Pet Portrait

Thought it might be time to actually be posting some of my artwork and process.  Here is a recent commission.  His name is Baxter.   Since I am in Taiwan and Baxter is in the US, I had to work from a photograph (although I cant imagine attempting to keep a dog still long enough to paint a live portrait) .   I started by making a grid on the canvas that corresponds to a grid I laid over the photograph.  This makes sure everything is where it needs to be.  It's a recent technique that I've started using, but it's been around for quite some time.  The first time I saw it was on an x-ray of some Van Gogh painting.  I got to say it really saves time, when sketching something from a photo.  A lot less battling to get it right.

Once I got the sketch done in pencil on the canvas, I sprayed it with a fixative.  Then used clear gesso to make the surface ready for paint.  I did go back with white gesso and covered up the dark grid line I made with a sharpie, not a good idea.  I've started using diluted paint to draw the grid onto the canvas.  For this painting, I used acrylic as the medium.  I blocked in my large areas and middle values with a large brush and worked my way out to the details with smaller brushes.

After a couple of layers of acrylic specific varnish, I was ready to ship.  Surprisingly, shipping cost were relatively cheap, and I would love the opportunity to do it all again.  Contact me if you would like to commission a pet portrait.

"Baxter"  Acrylic on Stretched Linen