Yellow Labrador mix pet portrait pastel painting

Sometimes it is not possible to acquire that perfect pet photo reference that is so important in creating a suitable portrait. Most often it is because the pet has passed and finding good photographs can be almost impossible. However, I can generally use several not-so-good poses to come up with a nice composition that the client will be pleased with. Such was the situation when creating the portrait of lovely "Maggie", the beloved family pet of my client's friend.

In this pose, I had to use the head shot of a different image and "magically" transfer it to the body pose of another photo. It is not always easy because one needs to take into consideration angles, lighting, color and of course, proportions.  Maggie was a well fed pooch and so I strived to capture her true (full) silhouette...

This dog is yellow Labrador most likely mixed with German shepherd.  I wonder what breed she got her white feet from?

Pet Portrait of "Maggie"

14"x18"

pastel

 commission

Yellow Labrador Dog Pet Portrait commission

When I first saw the reference image I was using for Ollie's portrait I thought oh, how much FUN it was going to be to draw this pose! One can't help but smile looking at Ollie's charming face as she stares right back at you.
This portrait was commissioned to remember all the joy that Ollie brought to the lives of her human family.

Ollie

Yellow Labrador Retriever

Pastel

11x14

commission

Painting of Chocolate and Yellow Labrador Retriever portrait

Some months, time goes buy so fast that I barely remember the days. I work on many different projects simultaneously and so it can be easy to loose track of the world around me.

Anyways, I home to find more time to post more updates to this blog. Here is a commissioned piece that was presented to a happy Dad on Father's Day.  I am told that he feels like the dogs keep looking at him no matter where he moves to in the room and he is quite elated by that! It's like his dogs are again by his side, keeping him company.

 

Apollo & Cassey

11x14

pastel

COMMISSION

Yellow Labrador drawing revisited...

Decided to add a background and redefine the legs. I love adding subtle backgrounds to a portrait as it adds an extra dimension to the composition.

Portrait of yellow Labrador drawing finished?

I'm waiting word on the client before I can call this dog drawing complete! The reference photo was rather blurry and washed out from the dreaded camera flash and so it was a challenge to draw the fur on the chest and legs. It amazes me how many different directions the fur on an animal can lay!!

Dog Drawing update

I'm hoping to have this dog portrait completed today. With only the neck and rest of the shoulders to work on, I should have it done in one sitting....provided of course I don't get distracted during the process!!

The start of yet another dog drawing...

Been quite busy sharpening my graphite pencils lately...seems to be a popular choice for Christmas gifts this year!
This smaller portrait I'm working on is that of a yellow Labrador.