Tag: Commission

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Sonora

This past weekend, I finished another memorial commission for a little dog named Sonora. She passed away at the end of May this year.
Not the first time I’ve been commissioned by Donna, a freelance photographer in Connecticut. You can check out her work here. I painted her horse Mocha five years ago in my more whimsical style. It’s one of my favorite commission pieces and I’d love to paint more horses. She also made some horse reference available to me and I painted another of her horses, but not as detailed.
Donna was on vacation in Texas thirteen years ago and found this little pup at a rest stop in Sonora, nearly lifeless. She was only 4 or 5 weeks old. They couldn’t leave her and were going to find a rescue organization to take her.

Not hard to guess what actually happened, as often does in these cases. Sonora had already found her home.
When Donna commissioned me to paint her, she was having a hard time finding reference of her without the cataracts Sonora had developed in her senior years, but she wanted me to try and paint her with more youthful eyes. I agreed with her and we’re both pleased with the result. My goal is not to just recreate what I see in the reference, but to find the personality in these paintings, even when I’m not painting them with a caricature look like my whimsical wildlife paintings.
This painting will go to print soon, but it isn’t yet known on what surface. I had suggested the new acrylic print, but Donna said it doesn’t really go with her house, which is an important consideration when choosing the type of print. With plenty of options available, I’m sure we’ll come up with something that will be appropriate for Sonora’s portrait.

It’s always a privilege to be trusted with one of these memorial paintings, knowing that this will be part of how somebody remembers their furry family member for years to come.

Thanks for reading,
Patrick

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Commission – Cows

CowsFinalPostMy commission work to date has been dogs and cats (and one beautiful horse), but a friend of ours recently tasked me with painting this gift for his wife.  As she loves cows and is now pregnant with twins, he wanted a painting of a mother and two calves to hang in the nursery.  I cautioned him that comparing his pregnant wife to a cow at a time when most women’s sensibilities are heightened, might be a recipe for disaster, but he assured me more than once that it would be fine.  The canvas is still in the proofing stage, but he showed her the digital image of the piece this past weekend and she loved it.  Apparently there were happy tears.  So, with his permission, I’m able to share it now.

This was one of my most challenging paintings to date.  The hairs on a cow are very small and short and the features aren’t as malleable as I’d first imagined.  When painting one animal, I can usually find reference that will allow me to see all sides of the subject to decide which will lend itself best to my Totem style of painting.  First, I had to find multiple reference photos of the right breed of cow (Holstein Friesian), which was not an easy task.  I bought twice as many photos than I used as I couldn’t play around with the composition without the full resolution files.  There ended up being three different comps and thankfully my wife helped me decide which was best for the painting. With three subjects in the image, it became a juggling act to try and show the best sides of all of them, in the correct proportions with the right lighting.   Then I had to make them look cozy, cute and comfortable, but not crushed together.  Finally, I had to lay down all of the right conditions to allow all three personalities to show up after many hours of painting, something I’ve often said never seems to be quite my doing, or under my control.  When it comes to the life in these paintings, I’m often surprised (and grateful) when it arrives.

CowsClosePostWhile I don’t consider this part of my Totem series, it is definitely painted in that style.  Even though it was a commission piece, I will be offering prints of this image in the store in the coming weeks as well.  The commission piece will be printed at 18″ X 24″ as a giclée on canvas with a black shadowbox frame.  I’m hoping to be able to deliver it next week.

I honestly have no idea how long this took to paint as I worked on it during a very busy time, while juggling other deadlines.  There was at least one session where I worked through the night on it.  I’ll admit to being very frustrated with this piece at times when things weren’t going as well as I wanted them to, but to be honest, that happens a lot and it always turns around.  I learned a lot from this painting and had to experiment and adjust brushes and technique to get the look I needed in places.  So there was artistic growth here, too, which is always welcome.

Click on either image to see a larger version.  This piece was painted in Photoshop CC on my Wacom Cintiq 24HD.

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Commission – Duke

DukeMy latest commission, this is Duke, painted in my Totem style.  While I often like to post work-in-progress shots online with paintings I’m working on, the first look at this one is the final image.  As it was a birthday gift for the client’s wife, and the client is also a friend, there was a slim chance that she might see it online and recognize it as her dog.  Let’s face it, ruining a surprise is just bad for business.  This was completed at the end of last month then sent off to my printer in Calgary.  The final print was a giclée on canvas, 18″X24″ with a shadowbox frame.  Shipped to Dallas, it arrived yesterday and thanks to the magic of online video, I was able to see the reaction when it was opened.  That’s just icing on the cake.

I know I say this a lot about paintings, but this was  a lot of fun.  I had a number of reference photos to work from and the client chose my exaggerated caricature Totem style of painting over my portrait style and I really enjoyed painting Duke with his happy goof expression.  It’s true that I enjoy both painting styles in which I work and I allow clients to choose which one they prefer for their image, but the Totem style is my favorite.  I laughed out loud a few times while painting this image and am glad I finally get to share it.

For those who like the tech details, I painted this digitally in Photoshop CC using both a Wacom Cintiq 13HD and a Wacom Cintiq 24HD display.

DukeClose

 

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Pet Portrait – Odin

Odin

My latest painting, this is a memorial portrait for a purebred yellow lab named Odin.  Odin passed away at the age of 12 and a half in December and while the clients like both my Totem and portrait work, they felt a portrait was the best fit for the memory of their dog and I’m inclined to agree.  As a result, there is no whimsical grin or exaggerated expression.  He is painted as he was, a senior gentleman with his own character.  While the size hasn’t been decided yet, the final print will be on canvas, which is how I feel my work is best represented in print.  As I’m a sucker for furry faces and cold wet noses, memorial paintings are sometimes a little tough, because I know what this kind of loss feels like.  As such, I tend to spend a lot more time making sure it’s as good as I can possibly make it given my current painting skills.  I enjoyed painting this portrait a great deal and it might just be my best work to date.  Most importantly, however, the client is happy and said that I captured Odin’s likeness and personality.

Without fail, whenever I finish a pet portrait, I get a number of commission inquiries.  Here’s  a link to a blog entry I wrote recently with current pricing and details.  I painted this with Photoshop CC on a Wacom Cintiq 24HD display.  No photos were used in this painting, except for reference.  It was entirely done with brush work.

Finally, here’s a closeup of Odin.

CloseupSample

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Miss Moneypenny

This was my last commission painting of this year, a little lady named Moneypenny.  She’s a young pup with a great personality and I was given the option of painting her in a realistic portrait style or Totem style, artist’s choice.  Believe it or not, there is no exaggeration in this portrait.  She was really smiling like this in the reference photo, so I didn’t see the point of painting her in the Totem style.

Moneypenny’s portrait was finished earlier this month, but I wasn’t able to show it ’til now, just in case the recipient happened to see it online.  Since I know both the client and the recipient, there was a chance somebody would let it slip, so it was best to hold off.  It was printed and stretched on canvas at 12″ x 16″ and framed.

I found out last night that the gift has been given and while her owner loved it, Moneypenny herself was a little freaked out, thinking there was another dog in the house.  Apparently she barked at it.  Either that was a harsh critique or a wonderful compliment.

Here’s a closeup of the details.