Posts in pet portraits
Pet Portraits — a glimpse into the life & loves of pets

Each pet portrait, like each pet, is different.

 

Colorful pet portraits began because I wanted to make playful color choices in all my paintings. I’d found myself faithfully recreating what was before me yet missing the life force of my subject.

 

The “illusion of reality,” the painting of “realism,” is a tough habit to drop!

 

I began by painting photos from magazines. I wasn’t painting “for” anyone. This was a learning experience, with no pressure or strings attached. It later became a class I taught to help others infuse more color into their paintings.

 What follows is the painting of “Mikey,” a much-loved, “older” schnauzer.

The process of painting YOUR pet begins with your decision to have a portrait painted.

 

Once a portrait is ordered, you send a photo or two of your pet to me, along with your preference for either a “traditional” portrait, or a “Hawaiian-style,” rainbow portrait.

 

Your photo is a template for the drawing, the “bones” of the painting. The photo of your pets’ face is enlarged so details are clearly seen.

The portrait always begins with the eyes, nose, and mouth. They must be realistic for you to feel the love in your pet’s eyes — no matter what colors are used for the rest of the painting.

When Mikey’s eyes were enlarged, two figures were clearly reflected in his gaze. It felt important to show them in the final painting as a true testament to Mikey’s love for his “people.”

 

Watercolor is a delicate medium. Layers upon layers go into creating just the right color. Each layer must dry before the next one can be painted on top.

 

Most applications of watercolor for pet portraits are added with the paper lying flat. This keeps the colors from running willy-nilly all over the page.

Once the eyes, nose, and mouth are painted, the rest of the face follows.

 

My rule of thumb is to only paint what I “know” to paint.

This means I pause and look at the painting until I “know” what to do next.

 

Pausing is as important as painting!

 

My thinking mind doesn’t decide what to paint, I wait until I feel the urge to paint.

As I paint one area, another area will call to be painted.

 

Sometimes, an area already painted will call me back for another layer of color.

 

In this way, I meander around the painting, adding color whenever called.

 

This isn’t a mysterious process, it’s the result of pausing, looking, then waiting for the impulse to paint.

 

Being pulled to do something is preferable to being pushed to do something.

 

This might seem like a subtle difference, but I assure you, it’s really important!

Painting continues as layers upon layers are added to the eyes, nose, and mouth. This ensures the entire painting “comes up together,” feeling congruent.

Thin layers ensure that the paint remains translucent, giving your pet’s portrait a luminous, lively feel.

 

The background is painted last. Complementary colors are often chosen to reside across from the opposing complement on the body. Two layers are often needed here as well.

Young at Heart

October is “Adopt-a-Pet” month. It’s the perfect time to order an original watercolor Pet Portrait. Today I’m sharing one of my recent Hawaiian-style Pet Portraits. They're also available in the true colors of your pet.

I live in an apartment that doesn’t allow pets, but Keanu and I both love animals. About two years ago, we heard a tiny mew coming from a drainage ditch behind our house.

It took a few weeks for us to find the kitten living there and calling to his mom

I like to start the portraits by painting the eyes, nose, and mouth.
If I can get that right, the rest is sure to follow suit.

Alas, we found the kitten too late to save him, but we caught and spayed his mom.

“Mommie Cat” remains our feral cat today. I suspect she once belonged to a student in the neighborhood who either couldn’t find her when it was time to move or couldn’t take her along.

Mommie doesn’t want us to touch her, but she expects, and receives, food and water whenever she asks.

“Mommie” has a boyfriend, “Tom," who’s part of the package deal. We haven’t been able to capture him, but I suspect his “tom-catting days” are numbered. He’s a beautiful, but a scrawny specimen of a once handsome cat.

Our pets carry within them seeds of love and sprinkle them freely on our days.

It’s been said that domesticated dogs, unlike wolves from whom they’re descended, remain puppies their whole lives. They never fully mature into full-grown, “I can take care of myself” animals.

The play behavior exhibited by all baby animals turns into much-needed survival skills by wild animals.

Our pets rely on us for their care, allowing them to remain young at heart.

Our pets keep us young at heart with the ever-present love they convey in a myriad of ways.

“Puppy-dog” eyes are eyes filled with love — and sometimes a question. When we respond with approval, a “smile” engulfs the entire countenance of our pet.

The love our pets bestow upon us and stir within us, far outweighs the cost of food, shelter, and medical attention we provide.

If you’re able, go to your nearest pet shelter and take a new pet/friend home with you. Or volunteer your time to walk a dog, or foster some tiny kittens or puppies too young to be adopted.

ONCE you find the “love-of-your-life-pet” remember that when you order one of my pet portraits, whether a realistic one or Hawaiian-style one, $25 goes directly to the Humane Society.

Meet Stuart

Stuart is always ready to play — ball or just about anything else. His little body is filled with love and he was a joy to paint!

When entrusted to paint a member of anyone's fur family, I start with a good pencil drawing. I want to get him or her situated on the page just right.

First I paint the eyes. Next I paint the nose and add a little more love to the eyes.

The eyes, those windows to the soul, really need to shine forth.

You'll see me smile while I paint these loving pets. I feel their love and I express my love for them back into the painting.

When I'm pleased with the realistic features of the pet, I begin to play with color for the rest of the body. This is done in stages.

Sometimes I'm asked to paint a pet in realistic colors. These are just as much fun and as much of a challenge as the colorful portraits; I love painting them just as much as the colorful pets.

When painting in "Hawaiian-style" colors, I work to capture the nature of the pet with a joyful rainbow of colors.

Any white lines between the colors show where the pencil lines were. They help me to remember the different planes of the face and the shifting of the color value I want to paint. I carefully paint around the lines so they can be erased when the painting is dry.

The background comes last and is meant to highlight the portrait of the pet.

If you can feel the love of the pet, and the love I felt for and from the pet while I was painting it, the portrait is a success.

Stuart is one tiny, compact bundle of BIG loving energy!