’s insurance would not cover them and insisted Sawyer be adopted out of their home or put down. No shelters would take Sawyer because he was labeled as dangerous and unadoptable, she said.

“There was nothing we could do,” Lakin said. “That was our only choice.”

Lakin, who is also in charge of the CUB Gallery for the Student Entertainment Board, said the painting is a way for her to tell the story and plans to continue telling the story through her future works.

“I know it’s just one painting, but he was my world, he was just three and a half, just a baby,” Lakin said.

Jonathan Matteson, WSU masters in fine arts student, commented on the technical and emotional maturity of the work.

“You can tell this went through a lot of thought,” Matteson said, “a lot of good instinct.”

Matteson said there was a lot going on formally in the painting through the contrasting color, asymmetrical balance and varying texture.

“The young painter won’t have all that on their mind,” Matteson said, “or it won’t be second nature.”

He said Lakin’s use of nonlocal color is a signature of her work and helps show the emotion in the painting.

“I love color,” Lakin said. “He’s not actually bright red.”

Matteson said Lakin is an effective expressionist, transferring emotion from painter to painting and from painting to viewer.

“The pet can’t tell you how it feels,” Matteson said. “So she’s filling in a way for them.”

The Dean of Students Art Gallery exhibits student work throughout the year. The next deadline for submissions is Dec. 4, to be shown the week of Dec. 10.

Mark Crabtree, graduate assistant to the Dean of Students, said all WSU students are welcome to submit work for consideration.

He said Lakin’s work was chosen because, “We love the art and it had a really powerful message behind it.”

Those interested in submitting artwork to be considered for the Dean of Students Gallery can visit http://deanofstudents.wsu.edu/for-students-and-families/student-art-gallery/artist-submission-form