The Artist’s Story

Some time ago, my daughter-in-law had to put her beloved twelve-year-old Bassett Hound, Max, to “sleep”. Needless to say, she was devastated and told me that she regretted not having commissioned a dog portrait of Max. My artistic experience prior to that time had been mostly land and seascape watercolors with a dabbling of pen and ink whose subjects were usually birds and animals.

I decided to take on the challenge of a custom dog portrait of Max. As pastels are natural and come from the earth, their vivid earth colors cannot be duplicated in any other medium, so I decided on a pastel dog portrait of Max. But there were several problems that I had to overcome.

One problem is that pastels are soft, blur easily and require being protected with glass. Regular glass reflects background and shadows which ruin the view. Museum glass which does not reflect is very costly.

After experimenting with various “fixatives” to solidify the pastels onto the paper to solve the softness problem, I found that I could then add layer upon layer of color to give the illusion of depth and richness to the dog painting. To my amazement I found that I could add detail with various ink colors using fine point ink pens. This was especially important for the detail around the eyes. Much to the delight of my daughter-in-law, as well as myself, I captured the essence of Max. He appears here on my website as a hand painted dog portrait with that same soulful expression that he had in life.

Another problem with using pastels is that pastel paper is not only fragile, but also absorbs moisture over time, causing it to warp. Coating the paper with waterproof coatings has not only enabled me to do away with glass coverings, but has allowed me to develop new techniques that contribute to my realistic creations. Waterproofing and toughening the paper gave me the freedom to try out new techniques. One new technique resulted in the creation of the great white powder puff, aka Royal Standard Poodle. Without the coated surface he would not have been possible. (Check out my gallery to view his lifelike pet portrait).

All of my dog portraits from photos are tough and durable and can be framed without glass, much as you would frame an oil painting. When my dog portrait of your dog is ready to be shipped, I can send it to you without costly framing and packing materials.

I would be proud to create a custom dog portrait from photo of your dog in life-like detail. Go to the “prices” page and click on “order now” for the size of custom pet portrait that you want and we will begin the relationship that will result in you having a treasured dog painting of your dog.