I have said this in my blog before, but the diversity of what I do is one of my favorite things! After my 15’x16’ and 5’x8’ mural projects, it was fun to get back into my studio and do this intimate little 8”x10” dog portrait.
The best part about commissioned art is talking with my clients about images that are special to them, which was the case when I connected with my latest client Gretchen. Gretchen and her husband have a small “collection” of portraits of the dogs they have had over the years, but their current dog Rosie had not yet had her portrait done! Gretchen is actually the sister of another client that I did a dog portrait for (“Gus”) and she wanted “Rosie” done in the same style to make her Rosie portrait stand out in the crowd.
We began the process with Gretchen sending a few different photos, and I started looking at them in terms of the quality of the photo and the composition of the shot. It wasn’t until Gretchen focused instead on who Rosie is that we settled on this final shot. While some of the other pictures were great, this shot of her inside on the couch was perfect – as Rosie so prefers to be indoors that her family nickname is “Hothouse Rosie”
The reference photo
Having the additional photos is still a big help, however. I find when I do any kind of portrait (dog, human or otherwise), the more views I have of my subject, the more I can get a sense of what distinctive features they have that really make them look like them!
With the picture chosen, I did some cropping and editing to get a good composition and started my painting! For this piece, the expression on Rosie’s face and the texture of her fur were key to get the “look” correct.
Now that it is complete, Rosie is waiting to be a gift from Gretchen to her husband. I look forward to hearing his response!
The final painting
Enjoy!
Jason