Commissioned Pet Portrait

Morgan was a beautiful, loving Sheltie/Collie breed whom his owner misses dearly. She says there is something about that long nose that you can just grab and kiss! Also, they have the most soulful eyes. I felt you might enjoy the process I use when creating one of my custom pet portraits. Below are photos of different stages of this work. First I request photos from the owner. I then take these into my computer, study them for the best angle, make any changes regarding size, placement or any elements I feel will help me to capture my subject. From there, I eliminate color by reverting it to a black and white in order to study values. I then place a grid layer over the photo and use the computer screen as reference to work from. Once satisfied, I proceed to draw off my subject on paper and forward this to the client. Once I receive approval, I transfer the main outline of my drawing to my substrate using graphite paper. That is when the real fun for me begins. After studying Morgan, I wanted to present him with an ethereal aura. I feel he's waiting - watching over his loved ones. I first applied mastic to the areas I wanted to preserve as white. In the first layer, I laid in my lightest colors checking them for compatibility. My goal is to keep the painting translucent. I let this layer dry while I continued to study it against my photos - that is a must - I tweak my work throughout the entire process. From there, I laid in more russets, golds and deep browns. Here he began to take shape and speak to me. Again after studying the photos against the painting, I proceeded with my darkest darks to bring him to completion.