I was fortunate to receive a request for a commission before Christmas. The lovely Kathleen asked if I could paint a portrait of her boyfriend’s dog Massey.
Absolutely!
She sent me photos of man’s best friend and I began. The blue adds to the depth in the color of her coat.
The eyes on a portrait, whether a pet or person are key to the success of the piece. The car and boat in the background are favorite things for Massey’s owner.
Putting her name on the canvas anchors the image and makes it more personal, no mistaking this is Massey if her name is there.
I added some complementary colors around the subject to add some pizzazz to the background.
Massey had a nice drive in the car while being fed some Chewy Spree so I thought, why not? They are part of her story and they add some movement and color to the painting. The car and canoe are also getting more attention as I model their shapes with shadow.
The car is now in a picture frame portraying a photo of a favorite vehicle and handy dandy canoe, adventure around the corner with that.
The delightful couple with the Christmas gift in hand. Watching Hank realize this was his dog and his present was a wonderful gift to me.
Thank you Kathleen!
Well done Beth! The eyes are fabulous, soulful. Love the blue underpainting too.
Thank you Katherine, the eyes hopefully speak volumes.
I like your new blog format Beth, very clean, spare and elegant. I also like the way in which you tell the story of the painting which makes the painting that much richer.
A few tweeks and it will be better and better:) Thank you for the five piece a day invitation!
I meant three pieces for five days…oops!