Mac Tavish passed away this year, this sweet little black Scottie was adored by his mom, and his Aunt decided to present her with a posthumous keepsake oil portrait of him. I always approach these pieces knowing that a flood of emotions will always be attached to the portrait, and spend a lot of time studying the photos to really get a feel of the personality to bring that out while I’m painting. Mac’s photos make him out to be a real sweetie of a dog – one ear always perky, one flopped over.

I’ll be painting him in oils on a nice 12×16 traditionally wrapped canvas, so his portrait can hang on the wall unframed – or she can fancy it up with a standard frame since it’s the perfect depth.

I plan to work on several pieces over the next few weeks, holidays approaching and my schedule is filling up fast. (That’s a good thing, of course!) I’ll be posting works in progress of Mac and a few other paintings going on in the studio.