I am working on a fair few pet portraits at the moment. It is a bit of a juggling act to be fair. I thought I would use this blog to talk a little about the other commissions I have going on. Not in as much depth as the WIP blogs, but it’s good to be able to share other things that are going on.
These are smaller pet portraits I am picking up as I am going along between the bigger projects, packing and framing and other general Christmas madness!
Working Cocker Spaniel Portrait
The first one up is a beautiful tri colour Working Cocker Spaniel called………He is being painted in pastels and measures 11×9 inches. The reference photograph is a lovely image to work from, but it has chopped some of his ears off. I have many years experience painting spaniels and they are my favourite breed and their ears are just gorgeous so I have no problem adding in the bits that are missing. I actually have my very own live reference in my house most days in George!
You can see where I added the rough lines to the image, showing where I thought his ears would extend out to, my client was happy so we can proceed.
The finished portrait can be seen below.
Lily, Cat Portrait 11×9 inches
It’s been a while since I have painted a cat portrait, so it was a delight to get a commission for one. Lily is a bit of a tricky customer as I only have one photo of her in natural light and the rest are under warm lighting. Even the reference photo her pet portrait is based on. I am try to cross reference the two to create her portrait. It definitely needs more work, but I am getting there.
I have managed to get Lilly finished and framed. She is ready to be posted out. She has been framed in a lovely dark wood frame, which is very popular with clients. Here is a scan of Lilly’s finished cat portrait.
Double Dog Portrait, Harvey and Oscar
This gorgeous duo were an absolute pleasure to paint. Their adorable pose is unbelieveably cute. I just love animals cuddling and showing affection. I think most people do. There is something so heartwarming about it. Even my grumpy Jack Russell, Luke is beginning to appreciate quick cuddles from Maggie! He likes the warmth, but he won’t stay too long. Got to keep up his grumpy facade!
Here is a scan of the portrait. My client isn’t having it framed so it is being packed up ready to go in the post this week.
Second to Last Pet Portrait
Now completed….. of a beautiful border terrier called Bailey. This painting was a lot of fun to do as I had a complete change of background to focus on. With most of my dog portraits any detailed backgrounds contain fields, trees the odd seascape, bit not a fire place. Not for a long time. I did one a while ago, trying to think of the dogs name. It was a yellow lab sitting in fornt of a lit open fire. Gorgeous commission. This time my subject is sitting infront of a log burner with a brick work surround and wooden mantle. Great fun to do!
Meet Bailey 10×12 inches on pastelmat
Tomorrow when I have the energy I will scan in my last pastel pet portrait Christmas commission of Poppy for you to see and my last Jolly Splashes. I will just put this reminder here, the next week is starting new year work including Fudge.
Poppy Pastel Dog Portrait
And here is the gorgeous Poppy, 10×12 inches and unframed again. I seem to have had a lot of unframed pet paintings this year. I do love seeing them framed, but it is a time consuming job to frame them myself and also really rather tricky so I don’t mind if my client wants to get it done themselves. I love to see a photo of them framed and hanging though, so please always share with me.
Poppy’s reference photo had lots of colours in it which I felt would be a distraction so I changed it to a blurry green and I think it works really well, certainly doesn’t take your eye away from her gorgeous face.
I will also be putting my prices up, so please book now if you want to commission you 2020 pet portait at 2019 prices!