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.

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Hogan - Dog Portrait in Pencil

My latest completed portrait is of Hogan, a shepherd mix. Sadly, I was never able to meet Hogan, as he had passed away before his owner contacted me. Fortunately, she had a couple of photos of him that had enough detail for me to use. The photo we both liked best wasn't good enough resolution, so we discussed her other photos and decided on this one.



I cropped it, which if you've been following my art, you know I like to do with many of my portraits.


This is the greyscale version.


And here's a detail of the portrait.


In an ideal situation, I'm able to take my own reference photos for pet portraits, but when that isn't possible, as in Hogan's case or if the pet is too far away (as in Ripple's case), I can come up with a suitable option based on the photos the client does have (or can take). Sometimes I have to go with the looser watercolor style that doesn't have (or require) as much detail. Or perhaps I'll just create a smaller portrait if the client really, really wants a pencil or scratchboard drawing. This is one of the reasons I'm glad I'm able to offer different styles and mediums, it gives me and my clients more possibilities. A big part of the portrait process is discussing all the options and the client's wishes up front - if we're both on the same page, we'll both be satisfied with the end result.

I'll use this opportunity to remind you that our dear pets never live as long as we'd like, so it's important to take the time to get some good photos of them now. Even if you have no plans to commission a portrait, you'll have wonderful photographic memories that you can cherish. For tips on getting good photos of your pets, you can read this article I wrote about pet photography for the Pet Gazette a while back. If you're interested in taking photos for a portrait commission, you can also read my pet photo guidelines.

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Two New Paintings With Petzazz

I don't always mention it in my blog posts, but these watercolor on Yupo paintings are my "Paintings with Petzazz". A term I coined when I needed a catchier description than "interpretive style".

Yupo is a synthetic paper made of polypropylene. The slick, bright white surface allows the paint to flow and blend differently than on traditional watercolor paper and because the paint/water doesn't soak into the paper, the colors remain vibrant. Interesting watermarks, swirls and blobs are also part of the Yupo effect. Lifting paint off is very easy - all it takes is a damp brush. Corrections are difficult though, as an obvious harsh edge is left where the paint has been moved around. It takes some planning and knowledge of how different paint colors work together, but I like the spontaneity of the process - a lot of it is pushing paint around and then letting it decide what it wants to do. Yupo is a very interesting surface and I really enjoy working with it. You can read more about Paintings with Petzazz on this page of my web site.

It's always a challenge to capture the vibrancy of the paint in the scans of the finished work. These two were especially difficult, I just couldn't get the green backgrounds to look as brilliant as the originals, but this is pretty close.


Bruno, 8" x 8"


Floyd, 8" x 8"

These two dogs belong to the same family. In discussion with my clients, we decided that having two separate paintings was best. I generally use dark blues and/or purples for dark colored dogs, so that was an easy choice for Bruno, the pit bull mix. Since both portraits would be hanging together, lavender/light purple made the most sense for Floyd, the Weimaraner. My clients chose green for the background. They liked the green in this painting I did of my dog Patch.



These are the reference photos I took of each dog:

You'll notice that I used a bit of artistic license on Floyd's portrait - his poor eye was infected and squinty when I took the photos of him.



As I always do when I have the opportunity to take my own reference photos, I took many digital photos of each dog, then chose 3 or 4 (of each) that I liked best. Then I asked my clients to chose their favorite photo of each dog from my choices. This process works very well, since I select photos that I know will work for the portrait and the client chooses the photo that best captures their pet.

I can (and do) work from client-supplied photos, but whenever possible, I take my own. This allows me to get to know the pet, see their personality for myself and to have an assortment of photos that have the detail I want/need for the portrait.

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