Saint Brrnard (2026) Original Mixed-media Painting by Gio Manveli

They look like toys. Fluffy, soft, almost plushy — the kind of dog a child draws from memory.
And then you find out they walk into blizzards alone to find people who are dying.
That contrast is what pulled me in. Something that looks this warm and gentle, built for the most brutal conditions. A Saint Bernard carries a barrel, sits in a snowstorm, and waits. No panic. Just presence.
In this painting he sits beside his person — red thread looping between them, a Heineken can on the lap, bottle caps for eyes. Found objects from the street, now permanent. The background is cold blue but nothing in this scene feels cold.
This is the second of three. The red thread runs through all of them.
The found objects are real and original to this canvas. No print will ever carry them.

Materials used:

acrylics, oil sticks, found objects

Details:

• Mixed-media painting on Canvas
• One of a kind artwork
• Size: 2 x 2 x 2cm (framed)
• Framed and ready to hang
• Signed on the front
• Style: Expressive and gestural
• Subject: People and portraits