Loki

Just finished up the last of my Christmas commissions, this is Loki. He was a challenge as an all black cat.  Like a good little student I don't use black paint from a tube, I mix my own. It's much more interesting that way. My first attempt at Loki had him looking too blue, so I started over and was much happier with the second result. The man who commissioned him said it really looked like Loki, yay!

Loki - 12x12 Acrylic on gessobord

TiTi

This cutie is TiTi, who was commissioned to be a Christmas present. This is my first time painting for someone I don't know! She took my card at the little exhibition I had at the Underground Music Cafe and contacted me.  It's a little nerve-wracking, so far when I've done commissions I've always had in the back of my head "Well they have to like it, they're my <friend/sister/uncle/childhood neighbor/cousin/former roommate/etc...>" Anyway she seemed very happy with it. She even kindly instructed me to sign it, saying "You're the artist! You must sign." :)

TiTi - 6x6 acrylic on gessobord

Dog on Red

I painted this one back in May but never got around to photographing and posting it. I usually favor blues and greens for my background colors but was trying something new here.

Dog on Red - 12 x 12 Acrylic

 

Andy's dog, Zeek

This is Zeek, my brother's dog who passed on recently. Zeek lived to a ripe old age and had a wonderful life right up to the end. He was a phenomenal hunter and all-around great dog.



Zeek - Acrylic on 10x10 gessobord

 

German Shepherd

German shepherd. They always look so noble!

German Shepherd - 11x14 Acrylic on gessobord

Tabby Cat

This one took a few tries to get the markings right. Sometimes paintings work out on the first try but much more often I have to try 3-4 times to get it right. I try not to think about the wasted paint, and chalk it up to practice!

Tabby Cat - Acrylic on 12x12 gessobord

Ginger - and upcoming projects!

I've been busy working on some pieces for a couple of upcoming projects! One of the projects is an exhibition of my work in a local coffee shop, I want to do a series of pet portraits for that. The other is the U of MN Vet Hospital is going to feature some of my paintings on note cards that they send out. The front of the card will have a transfer of one of my paintings, and the back of the card will have their logo and also my contact information. I'm really excited about it!

Ginger - Acrylic on 12x12 gessobord

This dog is from the "paint my photo" site. Lots of good reference material there. If you have any great shots of your pets (close-up, well-lit...) please feel free to send them my way too.

One thing I still struggle with is getting accurate photos of my paintings. They always look different than they do in person. And it's amazing how different times of day affects the photos. Here's another photo of the same painting. The real painting's colors are somewhere between the two.

 

Any  photography lighting tips would be appreciated!

Afternoon sunlight

I'm having fun with these house portraits. This is the old Garding farmhouse in Lake Henry, MN. The farm was homesteaded in 1876. I'm so used to painting cats and dogs that I find myself trying to similarly capture a "personality" when I paint houses, especially by using light and shadow.  I'm not sure this one is quite finished- I'm wondering if I should add a little reflection to the bottom window panes? Also thinking the floor of the porch may jutt out a little to far. Opinions from those who have been there?

Garding Farmhouse - Acrylic on 9x12 gessobord

It's Wanda!!!

I'm so excited to be going international! This painting of Wanda is headed off to Abu Dhabi, where she lives with my friends Rachel and Andy.

Wanda - Acrylic on 11x14 gessobord

Sophie

Here is sweet Sophie, my cousins' dog who recently passed away. She is loved and missed greatly!

Sophie - Acrylic on 12x12 gessobord

Onions

Just some onions! This is based off of a reference photo I found online. I still don't have a good set-up to do "live" still-lifes at home.

Onions  - 6"x6" Acrylic on gessoboard

216 W. 3rd St.

I recently took a house portrait painting class from my wonderful painting teacher, Kat Corrigan. This is the house I grew up in in Litchfield, MN. It's bright orange now (see photo below!) but I painted it as I remembered it, it used to be brown. I tried adding some trees to the background but it looked really busy and detracted from the house so I painted over them. I think I'll try again with more simplified trees.

216 W. 3rd St. 8"x10" Acrylic on gessoboard. 

The house today!

Delta

Here is my friend Joy's dog, Delta! This one required some layering while painting because Delta's colors, as they come from my palette, are very transparent. I feel ready to paint Joy's other dachshund Esker now!

 Delta 8x8 Acrylic on gessoed hardboard

Kevin

This is my friend Stephanie's dog, Kevin. He's brother to Yirgy, who I also painted a year or two ago. I'm starting to get more comfortable painting dogs!

Kevin 6x6 Acrylic on gessoed hardboard

Glass

I took a quick break from dogs and cats to try a still life. This is actually painted from a photograph of a still life I found online- I don't have good lighting/space to set up my own still lifes. It feels very different to paint inanimate objects when I'm used to painting animals!

6x6 Acrylic on gessoed hardboard

Cat

I was drawn to the warm colors in this cat, and also its eyes.

6x6 acrylic on gessoed hardboard

  

  

Zora

This is my first commission, of sorts! I donated a pet portrait painting to the silent auction of a benefit for my friend, and this is the winner's dog, Zora.

     Zora, acrylic on 8x8 gessoboard