Ruby the vizsla is 3 years old and a nice age of maturity for a portrait.  There is some thing very dignified about the graphite portraits.  My personal favorite is the 3/4 angle as seen in this portrait.  The beauty of art is that if the photo is not quite perfect with imperfection shown on the dog, I can eliminate or change things.  In the photo, Ruby had allergies and a runny eye.  Also, the flash reflected in her eye so I needed to make a change to that as well.  I also “opened” her eye up slightly.  Here is the finished result.

Some years ago I did two Sammies (Samoyeds) for a couple in Petaluma.  Recently I was inspired to do an oil portrait of Nansen, one of the two dogs.  The couple was unaware that I was doing this portrait, but I was so happy with the finished piece with it’s bright, cheerful colors, I felt I needed to share the fun painting with them.  They decided they to add this painting to their collection!  It is on an 11×14 inch stretched canvas frame.  I’m happy the portrait is in the best home it could be in!

First I need to acknowledge this is the first time I forgot to take a photo of an art  piece before it was framed.  So, you are seeing it under glass, but I hope you can see through that (pun intended) to the art.

Garcia is a 120 lb. German Shepherd Dog that has a privileged life living with his owners on a beautiful property that looks over the city of Petaluma.  His owner, Gary, wanted a special gift for his wife’s birthday and commissioned this portrait of their dog Garcia sitting by the pool.  Garcia is perched on the rocks next to the hot tub as his owners are relaxing in it.  Garcia seems quite comfortable and familiar with his hind legs perched higher than is long front legs.   This custom pastel dog portrait was painted on Art Spectrum pastel paper.  The image is 11″x14″ and framed in a 16″x 20″ distressed wood frame with a dark grayish blue matte.

Last October  when I saw Cesar at his dog psychology center in Santa Clarita we had a conversation about art as gifts for loved ones.  Cesar, like most of us, has many loved ones who also have special dogs in their lives.  When we talked about his son Calvin and the chihuahua, Coco.  Cesar thought to give a portrait as a gift for Calvin was a good idea. Coco is actually Calvin’s dog and very important to him.  At this time Cesar was in   the process of having their new house built and this art was going to be a gift for Calvin for his bedroom.  Calvin is a teenager and I thought bright, bold colors would be fun to have as background.  I took the reference photo myself. Coco had been laying on a blanket in the office.   I took some liberty with the actual colors  to give it a more modern feel -the yellow floor,  purple hallway, green wall and the blanket was actually blue.  Some mentioned that the  piece has a “pop art” feel.   This was done in oil on a 16×20 framed  canvas.  The frame is 2″deep and ready to hang.  I like the modern feel of no frame.   A very nice gift to Calvin from his padre.  Another very nice thing is that a portion of this commissioned sale is going to an animal rescue group.  Recently I have been taking a portion of every commissioned piece and after six months of saving for one particular group I donate the proceeds.   Then I start saving again for the next organization Thank you for your help Cesar!

"The Boys"

Kathy first contacted me in early fall of 2012  regarding a portrait for her husband for Christmas.  She had a specific request to have three dogs drawn on one sheet.     Two of the dogs had passed but one was still with the family.   I began by having her send photos of the dogs and she also wrote a very nice description of each to give me an idea of the dogs personality.  Although they were all black giant schnauzers they all had their own unique personalities and physical features – Luke (Lucifer) was their quiet boy – Ivan was the serious one – and Negus was was the clown.   It is important to try and capture both the physical features as well as the personality traits.  My biggest challenge was to get the kind of detail from the photos that I wanted with the limited photos.  Some of the photos were quite tricky because they were grainy and some were taken far away and in shadow.  Others had good detail but there were features that could not be seen – an ear for example on Negus, or they had expressions on the dogs faces that were not good representations of the dog’s personality.  Black dogs with curly hair are challenging because in certain photos it is difficult to see where part of a body ends and another begins (the jaw line to the neck).  But, with a lot of emails and phone call back and forth to Southern California, which is where my client lives,  we managed to get the portrait just right!  The piece is an  18″x 24″ sheet of Strathmore  400 series drawing paper.

pastel dog portrait

This is one of my smallest pieces I’ve done with a lot in the scene.   The image fits into an 11×14 matte with an 8×10 cut-out.  This is a dog that belonged to some friends of ours.   Chloe passed away December 2011.   I thought I would create a pastel for the family.    I only had this photo of Chloe on a porch so I decided to place her in a different scene.   I thought of the beach because one of her owners is a surfer who goes out regularly to the Bodega coast.   I wanted to get the feeling that Chloe was waiting for him at the beach at sunset.  I love the orange sky with her dark brownish/blackish coat.   Her coat reflects the warm colors of the sunset.   Chloe had a very unique look.  With her full dark coat and her golden eyes and those intense eyebrows you would think twice before opening the gate to enter the yard.  Once you met her you realized that she was a big “love”.

Photo of Chloe

Max

I love these surprise gifts that my clients give to their loved ones! Here is the story behind this gift.   This handsome bernese, Max, comes to our dog training facility to board occasionally when his owners need to make a trip out of town.   Jean, one of Max’s owners saw my gallery of portraits that I have displayed in our Dairydell Canine facility.   When she saw the color pencil/watercolor pieces she knew she had to commission a piece for her husband as a Christmas surprise.   After a few back and forth email with photos I was able to begin.   The piece to the left is the result!  The head is approximately 8” by 7″.   After adding a complimentary matte and frame which is currently being done, the piece will be about 14″ x 17″.   I can’t wait to see the finished result. I can tell you that when Jean stopped by to pick up the piece, she could not stop grinning!   I love a happy customer!

Now, let me tell you about the piece below.  For fun, I decided to work on a pastel piece of Max.  When Jean was sending reference photos to me I saw a photo I really liked.  The photo was very dark behind his head and his dark hair was not prominent however, he was looking up adoringly at George, Jean’s husband.  I loved the expression so I decided to create this pastel.  The matte you see is  fits into a 16×20 frame.  The face/neck measures approximately 11×10″.

Max in pastel medium

Charley

Big guy Charley is as sweet as he looks.   Charley came over with Lori for a photo shoot in summer.  Lori particularly liked this pose with tongue out and happy eyes.  She said, he always looks like that!  This is going to be a Christmas gift for her boyfriend coming December.  She did a nice job planning ahead.   Charley’s  portrait will fit nicely in a 16×20 frame with a matte opening of 11×14.  Graphite is such a classic look.  Once framed in a neutral matte they will be able to hang this anywhere in the home.

Lacey looks very regal as she gazes into the lens.  Lacey is one of two vizslas that live with a couple in Sebastapol, California.  She is an accomplished competition hunting dog that competes with her brother, Major, at trials.  They are such high energy dogs that to get them to sit still for a photo is success itself.   The highly detailed face measures approximately 8 x 7 inches.  After matting and framing the finished pieces range from 14×17 – 16×20 depending on personal style.  The colored pencil/water color pieces are still the post popular!

Below is “Major”, Lacey’s brother.  What a handsome guy.   This is the 3rd piece that the clients have commissioned of their beloved vizslas.   They were all created to look similar as they will be hanging in a series.   The original photo of Major had a very strong shadow over half of his face.   Although I could have continued to build the contrast the clients wanted a similar look for each piece.  Also,  Major has quite a bit of gray on his distinguished muzzle.  I gave him a more youthful look.  Look back to see Kyla their first commission.

Major

Conan

I had the pleasure of creating another pastel portrait for the owners of Sierra. This is a relative of hers, Conan.  Conan was a beautiful German Shepherd.  He recently passed and is greatly missed.  Fortunately at the time of that the photo I used for the portrait, he was happy and enjoying a walk with his family.  They loved the expression on his face and the way he appeared to be smiling.  The landscaping with trees in the background and ground shrubs in the foreground were also elements of the portrait that they wanted in the finished piece.  The paper on which I worked was black felt in texture.  I like the dreamy effect that it gives to the scene.