About

Commissions

 

One of the most frequently asked questions that I get asked is " Do you do paintings of

say, someone's dog, in other words, can you do a painting of MY dog?"  The answer is unequivocally, OF COURSE!...I most certainly can create for you a beautiful painting of your dog...

.or cat....or horse, llama, bird, pig, cow, monkey, etc......painting and sculpting man's, ( or women's ) best friend has been my specialty for most of my art career.  So, whatever your need is, as far as creating a special memory of your best buddy, can be done and the possibilites are many.

The most important part of the process is good reference material, ie. good photographs. 

I can't stress this enough. If the photos aren't good enough, then I will not be able to do

justice to your pet......I will not be able to portray the spirit, the personality, features, etc.

of your pet if I don't have good quality, reference material to work with.  Now, this does not

mean that the photos have to be of professional quality, but obviously, the better the photos

the easier my job is.

A good example of what I mean is the typical photo taken by a person in a position above

the dog. The photo on the left is an example of this...the

photo on the right, even though

the shadow's are a little strong, shows the correct way to photograph the dog...

 

The best time of the day to take photographs is mid-morning, or late afternoon...... an overcast day with diffused light is the absolute best.  There shoud be no distracting

background, especially anything light in color, like a white wall, or building, and no clutter.

The photographer should be on the same level as the animal. You will need to get on the ground with your dog to accomplish this. It really helps to have someone behind you and

to one side with a toy, or something to get the dogs attention while you take the

photographs, and someone to handle the dog, so he/she will stay in a sitting or lying down position. 

The exceptions to this are photographing horses, or any other livestock for that matter. A zoom lens is a great tool to use when photographing horses. 

  Also, frontal photos are not recommended, as they will look disorted due to the

long facial structures of most animals...again, a zoom lens removes some of this distortion.

You will probably end up with a photo that makes your horse look more like a moose..

Like this....

Just add antlers, and you have Bullwinkle!

 

Although for head studies, it is preferable

to photograph more of a 3/4 view, this side

view is nicely done.  The animal is alert,

and the photograph is balanced, with no loud

distractions in the background. This photo

was taken on an overcast day. Perfect!

 

 

There are many possiblities for animal portraits.

Please take a look at my site and

look at all the different ways to

show off the best qualities and personality of your special animal friend!

 

 

"Snowy Mountain Inca"

 

Click here to go to Animal Portraits

 

Prices start at $575.00 for a portrait done

in oil, framed, and shipped within the

continental United States.

Portraits done in graphite pencil, start at 375.00

framed and shipped within the continental United

States. 

Painting image size is approximately

14" x 16"

Finished outside dimension will be larger

after framing.

"Our Gang"

 

For larger work, with more than one animal,

background, etc, commisson cost is qouted on an individual

basis, depending on complexity.