A new pet portrait: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Meet Bella, a sweet cavalier who is now 12 years old. Her owner, Kim, wanted a classic style formal portrait of Bella, portraying her when she was younger. She gave me an example of what she wanted and a pile of photos.

My first challenge was the photos she provided. We can’t go back and take pictures of the young Bella, so I had to work with what I had. The best pose was in a photo where Bella was 3/8” tall! I scanned it and blew it up, but it still was only a little over an inch tall to work from. ACK!

I was amazed at how much detail I was able to get. Other photos showed me markings that were covered up by Jerry’s (Kim’s husband) hand. And the little red spot on her head didn’t show in most pictures, but I felt it needed to be included in order for it to truly look like Bella.

The hardest part is to start. I always do a wash of the basic colors just to get something on the paper. Once that is done, I can methodically start working. At some point, not too far into the painting, I have to sit back and be sure nothing is out of whack. In this one, one eye was too small, and one ear was too short. She looked totally out of balance. Those are major changes.

I love working in watercolor because you can lift the paint. I love pencil because you can erase it, and I love acrylic because you permanently cover up your mistakes! So it helps my confidence to know nothing is “unfixable”. My work is truly mixed media.

I used photos of other cavaliers to figure out the white curls on her chest, and I had Kim take a photo of Bella straight on so I could see her curls too.

When it was all done, I wondered if it truly looked like Bella, since I had only know her as an old dog. Kim said yes, definitely. And she loved the little “lozenge” on the top of her head.

The goal of any artist is to improve over the years. I have painted several cavaliers, and I think this one is probably the best one I have done. To see more of my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel paintings, visit their page on my website.

© 2009 Terry Albert. All Rights Reserved.

Postage stamps from my art!

My friend Nan sent me a note the other day. And it was not just any note. The notecard was one I'd made for her from the portrait of Buttons, her schnauzer. Then I noticed the stamp on the front-- it also featured Buttons' portrait! What a kick. I've seen stamps made from photos (especially popular on wedding invitations), but never my own art. She had asked me to send her a file she could use for this project. Artists retain the copyright, so she had my permission to use it.

Photo stamps are available from stamps.com. You have to pay a premium over the price of the 44 cent stamp. I may have to try that for my Christmas cards this year.

Sometimes I think the work I do is not very important in the grand scheme of life. I may not be saving the world, but it's nice to know that my art makes people happy. And that makes me happy.

© copyright 2009 Terry Albert Pet Portraits

A new pet portrait by Terry Albert

Presenting Rylee, a golden-doodle. Her owner ordered this painting as a Father's Day gift for her husband. Rylee is quite a character, only a year old and a very busy girl. She is so energetic that when she walks next to me, I carry a metal dog dish so she won't crash into me. She jumps up and bongs her head on the bottom of the bowl, and just keeps on jumping happily along at my side!

I am a pet sitter as well as an artist, and Rylee was staying with me this week. It was nice to have my model here when I had questions about the reference photo. For example, I checked to see what color the skin is around her eyes, brown or black. If I made that area the color of her coat, her eyes would look way too small, and it wouldn't be accurate anyway. She is curled up under my drawing board right now, sleeping off a big day of playing with two collies and a Lab.

Her coat is not white, it is a creamy color-- like a light colored golden retriever or Lab would have. So it was fun to add the lavender shadows (the complement of yellow) to make her color richer. To give it depth, I started with a wash of burnt sienna under the entire dog, and then built up layers of acrylic paint in golds creams and lavender with some gray and brown shadows.

This painting is an 8" x 10" and is sold. It is done in acrylic and colored pencil. Visit my web site to see more of my artwork at http://www.terryalbert.com. I am available for a custom commissioned painting of your dog or other pet!

The photo above is the photo I worked from to paint Rylee's portrait.

My latest Painting: Miniature schnauzer

The painting of many changes

This work, a commission, has gone through several transitions as I worked. It's been fun to see if I can make necessary changes without totally ruining the painting! I am fussier than I used to be, and "good enough" doesn't work so well for me any more. As my art progresses over the years, my ability has improved with practice, and my standards grow ever higher. 

The biggest challenge in this picture was the unusual pose of the schnauzer, Buttons. This is not a traditional head study, and it would be very easy to to make him look totally out of whack. 

Every painting has to sit for a day or two before I consider it finished. I go back in with fresh eyes and see problems I had totally missed before. The real test of time is to go back several months later and decide if I'm still happy with it. 

This painting was completely finished and I went back in and changed some major things. I took out a lot of the pansies in the background. My eye was drawn to the background instead of the main subject, the dog. I also thought they looked amateurish, like cut-out paper dolls. I can do better than that!

I added garden gloves under the shovel, which in the initial underpainting was floating instead of being propped up on something. Didn't work. I didn't want anyone spending a lot of time looking at the gloves, so I added tall grass in the foreground, a device I use a lot because I like the sense of depth it gives the painting. Like you are in the scene. The "grass" also echoes the society garlic in the background. 

I also added some drama to the pansies around Buttons -- looking through my reference photos I found some wonderful burgundy and yellow pansies, so I changed some of the yellow ones to that color combo, and like it much better. 

To see a larger version of the final painting, visit my web site. 

A new pet portrait: German Shepherd

Here is my latest painting, of Deena, my friend Jackie's newest family member. She is a very striking dog, only a year old, and lots of personality, so she was a joy to paint. This is done in watercolor and colored pencil, and the picture above shows you the photo, work-in-progress, and the finished portrait. It is 5 x 7 inches, very small compared to my usual portraits. 

I took photos of Deena and let Jackie and her husband choose which pose they liked best. 

I hadn't painted since before Christmas, due to some very busy months pet sitting. This was a nice one to get me back into the groove again. I have three orders ahead of me, which I will share with you when they are done. 

The hardest part is getting started, and like many of us, I can come up with a lot of excuses not to sit down and get to work. A friend once told me her kitchen was never cleaner than when she had a paper due in school! 

My involvement with the Canine Art Guild helps inspire me and keep me motivated. And my artistic friends, a photographer and a sculptor also inspire me. It is hard to stay focused when I have several different jobs. In a perfect world, I would paint every day. It is truly my favorite "career," my passion.  

To see more of my work, visit my pet portraits web site. 

© 2009, Terry Albert. All rights reserved.