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, yes...I most certainly can create for you a beautiful painting of your dog...

.or cat....or horse, llama, bird, pig, cow, monkey, etc......The majority of my work over the

years has consisted of commissions to paint animal best friends.

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 the animal...I will not be able to portray the spirit, the personality, features, etc.

of the animlal if I don't have good reference material to work with.  Now, this does not

mean that the photos have to be 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 in 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.

  Also, frontal photos are not recommended, as they will look distorted because of the

long facial structures of most animals...

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 way to

show off the best in your animal friend!

 

 

"Snowy Mountain Inca"

 

Click here to go to Animal Portraits

 

Prices start at $675.00 for a portrait done

in oil, framed, and shipped within the

continental United States.

Portraits done in graphite pencil, start at $475.00

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. is qouted on an individual

basis, depending on complexity.