Considering my love of painting animals, wildlife, and nature in general, it was a natural progression for me to enter the world of commissioned pet portraits. I work in both acrylic paint and soft pastels. Pastel creates a softer image more conducive for replicating fur, while my acrylic paintings have a lot of texture and energy. Either medium can be used for Traditional or Personality Portraits.
Traditional Portraits
Traditional portraits, such as the dog duo below, are normally more refined and “posed.” The Pups is painted with soft pastels on suede board. Nado (above) is a combination of Traditional and Personality styles. He is rendered in soft pastel on a highly textured pastel paper.
Personality Portraits
This is MY Chair is a painting of Max, a huge mix breed who was the alpha pet in a house of 3 cats and a dog. Somehow, he has the impression that he is the alpha human as well, as he demonstrates by taking over the most comfortable chair in front of the tv. I visited with Max and his human and snapped a few photos from which I composed this acrylic painting.
Katie at Play is a portrait of my former beloved cat. Katie was my first pet as an adult and oversaw the childhoods of my three children She was normally very refined and graceful unless a small, rubber bouncy ball is produced. Then she turned into a canine-like streak…chasing and sliding…whatever it took to get the ball. This painting is also an acrylic on canvas.