I’ve completed ACE’s portrait today, this is a digital pic of him (caution: wet paint!). I’ll get a scan once the painting is dry.

You can see his previous work in progress here, with the under painting beside the photo.

Tabby cats are always interesting painting because they have salt & pepper fur that can be a challenge to paint! I start first going over the under painting with a dark tone, followed by a creamy tone, then further enhance the darks. I worked in the warm whites and then completed the painting by going over and painting in all the whitest furs and whiskers – only this time I did a little fancy signature, where I painted my sig before the whiskers, then painted whiskers “through” my sig and one whisker lying on the top. I thought that would give it more dimension.

Would you like your own custom painting? This 4″ x 4″ custom portrait in oil is just $55 in my shop! Order yours today!

I hope you have a great weekend! I’ll be working in the garden, grilling, and gardening s’more!

I’ve sketched up a new cat portrait today, this is Rock. His portrait is on a 6″ x 6″ canvas panel, and I’ll be painting his background a nice deep olive color as soon as I get the go-ahead on the sketch.

Right now I have several cat paintings in my studio at one stage or another – and plan to dive in tomorrow and start finalizing those portraits. I’ve had some delays on a few projects, so I am going to have to table them so that I can get things finished in a timely manner. I am really out of sorts with being so far off schedule!

If you’re interested in this sized portrait, you can find my 6″ x 6″ portrait package right here in my shop.

I was hoping to paint wet in wet and complete ACE’s portrait in one session, but that isn’t going to happen. The salt and pepper variation in his fur makes that much more difficult – the light turns dark and dark turns light to mud, so I’m stopping for the day and will finish his painting in the next session.

Still, he’s a lovely work in progress – and I’m enjoying the green and blue tints in his eyes!

I’ll update again with a pic of the completed portrait within the next few days.

I’ve completed Mari’s under painting as well. I really like the tones in this one, I used cadmium orange mixed with a bit of indigo and magenta into white for the shadows on the white, and it’s given her such a warm tone. Her pupils were washed out in her reference photo so filling them in really puts her personality on the canvas!

As promised the background shade is much more accurate in this progress shot now that the under painting is complete. Those bright colors definitely needs something to balance against!

You can see her previous progress here, and her initial sketch against the photo here. If you’d like to just go ahead and order your own custom portrait (this one is a 5″ x 7″) you can do that here!

I spent a good chunk of the day painting today after updating my portfolio with 8 new projects!

Cuddles’ under painting is complete. A bit flat and muddy right now, once this layer is dry I will go through and apply all the detail fur and feathers, and she will be a glowing, angelic tuxedo kitty.

You can view her previous work in progress stage here.

Just a quick update on ACE, I’ve bordered out his chunky 4″ x 4″ canvas edge with a rich milk chocolate color, and will work on his under painting today. Looking forward to painting his gorgeous green eyes!Order a custom portrait today, prices start at just $55!

Mari’s second work in progress (see the sketch and her reference photo here), her mom liked the background on another cat portrait I completed back in 2005 of Nicki, so I’ve used similar shades on Mari’s. It’s showing a bit more red than it is, the color will be more accurate once I can balance it against her under painting.

Will update again when her under painting is complete!

I started Cuddles portrait earlier this week (view the first work in progress here), sketching out her pose and adding wings, since Cuddles has passed over the rainbow bridge.

Her mom wanted a beautiful sunset of pinks and yellow to fill the background of this 8″ x 8″ portrait, so I did a nice gradation of warm colors (winsor yellow, cadmium orange, magenta, violet, a little white and a smidge of french ultramarine), painting the deep gallery wrapped sides of the portrait in a mix of magenta and violet. I worked in the window sill as well and will start on her under painting as soon as this is dry.

If you’re interested in commissioning me to paint (or draw) a custom pet portrait for you, I’ve added several sizes to my shop, to allow everyone to find a size that will fit into their budget. You can order a custom portrait package directly from my shop, checking out securely through PayPal!

Here’s ACE (Andy’s Cat Extraordinaire), zoomed up close and tightly cropped on a 4″ x 4″ chunky canvas. I’ll be painting his portrait in oils, similarly to Annie, Momo & Callie’s portraits.

If you’d like a piece of original art at a really reasonable price, this size is just perfect. I’ve made a 4″ x 4″ portrait package available in my shop to make it easy to check out (using paypal) for just $55. Click here to order yours!