"Jett" (oil on linen; 9" x 12") sold

sold

"Jett" is for Gaye who commissioned the portrait for her daughter, Katie.  Jett is a 6-year-old Cockapoo. He is very sassy and doesn't know he is a dog; he likes to be treated like a king.  The red sofa in which he is ensconced makes a perfect throne for the canine royalty!

"Bosley" (oil on linen; 10" x 10") sold

sold

"Bosley" is for Kellie, who commissioned the portrait for her husband.  Bosley is a 3-year-old boxer with more personality and energy than anyone could have ever imagined a dog having. He is the sweetest, happiest, and most energetic boxer!

"Ernie and Miles" (oil on linen; 9" x 12") sold

sold

"Ernie and Miles" is for Lindsey, who commissioned the double portrait of the two darling Havaneses for her parents.  Ernie on the left will be 8 years old next spring.  He loves to play ball and has funny, expressive eyebrows.  The 2-year-old Miles on the right is a bit bigger than Ernie.  He is playful and cuddly--a huge love bug.  Miles has large dark brown eyes (like a horse).  Speaking of eyes, I couldn't see these cute guys' eyes much at all!

"Dinky and Yokie" (oil on linen; 8" x 8") sold

sold

"Dinky and Yokie" is for Sue, who commissioned the painting for her sister.  Yokie, on the right, was the most friendly chihuahua, always excited to see everybody and anybody who walked into the house.  Dinky, on the left, was more reserved and had to warm up to you, but they were both the sweetest little dogs.  Sue's sister is broken up about their passing.  I hope this portrait gives her some comfort.

"Kitty" (oil on linen; 10" x 8") sold

sold

"Kitty" is the third and last painting for Diane, who commissioned the portrait for her 82-year-old mother.  Kitty is a 7-year-old American shorthair tabby cat.  You can tell by the tip of her left ear, that has been snipped when she was fixed.  Even though Diane's mom says that she doesn't like the cat, when she can't find Kitty, she panics.  Kitty follows her around like a dog!

"Kitty" (oil on linen; 8" x 10") sold

sold

"Kitty" is for Melissa.  Sebastian, usually called Kitty, is a six-year-old flame point Siamese.  He is a rescue cat and was found by a police officer on a street of Chicago.  Melissa and her husband purchased him the day after they got married, so he is their honeymoon baby.  At the age of three, his bladder became blocked; he was close to death several times before finally going through surgery at a veterinarian hospital.  It was a traumatic time, but completely worth it.

Kitty is a scaredy cat and is slow to warm up.  He is also the sweetest cat Melissa has ever owned.  He loves to snuggle and follows her and her husband from room to room.  He talks a lot, especially when he wants food!  He is a master at finding the most comfortable place to take a nap.

The client sent me 10 photos, of which I picked this one.  I cropped and Photoshopped it, and decided which elements to keep and which to edit out.  I transferred the image to the Belgian linen panel I prepared (I use Claessens #66) with raw umber paint.

The transparent underpainting.
  

I started with the easiest colors in the opaque painting stage.

I mixing colors, I always look for the subtle warm/cool variations as well as light/dark ones of a certain color family (hue).