Skip to main content

Painting (Two) Dogs-a-Day - Meet Abbey


BOTTOM'S UP: "Mmm, Good Stick! (Abbey)," 8" x 10" and "Bleached Blonde (Abbey)," 6" x 8." Both portraits of a Yellow Labrador Retriever done in acrylic on canvasboard, both headed to a new home. It's super easy to commission a pet portrait of your own - inquiries may always come to me.
 
Sometimes I get so caught up in the actual painting process that I lose sight of consciously striving for that physical likeness. It's tougher for me to gauge this when I'm working from compellingly gorgeous photos of a dog I've never met.
 
That was the case today - I started with the smaller landscape, and became absorbed by all the lavenders, oranges and blues in the shadow of Abbey's neck and shoulder. I love the atmosphere in the painting, but the painting itself seemed more about the setting and not as much about the personality of the dog. I wasn't certain this was what my client wanted.
 
That's ok, I thought - I'll try the stick on the beach composition, where the focal point IS her face, and I'll really concentrate on nailing it and keeping Abbey forefront. A few hours later, when I emerged from the juicy brushwork and layers of inviting paint, I realized I had done it again - been painting for an extended amount of time without once measuring my drawing or checking for a likeness. Thankfully I hadn't gone far off track, and was able to reel Abbey in with a little concentration.
 
My client loved the paintings so much that she has opted to take them both, and for that I sincerely thank her. 
 
I'll be back tomorrow with another endearing face.
Thanks, as always, for your time following my paintings and sharing them with your friends and family,
Kim
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Picture Book "A Dog Named Blue" - now available!!

The cover of "A Dog Named Blue," now available from Blurb publishers. When I first painted Amelia I never imagined that she would be re-christened "Blue" and inspire a book. In her defense, Amelia had a number of other partners in crime - animals who's portraits seemed to fall into a specific color category and prompt color-centric names. In typical ADD fashion, my brain started spinning 100mph. What if I turned those muses' paintings into a picture book for animal loving kids? I shared my idea with three friends in the industry, and they eagerly offered their expertise. I am truly indebted to them. Illustrator and author Matt Faulkner and children's book author and literacy expert Kristen Remenar edited an early version of the draft. They suggested key plot/conceptual changes that made it oodles better. Designer Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson worked her magic, pairing the images with perfectly color...
1 comment
Read more

Tabby Kit

"Tabby Kit," 5" x 7", acrylics on a museum quality panel, depicting a tiny little orange striped guy from Morgue File . This painting can be yours for $289, which includes s&h inside the US. And in case you didn't see it, a little doodle of him is also available for sale here . Inquires may come directly to me .  Although it certainly doesn't FEEL like spring here (snow and ice and wind chills, brr!), I can tell that spring is coming. The mercury is rising a wee bit each day and the days are getting longer and brighter. Over the weekend we drove with the moonroof open just to feel the sun's meager and oh-so-very-welcome warmth (although the heat in the car was cranked, too, in the interest of full disclosure!). I wanted to work with spring-like colors today, and this little guy was still on my mind , so I grabbed a small panel and got to work. Of course, I also have Poppy to finish and some changes to make to another po...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dear Copyright Thieves

Dear Copyright Thieves,   Just because it's on the internet doesn't mean it's free for the taking. So let's just stop pretending the internet is a free-for-all.   Don't play the card that you didn't know - that's insulting. And don't also tell me that you meant to follow up and get permission but never got a chance to. That's insulting too. And by the way, don't you have a copyright protection notice on your own site?   And don't even try and point the finger at a third party who commissioned you to make a copy of my painting - again, an insult - you and I both know the difference between a reference photo and a painting.   And don't tell me that I asked for it because I share my artwork on the internet. I share my paintings and ideas and the stories behind them so as to encourage others to pursue  their own passions . I do not share so that those lacking integrity and morals can copy and market the images as their own...
33 comments
Read more