Meet Cuddles, a tuxedo with really neat markings across her face and nose. She had a wonderful, blessed life with her loving family and passed away last fall after 22 years! I’ve given Cuddles her wings, and she’ll continue to watch over her momma for years to come.

I’ll be painting Cuddles’ portrait in oils, she’s on an 8″ x 8″ chunky canvas (Want your own? See my portrait package available in my shop for just $192!).

More progress to come!

This gorgeous orange and white tabby is Mari. She’s a beauty – such soft fur, I can just imagine how silky it feels under my hand! I’ll be painting her in oils on a 5″ x 7″ canvas panel over the next week or two. (Purchase your own 5″ x 7″ custom portrait right here in my shop!)

I’ve worked up 3 out of 4 portrait sketches yesterday, the 4th is a cat portrait that I’ll be doing in graphite/pencil so I won’t be sketching, I’ll just do the whole portrait in one session.

The portrait above, an 8″ x 8″ oil painting, is a custom portrait of my client’s pit bull terrier, Josie, who passed away last summer. This piece is still wet on my easel – and I took progress photos throughout my entire painting session today, about 6 hours.

I thought I’d show you the entire progress of Josie’s portrait, from start to finish. If you’d like to watch her come to life on canvas, just keep reading! For those who are just learning how to paint fur, this may help you learn my process, and understand the detail and layering involved in achieving better dimension in your own paintings.

Keep reading »

This is the last progress shot of Josie’s portrait – just the underpainting.
Posting this so you can quickly refer back to see the eye progress:

The eyes are complete, ready for fur – starting from the left:

I’ve gone halfway across her head, and wanted to share what it looks like from underpainting to actual fur.

You can see previous progress shots here. I’ll be working on her portrait more tomorrow – so I’ll share more progress, or better yet – the finished painting!

Don’t forget to enter to win a custom portrait in my weekly giveaway!!

Another realistic painting of an imaginary creature – meet Snairy. He’s a snail fairy, with leaf wings. I’ll scan and list him on eBay, or etsy – not sure which yet – once he’s dry. This teenie tiny painting measures in at 2.5″ x 3.5″ and is #2 in my ACEO collection. My first one, Drabulea, sold within the first day! (Thanks, Becky!)

Cute little bugger, isn’t he?

 

I’ve just completed Josie’s underpainting, you can see her previous progress shot here. Since her coat is so dark, I started with a pretty dark base. I blended indigo and raw umber together for the deepest shadows, and it looks like there’s some reflection on the wet paint – so the photo might be a bit misleading. There will be many layers of fur to come, once this underpainting has a day or two to dry.

As for me – I’m fighting a cold (it’s winning, so far) so I’m drowning myself in Spice Chai Tea with honey and lemon, and trying to stay quiet. (That’s no easy task, let me tell you!!)

Will update again soon with another new tiny painting.

Don’t forget to enter to win a custom portrait in my weekly giveaway!!

Meet Josie – again, for those of you who recognize her, this is her second portrait. The first was a pencil drawing, now featured on my blog button, you can see her first portrait here. Josie was a gorgeous and much loved pit bull terrier, and I’m delighted to be painting her in oils this time. Her brindle coat color is going to make her portrait really neat to work.

I’m sharing two progress shots, since I got approval from my client to proceed with the crop of the original photo – I wanted to get as much done today on her portrait as I could, so I can dig in with the underpainting next week. The sketch, above, and the background color, below:

I’ve got a really nice, natural gradation going for her background color. It’s a combination of yellow ochre, naples yellow light, burnt sienna, burnt umber and a touch of raw umber here and there. Very earthy, very warm. It will really draw attention to the lighter shades in her coat as well as her eyes.

Stay tuned for the underpainting progress shot!

This is my very first ACEO (Art Cards Editions and Originals) Artist Trading Card!!! It measures 2.5″ x 3.5″ and I’ve painted it in oils – so when it’s dry I’ll give it a spray of gloss varnish and it’ll be super shiny and pretty.

I’ve been aching to paint something just for me, from my head, for a while. It feels so good to do that! It’s a bit of a dragonfly-butterfly-leaf creature, hence the name, Drabulea.

I’ll list it on Etsy tomorrow. Stay tuned!!

Don’t forget to enter to win a custom portrait in my weekly giveaway!!

I’ve finished Taysia Blue’s portrait this afternoon, and will get a better pic up once the painting is dry.

I’ve also chosen my weekly graphite giveaway winner – and this week, I am going to make you wait. Check back Monday to see the winner’s portrait!!

Happy Valentine’s Day!