Maltese Poodle Dog Pet Portrait in Oils

Riley is a lovable Maltese Poodle - at least to his owner whom he follows around everywhere.  He is also 15 years old!

My client has a 7x5 oil portrait that I had painted of her dog, Lila, and wants a similar portrait of Riley to hang on the wall next to Lila's.

The photo she sent to the left is the one I will use as reference for a head and chest portrait.

It was taken from above which makes the chest look too small compared to the head. I will fix this in the drawing so it looks like we are seeing Riley at his level.
Read more to see how I painted his portrait!

Forever in Paradise Custom Oil Portrait of Two Young People at a Tropical Ocean Beach

Summer is drawing to a close here, but in tropical places, the beach is almost always warm and inviting.

This custom portrait is of a couple enjoying a dip in the waters of a tropical island. Read more to view my 10 steps to paint this piece:

Watercolor and Ink Landscape Painting from Lake District in Cumbria, UK

Cumbria, England is a remarkably scenic area abounding with blue mountains, lush green meadows enclosed by stone walls and sheep grazing on the hillsides.

I painted this Cumbria landscape several years ago as a 5x7 watercolor. This time, I will paint it at 8x10 using ink with watercolor. It's wonderfully fun! Keep reading to see how.

First Walk on the Beach - Custom Watercolor Painting

Detail of 'First Walk on the Beach'

Sizzling summer days are the perfect time to visit the seashore, and what could be more fun than taking a small child to chase the waves?

In this commissioned watercolor, Grandpa holds tightly to his little granddaughter's hand on her very first visit to the ocean. I had fun painting it. It reminds me of many happy beach days when my own children were small.

To see the finished painting, scroll to the bottom of this post. Meanwhile, I'll show you how I painted it.

Pet Portrait of a Schnauzer Dog in Oil on Canvas

Photo of Nick

German Schnauzer's are wonderful family dogs: intelligent, playful, energetic and protective of family. They can be stubborn, but they are very trainable and thrive on being outdoors with lots to do. So they make good farm dogs too.

Nick is all of those things. He lives with my brother and sister-in-law and travels many hours with them without complaint whenever they visit. We're as happy to see him as he is to see us.

Nick is so special, I decided he needed a painting of himself! To see a short demo of the 6x8 oil on canvas portrait (which was a gift for my brother and sister-in-law), read on...