Buster and Rex - two dogs in a portrait

Soon I'll be back to painting flowers, landscapes and seascapes, but first one more pet portrait.

This one will be a 5"x7" watercolor of two dogs that look very much alike at first glance. However, one is a lab/pit bull mix and the other a lab/border collie mix. I begin, as always, by deciding on the composition and then doing a detailed drawing.

One of the things I enjoy about painting pet portraits is the stories that go with them. Every animal has his or her own unique history and personality.
When clients fill in the Pet Portrait Questionnaire, they write about their pets. I use these stories and descriptions to help me decide the poses and composition of the piece.
Rex, the lab/pit bull was rescued from a pound. He is "pretty mellow" and I've chosen a photo to use as reference that shows that part of his personality. I'll begin the painting with Rex after washing in a soft, neutral background.
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Tabby Cat pet portrait

Here is another portrait that I finished for a client in time for Christmas, though there are still a few post-Christmas portraits to do as well.

I did this painting of a cat on panel at 10"x 8" size. It was especially enjoyable to paint this soft kitty against a softly-colored background.

She enjoys sitting on a cushion and looking out the window, so I placed her in that environment to do the portrait. Here is the background painted in and the beginnings of the cat's fur.

It always makes such a big difference once the eyes are painted.  She has such beautiful green eyes.

I have extended the curtain above her so that it visually connects rather than leaving it as a disconnected entity at the top of the painting.

In the finished piece below, you will see that I enlarged it further and darkened it behind her so that she would stand out more from the background.

 

Here is Mosa's portrait finished. The client told me she is a sweet and loving cat. She does look sweet, doesn't she, as if she's waiting for you to pet her?

ZehPetPortraits.com

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Final Touches - Weimaraner, German Shorthair Pointer and Shepherd mix pet portrait

If you've been following along with this portrait, you may remember that only the faces have been painted so far and I've left the Weimaraner for last.
This is Vaeda, a sweet dog with lovely eyes. In the photo I'm using, she is squinting in the sunlight, so I've widened her eyes so we can see them.
I've blocked in some shadows and, after doing so, have noticed that she will not stand out against the pale background. So I add deeper color around her  making a few more suggestions of trees in the background.
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Three Dogs Portrait - Next Steps

Now that the composition is drawn in and a light background wash of color applied, it's time to paint the dogs.

I've put a wash of light color on the Weimaraner in the background. Her name is Vaeda. We'll go back to her later.

Right now, I want to start with the German Shorthair Pointer - Gunner. Following the areas I've drawn on his face, I fill in washes of color, some brown, some blue where the highlights are.
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Pet Portrait Demonstration of Three Dogs

One more pet portrait to be done for Christmas! I've just completed two other portraits, oil paintings of a tabby cat and a dog, but I'll post those later as the client for this one is anxious to see how it's coming along. Fortunately, she lives locally so she can pick it up when it's finished.

When beginning a portrait, I look over all the submitted images to choose the ones that will work best. This portrait will be an 11"x14" watercolor of three dogs: a German Shorthair Pointer, a Weimaraner and a Shepherd mix. This is where the pet portrait questionnaire completed by the client comes in handy. It will help me choose poses that best represent the dogs' personalities.

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Pet Portrait Demonstration in Watercolor of a Long-haired Cat

The cat who posed for this portrait is just delightful. There were so many fun photos sent by the client that it was tough to chose which one to use!

I finally decided on a head and chest pose in order to focus on her incredible eyes.

To start, I painted the background a deep burgundy as that was one of the colors the client suggested. If the background colors are in first, I can adjust the mixed grays of the cat to go with the background much better than if I'd waited to put it in last.

Normally I don't do the eyes right away, but these eyes were just too hard to resist! Right now she reminds me of an owl!

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Golden Retriever Watercolor paintings

Another pet portrait is done! And it just happens to be another Golden. Only four more portraits to finish by Christmas...

zehpetportraits.com

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Golden Retriever Dog Portrait - watercolor

This pet portrait is one I recently finished. Beautiful dog, don't you think?

The person who commissioned it seems very pleased. I got this in an email from her today: "I just received the portrait you did of our Cody and I could not be more pleased.  The painting is exquisite and it really looks like Cody… I know my husband will be thrilled."

I love getting feedback like that! Now on to the next one... Only five more portraits to go before Christmas. Think I'll get them all done? Pin It

Painting Birch Trees - a demonstration in oil

This new oil painting is going to look familiar to you if you've been following the painting demonstrations.

When the person who bought "Autumn Blaze"  showed off her painting, a family member fell in love with it, but could not persuade her to part with it.
So, he ordered a larger piece of the same scene and wanted some birch trees included which are a favorite of his. I agreed to do it as I love painting birches and autumn scenes.

I won't demonstrate the entire painting as I've already done that; just the birches. Here you can see me beginning the painting. It gives you an idea of the size: 20"x30"

When it comes to birches, I like to paint them in groups of two or three.

Here, I'm painting a blue-gray base color for the trunks. The leaves are yellow. I'll add some touches of green to them later.
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Artists Open Studios

My, things are crazy busy between custom orders and shows! I want to share with you some pictures from the show I did last weekend with two other artists: a potter and a jeweler. It was part of a much larger Artists Open Studio tour that takes place in our area every year with dozens of artist studios open. I exhibit the first weekend at a centralized location with other artists because some of my customers prefer that rather than driving way out into the boonies to get to my studio! The second weekend is by invitation only to my own studio.

I had to take pictures when things slowed down a bit, because when it was busy, there was just no time.

In this photo, that's me in the middle with two of my regular collectors.  It's such great fun to see people in person especially when selling mostly online throughout the year.
I also love meeting people whom I'd only known online previously and that happened several times this past weekend.
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