Casey

Casey
8" x 10" oil on board
Not for Sale

For Dave and Sherry Herr: you've been an inspiration in my life and in my career, and I think of you as family. I hope this painting brings you some joy.

Hunter

Hunter
8" x 10" oil on board
Commissioned - Sold
















Despite the tiny, grainy photo that I referenced for this painting, hacked from Hunter's owner's Facebook page, I think I was able to breath some life and some meaning into this work. The respect and admiration that I have for Hunter's owner entered into every decision I made with this painting, even down to the colors I chose.  Thanks for being such a great teacher.

Harvey and Watson

Harvey and Watson
Oil on 8" x 10" HD Canvas
Commissioned - Sold

This is Harvey and Watson.  I painted them waaaay back in January, 2014.  I gambled with the abstracted background, and I love the way they turned out.  Maybe this winter break I'll have time to do some more dog commissions. 

Bud

8" x 10"
Oil on HD Canvas
Commissioned

This is Bud.  He's an old dog now, but I turned back the clock for him in this painting. I think it turned out pretty well considering I've never met the dog and my only reference was a 2" x 2" photo print from many years back.

'Floyd'

5" x 7" Oil on Canvas Panel
Commissioned - Sold

Floyd is an Italian Greyhound, NOT a miniature Greyhound, which I'm told is the same thing as a whippet. I'm surprised Floyd turned out as well as he did given that all the while I was painting him, I thought he was a whippet.

I have a lot more time on my hands these days and I'm looking to do some commissions. Please contact me if there is anything I can paint for you.

'Miles'

11" x 14" Oil on Canvas
Commissioned - Sold

This is Miles.  He's a Corgi/Lab mix and although I've been staring at his face for the last month, I wasn't able to meet him until today when I delivered his portrait to his owner.  He's a good dog and luckily, he looks a lot like his painting. 

Happy anniversary!

'Lily"

16" x 20" Oil on HD Canvas
Commissioned - Sold!

Ok, so I've reached the point where it's probably not getting much better, but it COULD get worse. If you see anything glaring, let me know. Keep in mind that they always look better in person...Sorry it has taken so long to get back to this one...Hope you like.

'Dexter'

18" x 24" Oil on HD Canvas
Commissioned
Sold!

This is Dexter...He's part greyhound, part pit-bull? Correct me there. Lily, Dexter's little sister is next. Dexter is a cool character so his colors match his persona. Lily is warm and affectionate so her colors will compliment Dexter's. I'm pretty happy with how Dexter turned out. Hope you are too.

'Porter'

11" x 14" Oil on HD Canvas
Commissioned -Sold

What can I say? Some paintings just paint themselves...This is a little more realistic than I had intended and the background may not be the color that you want it to be, but I don't know what else would work...I really like the way it turned out.

I can paint your dog too!

'Cookie Face'

12" x 12" Oil on HD canvas
Name yer price!

This is what Sammy looks like when she wants a cookie - only a lot more colorful. I took my time, drew this one out and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The background gave me some trouble as I thought it would...I repainted it three different times. If you don't like it I can always paint over it.

I can paint your dog too -

'Sammy Sketch'

8" x 10" Oil on panel

I sketched this one out in about half an hour this afternoon as a practice run on a portrait that I'm doing for a family member (not OF the family member). I didn't even draw it out beforehand, I just piled on the color. I'm trying to get my colors worked out before I start the final painting. The only thing I'm not sure of is what to do with the background. I like the turquoise, but I'm not sure if I want strait turquoise or a mixture or what...

Don't worry Jennifer, the final painting will be better than this. Let me know if you have any ideas.

"Poppy's Long Walk"

20" x 24" Oil on canvas
Commissioned - Sold!

So...a friend asked me to paint a painting for him. He didn't tell me what to paint, he just told me what size and colors he wanted and he left it up to me to choose the subject. I'm still not sure what possessed me to paint a large portrait of this person with his dog, Poppy, but that's what I settled on. I hope he's telling the truth when he says he likes it.

This is my first attempt at portraiture and it was tougher than I thought it would be. When you're painting landscapes, if you need to rearrange something or you're having a tough time with a certain feature, you can just paint it another way. But, when you're painting someone's nose or mouth and you're having a tough time with it, you can't just give them another nose or mouth. You gotta get it right...I told my friend that I've spend an uncomfortable amount of time staring at his face the last few nights.

My plan for this painting was to make it more impressionistic than it ended up. I know of artists who are great at suggesting facial features with color, shape and shadow and I tried to do that here, but I had a tough time making it work. I think I did a better job of suggesting the dog's features than the human's. I really like the way Poppy turned out.

I used two different tactics to create points of focus. The contrast of the bright red jacket against the cool blue of the background should draw your eye to the human and then the sharpness of the edges of the dog and the right side of the human verses the duller edges throughout the rest of the painting should also draw your eye. When I look at this painting, for better or worse, my eye is drawn to the crescent shape above Poppy's hind quarters and below the left arm. This area represents the greatest color contrast and the sharpest lines in the painting.

Oh, and I just realized that I forgot to sign the painting. Just imagine my EB in the lower left corner. I'll write my initials in sky blue to add some balance. Hope you like it. I'm glad to paint you and your dog too.