Assorted Pet Portraits

Catching up and sharing a number of pet portraits I've completed over the last few months:

Sirus the Great Dane. 5" x 7", ink on Ampersand Claybord (white scratchboard), with watercolor for his eye. Adopted from the Placer SPCA.


Sadie the Cocker Spaniel/Pomeranian mix. 4.75" x 5.5", mixed media on Ampersand Aquabord (ink, watercolor and color pencil)


Divot the Jack Russell Terrier. 2.5" x 3.5", miniature pencil drawing (aka an ACEO)


Kili Man Jaro the Savannah Cat. 5" x 7", ink on Ampersand Claybord (white scratchboard). Click here to find out more about this drawing.


The last three portraits are each 5" x 5", mixed media on watercolor Art Board (ink, watercolor and color pencil) and were created for the same client.

Brutus the Mastiff


Jinx the Doberman Pinscher


Eazy the Malinois

Read more...

On a Roll - Another Dog Portrait Finished

This sweet girl was Cali, the beloved and much-missed terrier mix of Rachele, the owner of Pawsitive Attention Pet Services in Sacramento, CA. I have yet to meet Rachele in person; we "met" through Facebook and she e-mailed a couple of photos of Cali as reference for the portrait. I'll meet her soon enough though, when I deliver the portrait.

I’ll be honest, the photos provided were not the greatest, but since Cali had passed, it was all I had. This factor determined the style of portrait. I wouldn’t have been able to do a really detailed portrait, but one in this style worked out nicely. Here's the reference photo:


And here are two images of the painting in progress:



I had intended her darkest areas to be a darker purple, but a tactical error (when I painted dark orange over the purple) resulted in a rich brown color, which actually worked out well. I have learned over the years that sometimes things just happen and not to fret over it - just work with it. The British phrase “keep calm and carry on” comes to mind in these situations. After I finished with the watercolor, I layered some purple color pencil over the darkest parts and added a very light watercolor wash of orange over most of her nose to warm the purple and to harmonize the colors.

I won't bore you with all the materials used for this portrait. If you're curious, please read the previous post where you'll see two other portraits done in the same style/technique.

Next on my list to finish are the wolfhound (see it in progress here) in mixed media and the horse in pencil from the previous post. I've also started on an ink on scratchboard drawing of a golden retriever.

Read more...

The Results of a Busy December

I knew I hadn't posted anything here in a while, but didn't realize it had been an entire month! That's because December was busy. In addition to the usual Christmas season hustle and bustle, I had two pet portraits that I'd promised to have finished in time for Christmas since they were gifts. I also had an illustration project to get underway. I completed the two portraits on time, made good progress on the illustrations (6 of 11 are complete) and made progress on some other portraits I've started.

One of the two portraits is of Winston, a chihuahua mix. Winston had a major health scare recently when he ate something he shouldn't have, but he pulled through and is still going strong at 14.

Winston's portrait is a small drawing (an ACEO) in pencil on Stonehenge paper.





ACEOs are small-format artworks that always measure 2.5" x 3.5". ACEO stands for "Art Cards, Editions & Originals". To see more of them, visit this page of my web site. Some were commissions, others were drawings I did to list on eBay or elsewhere. You can visit this page to see ACEOs in other media (color pencil, scratchboard, ink, etc.)

The other portrait is of Bella, a pit bull/rottweiler mix, painted in my Petzazz style in watercolor on Yupo. The portrait is 8" x 8".





Bella is one of 5 portraits I've done for the same family. I drew a small pencil portrait of her previously, along with a pencil portrait of their other dog, Bruno - see those drawings in this blog post. I've also painted Petzazz portraits of Bruno and their other dog Floyd - see those portraits here.

As for the illustration project, it's a number of drawings of birds & mammals for signs that will be installed at the Bureau of Land Management's Curtz Lake area in Alpine County, CA. Here are two of the completed illustrations, click on either image to see larger versions and find out more.

Read more...

A Trio of Greys

This morning I delivered three greyhound portraits to a client who also happens to run the Greyhound Friends for Life (GFFL)'s rescue facility in Auburn, CA. The facility is wonderful and they've improved it further since I was last there. It's not open to the public, but they usually have an open house or play day a couple of times a year - check the events calendar for dates. Of course, if you're interested in adopting a wonderful greyhound (or grey/sighthound mix) they have some really nice dogs available there or at other GFFL facilities.

Each portrait is 8" x 8" in watercolor on Yupo, with a little bit of color pencil. The color schemes were chosen to work together - I used shades of purple as a unifying color for the dogs' darkest areas. The body colors - yellow, blue or orange - are what the client selected to match each dog's personality. The backgrounds all have blue in them and two of them have green in varying amounts. I took photos of the paintings at various stages of progress.


"Swaps" - finished portrait


"Swaps" - reference photo


This is over halfway done. The background and ears are finished and I've blocked in the colors of the dog, but need to work on the blending of the brindle pattern and add detail.



I've blended most of the brindle pattern by pushing paint around, lifting it and adding more of both purple, yellow and orange. The arrow points to an area that still needs work.



"Lulu" - finished portrait


"Lulu" - reference photo


Here I've done the background and have blocked in most of the purple areas. The ears are mostly finished. The white area is the unpainted Yupo.



Nearing completion, but still need to add detail and more blue in her face.



A detail of the finished portrait. Some of the small, fine marks around her eye are color pencil.



"Ace" - finished portrait


"Ace" - reference photo

I posted in progress photos and details of Ace's portrait last year, see them here.

Read more...

Two Mini Dog Portraits

The portraits are mini, not the dogs! These pencil drawings are ACEO-sized. I've posted ACEOs on my blog before - they're art that's always 2.5" x 3.5". ACEO stands for "Art Cards, Editions and Originals" and they started on eBay where I first learned about them.

These portraits are commissioned pieces and the dogs belong to the same client.


"Bella"


"Bruno"

I have plenty of samples of pencil ACEOs on this page of my web site. Some were commissions, others were drawings I did to list on eBay or elsewhere. You can visit this page to see ACEOs in other media (color pencil, scratchboard, ink, etc.)

Read more...

A Nifty New Painting Panel

I learned about these panels from Nancy Holtz, another member of the Auburn Old Town Gallery. She had some paintings on them in the Gallery last year.

Made by Art Boards, they are a natural fiber panel with different painting surfaces adhered to the front. I used the Cold Press Watercolor Panel. There's a bit of texture, but not too much, so the paper works great mixed media pieces like those below. I use ink (a Micron pen) for the darkest areas, then watercolor washes, then I finish up the detail with color pencil (typically Prismacolor).

What's nice about these is they don't need to be framed. I spray the art with a coat of UV resistant spray and that's it. The boards are 1/4" thick and have a slot on the back for hanging. I also tint the panel edges to match the color of the paper next to the edge.

They're a fun way to create a small piece of art. Now that I've done three of these (with 2 more in the works), I'm offering them as an option for commissioned pet portraits. I enjoy working in different styles and mediums and by offering a variety, my clients have more styles and prices to choose from. This "art board style" is a hybrid between my looser "Paintings with Petzazz" watercolor on Yupo pieces and the far more detailed ink on scratchboard or pencil portraits. As you can see from these three paintings, I use vibrant colors. A white dog does not have to be white and grey and a goat does not have to be brown!


"Bailey" - Wheaten Terrier, 4" x 4"


"Goat #1" - 4" x 4"


"Goat #2" - Pygmy Goat, 4" x 4"

You can find Bailey & the two goats on magnets in my Zazzle shop and on note cards in my Bonanzle shop. They're also on all sorts of merchandise (ceramic tiles, mugs, t-shirts, etc.) in my CafePress shop: goats and Bailey.

Read more...

German Shepherd Pup - New ACEO

This watchful GSD (German Shepherd Dog) puppy is my latest ACEO (Art Cards, Editions & Originals) drawing. I attended a Schutzhund event a few years ago and took quite a few reference photos of this handsome little guy named Rommel.


2.5" x 3.5" Pencil Drawing

This drawing is available on eBay until 7pm on October 1st. Click on the pup to see the listing.

Read more...

Very Big and Very Small

Two new dog portraits at opposite ends of the size spectrum: a great dane and a toy poodle. I'm referring to the dogs' sizes, not the portraits' sizes.


"Eamonn" - 7" x 8", mixed media (ink, watercolor and color pencil) on Ampersand Claybord

Click here to see the video of the steps in creating this portrait. It explains the process and how I work with the different mediums to create a full color portrait like this one. I haven't done very many of these portraits on the Aquabord, but it's a great surface when a client wants a full color, realistic portrait (as opposed to a full color "Petzazz" style portrait like the one below). The surface is textured (it was formerly called Claybord textured) and can be scratched to add detail.


Reference photo provided by Eamonn's owner

Next is the painting I did of Missi, who was the mascot at Dancing Dog Productions in Auburn, CA. I first met the owners of Dancing Dog when I showed my art there during an Art Walk many years ago. They're wonderful animal-loving people and we've become friends. When I first met them, they had Sipsy, a poodle mix. After Sipsy passed, they acquired Missi, a toy poodle. Sadly, Missi has passed on also. She was a funny little dog, and the photo I used for reference was one I took during an Art Walk. A friend and I were getting her to beg for food which is the reason her ears are "flying" back. That goofy look led us to call her the Flying Nun (those of us of a certain age remember the TV show starring Sally Field).


"The Flying Nun" - 4" x 5", watercolor on Yupo


My photo of Missi

I know the color is pretty wild, but I really wanted something vibrant to capture Missi's fun spirit. I used red, orange and yellow for her hair and then a smattering of blue color pencil on top of that to help bring in some depth.

Read more...

Abba - Dearly Missed

My latest little portrait is of Abba, a parti-color (two- or three-toned with white) Cocker Spaniel.

Abba - 3" x 3", in graphite pencil on bristol

Abba had passed away and her owner (I know him from the Auburn Old Town Gallery) asked if I could do a small portrait of her to go on the box that holds her ashes. I'm honored that he asked me to create this memorial portrait of his dog. I never met Abba, but I know she meant a lot to him. She was a beautiful girl too, as evident from the photos her owner provided - look at that shiny, wavy coat! I settled on this photo to use, since it showed her face best:



I rotated the photo a bit, so her eyes were level, and I cropped it so that the circle on the box would frame her face. However, I drew the portrait in square format. Her owner will get the original portrait as a square, and a print that he can put in the circle on the box.




This is the greyscale version, so I can see the tones better.

These types of portraits are bittersweet to do - although I never met the dog, I know all too well how difficult it is to lose a beloved pet. I'm aware of that as I work on the portrait and often think of my own pets that have passed. But I'm also happy to provide a piece of art that captures a cherished animal friend.

Read more...

Mija the Chihuahua - New Portrait

This drawing of Mija is number 4 of 6 in a set of portraits of the chihuahuas belonging to one of my clients.


Ink on Scratchboard, 5" x 5.5"


Detail of Mija's Portrait

Below are the color & greyscale photos I used for reference. Mija is missing quite a few teeth, so her tongue hangs out. The photo her owners liked best didn't have enough tongue visible, so they chose another photo for me to use for the tongue reference.






Mija was part of a four chihuahua portrait that I did a couple of years ago. Since that portrait was finished, my clients added 2 more chihuahuas to their family and wanted individual portraits of the 2 new dogs and new portraits of the original four. Of course, I was more than happy to oblige - repeat business is a very good thing! For the new portraits of the original four, we decided to use photos that showed different head angles. Mija was just a baby in the first portrait (bottom right).

This is the original 4 dog portrait in ink on scratchboard:

One of them is a chihuahua/yorkie terrier mix.

You can see the new portrait of Reina (top left) here. I still have to do the new portraits of Moira & Aime.

Read more...

Magic Dog

I finished this portrait of "Orphan" yesterday. Orphan, a rescued shepherd mix, passed away some time ago; she belonged to my client's friend. This client has purchased two other paintings of mine: "Llemon-Llime Llama " (one of my personal favorites) and "Don't Even Think About It" and she contacted me regarding the portrait of Orphan for her friend.

She didn't have any digital photos, just two 5x7 prints of Orphan. She wanted this portrait done in my "Petzazz" style, which was fortunate, because there wasn't enough detail in the photos for me to do anything else. And with Orphan wearing Halloween costumes in both photos, the vibrant, interpretive Petzazz style was definitely in order. Of the two photos, I chose the one that would work best in terms of composition and photo detail & clarity. I scanned both photos at high resolution (the second one as reference, just in case I needed it) and sent them back to my client.


I didn't want to include the entire dog - I wanted to focus on her face, so I scaled up the scanned image and cropped it to 8" x 6" like this:


And here's Orphan's portrait:



I used a limited color palette of blue, orange & purple. To separate Orphan's coloring from the costume's colors, the dog's dark colors are a more blue-ish purple. After I was finished with painting, I sparingly used color pencil to add depth. I do this on most of my Petzazz paintings. In the detail below, you can see that I used orange color pencil over the purple paint in select spots. I also used purple color pencil over orange paint in other areas of the painting.



I also took some artistic license - less detail in the bandanna and the mask is darker so it doesn't look as much like goggles as it does in the photo. At least, it looked like goggles to me.

Here's a tip I'll pass along: just because it's in the photo, doesn't mean it has to be in the painting. I work almost exclusively from photos, but I crop my photos and I decide what to leave in, take out or add. As I near the end of the painting (or drawing) process, I stop looking at the photo and just look at the art to decide what it needs.

As of this posting, Orphan's owner has not seen the portrait. I'll let you know what she thinks when I hear back from my client.

Read more...