What fun this puppy was to paint!! This commissioned painting is of a young pup with a steady focused and learning gaze. This Christmas present was a delight to paint as the gifter had commissioned other paintings, I felt quite free to paint Louie as I saw him.
​I have process photos at the bottom of this blog for those interested. I used Red Iron Oxide as an undercoat and to get started over the intimidating white. I then drew Louie in with the same colour just not with  thinned paint. Then the fun with colour began!! I often will not paint in the eyes or finish the eyes until later as it is unnerving to have the pet "watch" you paint, strange I know, but when you are intensely looking, they start coming to life. It was a joy painting Louie and this Christmas gift was a hit.  Merry Christmas and may you enjoy new art in 2022!

"Louie" a commissioned pet portrait
8" x 10" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas,  #20125221 (Not For Sale)

I have been having fun in a homemade concertina sketch book. I had not connected it in the middle thinking it would be to large to travel with and would attach the two pieces after. Well that did not work as well as I thought as the pages were no long in order.  I had used the front and back of the pages then connected them to the second half. No matter, I just dated the individual pages. Below are some of the pages.
​This handmade sketchbook is a place to explore, try things and put in memories of the moment not making it precious. The covers are made from cereal boxes that I have covered with tape pieces that are full of colourful paint used in this book.

Meet Guinness. This lovely dog's pet portrait was commissioned. I had a lot of fun painting a black dog without using any black paint. Purples, blues, Quin Red Iron Oxide and white were used on a Quin Red Iron Oxide underlayer. Guinness' face had so much character, it was really fun to bring to life as you can see in the photos below. Thank you Barb for this wonderful commission!

"Guinness" a commissioned pet portrait
12" x 9" acrylic on cradled board, #20111221

In the top left, I have the thinned Quinacridone Red Iron Oxide to cover the canvas then drew with a paintbrush the outlines in undiluted paint to make sure I mapped it out right. The second photo (top right) I have filled in the underpainting and added to the background. Bottom left photo I have added more details and eyes. The bottom right, getting closer, now adding the final details.

After clearing out my art studio and painting the walls, I was finally back at the easel. I worked out compositions to see what one I preferred (more on previous pages in sketchbook). The bottom row is defining the shapes and the last one is defining values. Then the fun began with a paintbrush in hand and a plan in mind. I hadn't painted in oils for quite awhile so this was a real treat.

"Days Of Summer"
16" x 12" Oil on canvas panel, #20106222