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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

Looking for an affordable gift for all the dog lovers on your Holiday shopping list? Overflowing with cute and charming puppies.... Doberman Puppies Coloring Book for children or adults who love to color! 24 Coloring pages of delightful Doberman puppies, from original artwork by Kevin Roeckl. 🎁 Creative line-drawings and their captions teach children about puppies and what their puppy needs to be happy, healthy, and well-behaved. 🎁 Adults will enjoy coloring these sweet a

Making a fade-out at the bottom of a head-study portrait can be tricky. Sometimes I use Photoshop on the client’s reference photo (or on my layout if I’m combining more than one photo) so I can see where to make the fade out. How far down the neck or body to start the fade so it makes a pleasing overall composition with the subject’s face as the most important feature. Sometimes I fade out the bottom very carefully, as though the realistic detail is becoming fainter and faint

In the original photo Annie was wearing a bandana, which the clients asked me to remove. I asked if they wanted a particular collar on her, or no collar. Carolyn requested that she be wearing "a princess collar because she is a princess”. I photographed my Sara’s “party collar” and sent the clients two rough Photoshop layouts, with suggestions of either pink or turquoise, which I felt were good colors to compliment Annie's coloring. In the artwork I straightened out the bow r

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving or Indigenous People's Day. I took the week off from my artt studio to fill the many orders that came in for my 2025 Doberman Holiday/Christmas cards . Now back to work on Annie's portrait. Annie’s cute face is finished. Next her turquoise “princess collar”. 🎨 Prismacolor pencil on “Felt Grey” Canson Mi-Teintes paper. 18 x 23 inches. "Annie" in progress Commissioned by Carolyn Martini, Gloria Kehoe, and Tammy Cunningham. This is the 1