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This is the incredible story, both heartbreaking and heartwarming, that Alicia told me about the reference photo we’re using for Titan’s portrait. It’s the reason we switched direction with how to capture the essence of him.  1 This is Titan’s portrait in progress. There’s a reason for the decision to use this particular image. Titan passed away unexpectedly last year while I was starting on a memorial portrait of Wishes for Alicia. Alicia and husband Joe considered adding Ti

Working on a portrait of Titan for Alicia McCarthy. You may remember when I worked on the beautiful memorial portrait of Wishes for Alicia last year. While we were still in the beginning design stages, Titan passed away unexpectedly. For a while Alicia asked me to switch direction and we began looking for photos to include Titan in the same portrait. But Alicia and Joe made the decision that Titan deserved his own portrait. His personality is completely different than the sof

I'm starting a new portrait, of Titan for Alicia McCarthy. This portrait has a very touching story to it. I’ll share that with you soon.  Titan’s portrait will be more than just a head study, as you will see. 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.  ❤️  Portrait of “Titan”, 16 x 20 inches. Comm

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...

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

The lighting from the window on Wishes’ chest is finished. And her feet and forearm are finished.  Now I have a lot of big dark shapes...

I thought when I finished Wishes' head the rest would be easy. But the values in this piece are going to challenge me all the way...

Wishes’ green rhinestone collar finished. The captions tell how it came about. It was not in the original reference photo. 1 In her photo...

I’m very happy with how Wishes’ ear turned out.  1 If you've been following my “swatches map” you will recognize the swatches-map for...

Here is a post about how much a portrait of a loved one can mean. I emailed Alicia asking if she had gotten the 5 “in-progress pics” I...

I had to create a “swatches map” to understand those tricky and deceptive values in Wishes’ face. I first showed you my swatches-map in...

Wishes’ eye is finished.  Wishes whole heart and soul was about watchfulness. All of that is captured in her eye. Below is part of what...

This is how the portrait looks now. Wishes begins to emerge from the dark grey paper. The values (how light or dark a color is) have to...

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

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...

I want to share this sweet portrait of “Breeze” I created in the late 1990’s.  This is an example of a simple background scene being...

I’m often amazed at the eloquence with which my client writes about their loved one. Diane’s words helped me capture Zelda’s strong and...

Three posts ago I described how I exaggerated the highlights on top of Zelda’s nose in order to make it stand out from the green...

The figure of Zelda is finished and now I’m putting in the grass around her feet.   1 Starting to fill in the grass.... 2 These are all...

Fire in her eyes, and the music I listen to in the studio, the “playlist to her soul”. (Read the captions) These 5 pics show how I...