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

sold

"Frankie" is for Amy, who commissioned the painting for her mother.  Frankie is a 23-year-old chestnut, Canadian Warmblood Sport Horse.  According to Amy's mom, "calm" is the best adjective to describe him.  Does he look calm in the portrait?  I think he does.

Frankie is a rescue horse.  Although her family think he is perfect, he is not, physically speaking.  He has only one eye (his right one); his left eye is sewn closed.  He is big (about 17 hands) and a bit thin.  Fortunately over the past 8 months, he has gained some weight.

It is easy to love someone or some thing beautiful, adorable, cute, handsome, etc.  It takes a big heart and true love of animals to adopt and take care of a disabled, malnourished horse who was probably abused.  I thank you, Amy's mom, for giving a second chance and happy retirement to Frankie.

"Indiana Jones" (oil on linen; 10" x 8") sold

sold

"Indiana Jones" is for Sean, who commissioned the painting for his family.  This happy dog is a rescue dog and has been a huge part of Sean's family ever since his parents rescued her as a puppy in 2004.  She got the cool name, Indi for short, as a result of his little brothers' favorite movie being "Indiana Jones" at that time.

Indi is a mutt, probably part Greyhound and part Plott Hound. She is a lovable dog who is shy around people she doesn't know, but incredibly friendly to those she knows.  She is full of energy and loves to run around the backyard.  That said, she is happiest sleeping on the couch, or watching TV with the family!

I still have a few more commissions to finish, but there is only one of me!  I would like to thank all my readers for following my blog.  My special thanks go to my clients who have kept me super busy for the past several weeks.  On Christmas morning all over the country, many families will receive my paintings.  There will be cries of joy, perhaps some tears as well, because quite a few of my cats and dogs have gone to heaven.  My sincere hope is that I've brought you happiness.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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

sold

"Max" is for Dustin, who commissioned the painting for his family.  Max is a 12-year-old Great Pyrenees and still alive.  Yeah!  He is a huge dog and all fur, probably 6' 2" when on his hind legs!  He thinks he is a small lap dog though and will routinely try and sit on your lap.  He loves to run around with his sister and pretend that he is still a puppy.  He is always smiling, just like he is in the painting.  According to Dustin, Max is the most gentle and smiley dog in history.  I believe Dustin.

"Deacon and Fern" (oil on linen; 12" x 9") sold

sold

"Deacon and Fern" is for Jennifer, who commissioned the portrait of the two dogs to lift the spirits of her parents-in-law.  They lost both dogs this year, with the boxer having died of cancer just this month.  I hope my painting gives them some comfort.

Deacon, the German Shepherd, was a big dog who was very protective of and sweet to his family.  He would never have hurt anyone, but he sure looked scary!  He was just a big teddy bear at heart.

Fern, the boxer, was another sweet dog.  She was friendly with all visitors.  She was always the first to greet anyone at the door and jump up at you for attention.  Her little tail wiggled around like crazy!

Deacon and Fern were great friends and loved lying on the couch in the sunroom.  The first picture Jennifer sent me showed exactly such a scene, except that they were facing the opposite direction, looking all pooped out.  The second picture, which I used for the painting, was taken outside on a sunny day.

I really like the composition.  Each dog occupies its own space and their portraits capture different angles (Deacon's is a profile portrait and Fern's, a three-quarter one).  Neither is anybody's sidekick, yet they belong together.  Noble, strong, and handsome.  They will live forever in my portrait and in their family's heart.

"Sam" (oil on linen; 14" x 11") sold

sold

"Sam" is for Kristin and her brother, who commissioned the painting for their father.  Sam is a four-year-old black Labrador.  He is a field trial champion and came all the way from Ireland! The reference picture was taken in their dad's hunting blind in Chesapeake on a beautiful autumn day, when Sam retrieved eight geese.

Kristin initially ordered a 10" x 8" pet portrait.  Boy, I wished for a larger painting, so that I could do justice to such an awesome subject.  Then I could paint not only the portrait of the noble dog, but also the still life tableau of the game and hunting blind in the foreground and the autumn landscape in the background.  Somehow, Kristin telepathically read my mind and decided to upgrade.  The power of positive thinking got proven again!

They say that a dog is a man's best friend.  Sam is indeed Kristin's dad's best friend.  Can you imagine how proud and happy Kristin's dad will be when he learns about the thoughtful present on Christmas?  He will only see a card with the image of "Sam"; the painting will arrive after the New Year's Day.  I would like to thank here several clients who kindly agreed to the late deliveries of their orders.  As one client said, it is worth it!

"Sam" in progress

By the way, I took a picture of the painting in progress yesterday.  I don't usually do this, because it puts an additional pressure on myself and the step-by-step photos taken in my studio always have strange white balance.  But I get inquiries about my procedures from curious fellow artists, so here we go.  I use the same methods for all my oil paintings, whether portraits, landscapes, or florals.

I use the grid method to transfer the image to the linen panel.  (Can you see the grids I drew on the print on the left?)  Drawing in raw umber gets done fast.  The next step is a transparent underpainting over the drawing.  The geese in the foreground in the painting has, at this point, only a thin layer of transparent paints, but don't they already look finished?

My goal at this stage is to establish the correct value and color temperature scheme.  Much of the drawing gets lost, as you can see in the dog, who lost all the facial features.  But it's okay.  I don't blindly paint by numbers.  Painting is a continual drawing process with a brush!

I have already started blocking in with thick opaque paints in the landscape background and the weedy foreground.  It probably took about an hour or so to get this far.  It took four additional hours to finish the painting.  (Facial features alone sometimes take a hour.)  It was a long day yesterday!

"Gracie" (oil on linen; 7" x 7") sold

sold

"Gracie" is for Cecilia, who commissioned me to paint two pet portraits for her mother.  Gracie, a Lab/Great Pyrenees mix, is a bit shy with people at first, but loyal and sweet with dogs of all sizes, particularly little dogs.  Doesn't her sweet nature come through in the portrait?

Unlike "Georgie", we had trouble finding the right photo for the commission.  Fortunately, Cecilia's dad was in on it, so he helped out by sending us more and more pictures.  My client wanted two paintings in the same format, so that they would look great when hung side by side. It was a good idea because the two dogs are about the same size and similar coloring (black and white).  Eventually there was a picture I could crop down to the sweet square to match "Georgie".  I think our quest was worth it!

"Gracie" and "Georgie" side by side

"Georgie" (oil on linen; 7" x 7") sold

sold

"Georgie" is the first painting for Cecilia, who commissioned two pet portraits for her mother.  Georgie is a three-year-old Pit Bull/Irish Terrier mix.  He is a wild man who torments Gracie, the subject of the next painting, but loves all human beings to a fault.  He picks on dogs smaller than himself!

Don't you just love the light in this painting?  As Georgie was posing calmly in his back seat in the car, the winter afternoon light hit his right side down to the shoulder.  When I saw the reference photo, my eyes lit up with delight!