Lexi and Gunner

Is there anything sweeter than a girl and her dog? No? That’s what I thought.

I remember my first dog. Her name was Mitzy and she was a chubby blonde 7 year old cocker spaniel. We adopted her and she truly did not like us when we first brought her home. I’m pretty sure the first time I tried to pet her she tried to bite me.

Once, my brothers were home alone during the day, when a man broke into our house. My brother had to hold Mitzy back from attacking until the man left. She was so grumpy, but she really was a good dog and I’m pretty sure she grew to love us as much as we loved her.

Wedding Gift

I was recently commissioned to paint a triple portrait for a couple due to be married in September. They have a yellow lab that needed to be added since he was not in the reference photo. I thought he should be the center of attention ( as all dogs should), so I used some ***ART MAGIC!*** to make it happen. I wish them all the best in their future together, and I hope their dog likes this painting.

Quinn

“Quinn” Acrylic on canvas

My sweet nephew. He is so beautiful that I had to paint a portrait of him.

Flo

“Flo” Acrylic on 12×12 canvas

Painting brings people together! My 3rd grade teacher contacted me recently to commission a portrait of her grand puppy, Flo. She sent me more reference photos than anyone ever has, and it was very difficult to choose one because this dog is adorable. I chose the reference photo with the best shot of Flo’s eyes because she has really cool eyes that are different colors!

Now to address the elephant sized dog in the room. . . This blog is called pet painting a day, but I obviously haven’t been delivering. I’m trying, though, so be patient with me, and if you have any reference photos you would like to see painted on my blog, feel free to send ’em my way!

Roscoe

“Roscoe” Acrylic on 12×12 canvas

Let’s pretend the last month didn’t happen, shall we?

Here is Roscoe.  He’s a senior long haired dachsund that lives with some dear friends of ours in Georgia.  Roscoe has kept up with two active kids for the past 8 years and has been loved by his family for over 10 years!  I’ve met him a few times, and he is full of personality and spunk!  His parents have been great friends to my husband for over 20 years, and are wonderful and caring people. Roscoe is a very fortunate dog to be a part of their family.

Happy Father’s Day to all of you doggy dads and people dads out there!

Bowie

Just a little Bowie fan art and experimenting with fluid acrylics.

Pet painting #59 – ROAR

This is the result of letting my eight year old pick the reference photo.

Joni and Catherine- an oldie

This is one of my first pet portraits ever.  A friend asked if I would paint his two beautiful golden retrievers, so I broke out the oil paints and painted this small 8×10 for him.  I think I also made the canvas out of a piece of wood!  I love this painting.  You can see that my style has changed a bit since then, so I’m hoping he sends me some more reference photos soon so I can do something for him again.

Zoo Sketches

I’ve been in an art funk lately, and decided that I needed to step away from the photos and get in some quality life drawing time. That’s why I love the zoo! There are so many different living things to draw, and they don’t usually stay still for very long, so its really good practice in quick gesture drawings. I mean, you could draw the sloth and take your time,  but that’s cheating (plus, she was in the nocturnal house so it was too dark.) You will notice that some of the animals I sketched are sleeping, though, so. . .

Also, there were tons of little kids around who acted super impressed by my drawing skills, and that gave me a huge boost in confidence.  It was a nice day at the zoo.

  
    
   

(Not A) Pet Painting #58 – Kimari/Little Wing

“Kimari” Acrylic on 16×20 canvas

A friend of my sister commissioned this piece of her younger sister, Kimari, who passed away at the young age of 16 this past year.  She wanted the painting to be influenced by Jimi Hendrix, so I did my best to give it a psychedelic feel and still keep the sweetness of this 16 year old girl.

I’m always honored when someone asks me to paint a loved one, but it means even more when someone trusts me to capture a family member or friend that has passed away.  I hope that this painting brings her some comfort and memories every time she looks at it.