I’ve finally finished Pete the Pug! He’s turned out so much more lifelike than the reference photos, I’m really pleased with his painting. I’ll add his final scanned portrait to my portfolio once his mom has given her blessing and the piece has dried.

You can see the full work in progress by clicking here. :cheerful:

Phew! Long overdue progress shots of Pete’s under painting! I’ve been busy trying to rescue my garden from the flooding along the house, and since it flooded again yesterday (well, the half that I don’t have complete), I’m now waiting for the mud to dry out so I can get the raised bed finished and back to non-back-breaking labor!

So, I did get Pete’s under painting complete and took a few pics along the way so you can see how he’s coming along. I’ve darkened in his wrinkles, then move along with bigger brushes to fill in the base coat of darker shades.

Here I’ve got most of his cute little pug face finished, and start filling in blocks of color around his neck and chest.

This is the completed under painting, of course I am sometimes tempted to call them done at this stage because I like how they are coming – but of course it doesn’t take long for me to want to kick it up a notch and get my pet portraits looking much more photo realistic!

Will be finishing up his portrait very soon – stay tuned!!

Pete the Pug has his green gradient background now, and once it’s dry I’ll work in his under painting.

I also started another piece that I will share once it’s complete – it’s a really big piece, one that I’ve been wanting to work on for a while. With that, I’ll leave you to wonder what it might be, and share it when it’s complete!

I’m working on a new dog portrait – this is a sweet little pug named Pete! My client was gifted a gallery bucks gift certificate (available in my shop) for a custom pet portrait and selected an 8″ x 8″ full color oil painting for Pete – he’s going to look just gorgeous!

He’s getting a green background this afternoon, so I’ll post another shot later after that’s done.

Rock’s portrait is complete (pending client approval). What a day, what a week! I’ve been painting my fingers off, whiskers and fur flying from my paintbrushes faster than they have in a long time. I did take a lot of photos as I painted today to kindof share a little tutorial about how I layer the fur. I’ll try to put that together for you next week.

I’ll post the final scan once it’s dry. Have a great weekend – I hope your weather is great and the sun is shining wherever you are!!

I am so excited to share Cuddles’ completed portrait, I think this one is my new personal favorite! The feathering and dimension in her portrait combined with that beautiful background gradient, definitely makes me proud to sign my name to it.

I’ve worked quite extensively on this piece the last couple of days, sang a lot of songs, uncrossed my eyes several times, and even forgot to eat.

Here’s the previous progress shot:

My client wanted her beloved kitty to watch over her now that she’s passed over the rainbow bridge, and I am so honored to be able to provide her with a visual reminder of her lifelong furry friend.

Enjoy!!

If you’d like to order a custom portrait and want to have a look at my pricing,
you can do that right here in my shop!

I’ve completed the under painting on Rock’s portrait. I’m using two reference photos – the left is obviously the pose for the portrait, the right photo for coat and eye color accuracy.

I’ve used a palette of burnt umber, burnt sienna, indigo, cadmium orange for the darkest hues in his coat. (You can see my normal palette colors up above the reference photos, too!) I used mid tones for the primary coat shadow and lighter tones for the eye area. You can see the previous progress here.

Once this under painting is dry, I’ll start applying fur one stroke at a time, building those layers from dark to light over the top of these dark colors to give it dimension and life.

Stay tuned, this portrait will be back on my easel tomorrow for the final painting session!

I completed Mari’s portrait today! You can see her previous progress here, and I’ll post the final scan once the piece has dried.

This is a 5″ x 7″ custom cat portrait in oil. I’ve used a canvas panel for Mari’s portrait so it’s a very portable painting, destined for an active person who will take her portrait along on travels.

If you’d like to order a custom portrait and want to have a look at my pricing, you can do that right here in my shop!

I finished the background and started the under painting on Rock’s portrait – I’ll get the rest of his under painting completed today and share it tomorrow.

I expect to complete Mari’s portrait at some point today, so I’ll be posting that completed painting later on. I got about halfway through yesterday before wrapping it up to tend to the girls and get the little one off to her very first swim lesson.

I’ve got a lot on my easel – so off to work I go! I hope you’re doing well and staying dry (and warm)!