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“Three Cats on Stairs” (Grace, Bonnie, and Morgan). My client's photo of Bonnie and Morgan waiting for her on the stairs to her bedroom gave Tammy the idea to portray her three cats on stairs. Grace and Bonnie are still alive. Morgan has gone on ahead to the Bridge. My final touches on the stairs: — After I created the wooden moldings on the front of each step (shared with you in a previous post), the stairs still looked too flat. So I darkened underneath the lowest stair tre

January 5 I'm starting a new portrait, of Titan for Alicia McCarthy. This portrait has a very touching story to it. I’m working on “Sky Grey” Canson paper. A beautiful paper that has little flecks and fibers in it. I like using that for a portrait on a plain-color background, it lends interest to an otherwise plain, flat background color. Titan portrait in progress 2 You may remember when I worked on the beautiful memorial portrait of Wishes for Alicia last year. While we we

Remember Penny, the Doberman who won Westminster? In January Greg and Theresa Chan commissioned me to create 3 portraits of Penny to be given as surprise gifts to "Team Penny". In February Penny won Westminster, and the commission became even more special. A commemoration of a historic achievement. It took 3 months to create the portraits. They were kept secret until they were gifted to the recipients. Now I can finally share them! I’ll share the creation of these portraits o

I encourage artists not to copy photos slavishly. I rarely portray a photo exactly as it is without making artistic changes. Even when doing portraits, which have to be accurate to the subject, there are usually ways to change and improve what is in the photo. Very few photos are perfect just the way they are. When creating artwork out of my own inspiration (not commissioned by a client) I make all sorts of creative changes. A photo inspires me, it doesn't dictate to me. Here

So many people loved the in-progress pic I shared recently, I thought you’d enjoy seeing the finished portrait “The Kiss of Hearts”, of Marlaina and her beloved blue Doberman, Sky, which I created for her in 2019. Sky’s registered name was CH. Kettle Cove Lanikai Blue Sky. The theme of the litter she was from was "Hawaiian Islands". I wanted to capture the feeling of Sky and Marlaina on a tropical Hawaiian beach. This portrait was done on “Cream” Canson paper, with a waterco

October 1 I'm starting on a portrait of "Annie" for Carolyn, Gloria, and Tammy. This is the 10th portrait I have done for them over the past 28 years. The pencil colors for her white and cream-colored coat, and the pink inside her ears: Once again I'm letting my paper color do the work. A white coat is so easy to do on grey paper. Some light-colored pencil strokes for the hairs.…and the shadows between the hairs make themselves. 🎨 Prismacolor pencil on “Felt Grey” Canson Mi-

Titan's portrait is finished. Here’s what Alicia told me about this amazing, one-of-a-kind Doberman: “A funny story I like to tell and is remembered by many is Titan’s first container search at a scentwork trial at Durham Kennel Club. When he walked into the building for the first time and stepped into the ring, he completely ignored the two neat rows of white boxes and made a beeline for the wall of mirrors. After tilting his head this way and that, he began admiring the inc

One of the great things about doing portraits is getting to know the wonderful dogs my clients love. Annie is one of those. I have done 10 portraits for these clients, Carolyn, Gloria, and Tammy. Each of the three women shared more with me about Annie, in individual emails, then they have with any of the other dogs that have graced their lives. Below the portrait is what they told me about Annie. From Carolyn: “Annie is a small Weston terrier mix of some sort. She was origina

Portrait of Scout continued from PART ONE Scout portrait in progress 9 I’m not going to add the colored pencil grass details around the Frisbee figure until I finish the barn-hunt figure. The backgrounds of those two scenes - straw and grass - will have to fade/blend together at the edges. Since the portrayals of Scout are the most important thing, I want to finish the barn hunt figure first. Then create both the straw and grass backgrounds around the two action figures.

July 29 I'm starting a triple portrait of Border collie “Scout”. The following pictures show how I go about designing a complex portrait with multiple depictions of the individual….from the 60 photos of Scout that Annette sent to me. Scout is a registered Therapy Dog, and also does barn hunt and is a dedicated Frisbee-fetcher. 1 This is my outline drawing on a sheet of “Flannel Grey” Canson paper. It took 11 days of working with Annette on a layout design, to get to the poi

Scout's triple portrait is finished. Below is what Annette wrote about her partnership with this amazingly accomplished Border Collie. Prismacolor pencil and acrylic wash on “Flannel Grey” Canson Mi-Teintes paper 20 x 26 inches. Annette wrote: “Scout has been an incredible addition to my life. I met him as a 5 year old, recently retired from a busy working life as a goose hazer protecting workers from angry geese. I have had 3 previous Border Collies but Scout has expanded my

April 25 This is Daisy, a 2-year-old mixed breed rescue, owned by Kathy and Mark H. For Christmas 2024 Mark gifted Kathy with the promise...

Daisy is a two year old rescue from our local Humane Society. It’s unusual for me to work for a local client and be able to meet and...

June 20 I’m starting a new portrait, of Raven. This is the 4th Border Collie portrait I’ve done for Cathy Nearman. Soon I’ll share more...

April 9 Starting a portrait of Captain Jack, a black and white Pomeranian, for Sindy B. This shows the detailed outlines I start with. ...

Wishes' portrait will be a challenging artwork. It’s not a complex piece, but it is a challenging one because of the values. (Value = how...

I always love what clients write when we start working together and I ask them to tell me about their loved one. People who say they...

Yesterday I had a debate on my Facebook page with Michael Joseph about whether copying a reference photo but changing things...

When you read Alicia’s words about Wishes you’ll understand why this quiet, watchful pose was so deeply meaningful: “Dobermans are...

January 10 I’m starting a portrait of Zelda, a Top Twenty Doberman. Commissioned by Doberman breeder Susan R. as a gift to Zelda's owner...