Maureen a Martin

Netop--Friend Maureen a Martin

Isn't that- The impressionist Netop? Yes. I love his work! Who doesn't? Do you think-could I get his autograph? Time and again, Jacqueline Karch overhears the words-soft and hesitant, loud and bracing...always curious about the painter at her side. An artist in her own right, Karch crouches on her heels beside him, selecting his colors, exchanging one brush for another. "That's all I do," she says. "In every other aspect, Netop is totally protective of his paintings. He won't let me touch his canvas until it's completed. He's quite the divo." And why not? Netop has created his own art form. Call it neo-impressionism, abstract, modern, or canine-ism; it all stems from a dog's perspective. "His name," Karch explains, "comes from an Algonquin/Narragansett word meaning my friend. The early colonists used Netop (pronounced NEE-top) in greeting when meeting Native Americans." But it has of late come to mean artist, canine artist. Netop has created a singular niche-and he has a following. And when he's done, Netop is all dog-lolling on the floor, begging for a belly rub, flopped on the couch...content then, to be canine companion. Celebrity is great, but having a home is greater. Is that him? Yes. Netop... Dog. Artist. Friend.