Baby Pip

6 Month Old Pip
Procreate on the iPad

Indie

I had the privilege of painting this beautiful Golden Retriever in a cross between the pop-art and contemporary styles for a wonderful client out in Texas. Goldens have the greatest smiles, I couldn't help but to be happy while I was painting him.

Indie
12x16 · Oil

Chocolate Lab

My childhood dog was a doberman and my first dog as an adult was a lab/golden mix. These breeds hold a special place in my heart so it only seems right that they should be the first of my breed specific, non-commissioned, paintings!

I did also do a painting of a golden a while back which sold but the chocolate lab and doberman are both available.

Chocolate Lab
12x12
Oil
FOR SALE ON ETSY

Emma

Below is a portrait which was commissioned as a gift for a treasured elementary school teacher who was grieving the loss of her beloved dog. What a very kind gesture.

Emma
10x8
Colored Pencil

Sparky

It was an honor to be asked to paint a portrait of this sweet puppy. Most of the requests I get are for contemporary portraits. I love painting the contemporary portraits but it was fun to paint a traditional portrait again.

Sparky
12x9
Oil

Lucas Lucas Lucas

I have truly been blessed to have met a lovely family who has a tremendous love for their dogs. This is the third portrait I have done for them and as always, it has been such a pleasure! Meet Lucas Lucas Lucas, their first family pet. It is clear that he made a lasting impression on their hearts.

Lucas Lucas Lucas
12s12
Oil

Tucker

I painted Bogey a while back and had the privilege of painting Bogey's sibling, Tucker, for a Christmas present this year. I had an even greater privilege of getting to meet Tucker in person when I met up with the owner to hand deliver the painting. The majority of portraits which I've done have been long distance so I don't get to meet the owners in person, let alone the subjects of the portraits. As you can imagine, I'm quite an animal lover and Tucker is a very sweet, very well mannered puppy and he even let me give him a big kiss! It doesn't get much better than that!

Tucker
12x12
Oil

Abby

Meet Abby! Abby is Maggie's sister, I painted Maggie a little over a year ago. I am told that Abby is a very happy dog and that definitely came through in the photos which I was sent for this Christmas commission!

Abby
5x7
Watercolor

Bud

Bud
Oil
16x12

Close-up

Close-up

Bogey, a.k.a. Shadow

I was recently given the honor of painting a most beloved and sorely missed companion by the name of Bogey. This was an amazing dog by the sounds of it who never left his guardian's side and whom I truly believe is still right there looking out for them.

Bogey
12x12
Oil

Detail #1 - Nose

Detail #2 - Eye

M&M iPad Puppy Portrait

Monty and Maggie
ArtStudio App on iPad

I painted this portrait of two sweet rat terriers using the ArtStudio app on my iPad. This is a great app with may features similar to the ones in Photoshop on the computer. I plan on doing an app comparison between ArtStudio and Procreate in my next post but the short of it is, in my opinion, they are both great apps so it comes down to personal preference.

Monty Detail

Maggie Detail

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Coming Up for Air...Gus Portrait Final

Between getting ready for the holidays, experiencing the holidays, and being crazy busy with my graphic design business (Bendt Design) I am just getting a chance to post some new artwork. I was commissioned to paint this lovely boy for a Christmas present. I really enjoy painting portraits and this one was no exception!

Gus
14x11
Oil

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Baby Portrait

I decided to try a portrait on the iPad, here's my first go! I used lots of layers and started off rather bland color-wise then built up as I went. I simply love the Procreate app! It feels like I'm actually painting and I'm quite pleased with the results. Next I think I'd like to try my hand at a digital charicature! Now to figure out who that should be of...

Baby
Procreate on iPad

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White Horse WIP

The last of the under-paintings which I started this week is this white horse. I had hoped to get another horse started as well but I have company coming and I've run out of time. Here's a very poor photo taken in low-light with my phone.

I planted some lettuce in containers on the deck a few weeks back and something kept digging in the pots. I finally decided to move them up to the area directly outside the french doors in the family room where I was hoping the dogs would keep the animals at bay. Well...not so much...

Brave little guy getting a drink with a foot in one of the pots of lettuce sprouts.
The dogs were completely unaware on the other side of the window. Hmmmm...

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Baby Girl Underpainting

Here is the first of a few under-paintings which I did over the past few days and are drying right now.

This sweet little girl is calling me, I can't wait for the underpainting to dry so I can work on her some more! In the meantime I have three more masonite panels to gesso so I can get my other ideas sketched out and started.

I'm planning on going to Dick Blick to pick up some clay later this week. I have had the urge to dig my hands into clay lately and I have a few ideas I'd like to try out! I wasn't sure about it at first as I don't have, or know anyone else who does have, a kiln. I thought about going the Sculpey route but clay is so much less expensive that it just doesn't make sense to get Sculpey unless I was only doing one or two small items. It turns out that there are places around which allow you to rent a shelf of a kiln so that's what I'm going to do! Crossing my fingers that I can remember enough about clay from high school and college that my items don't explode!

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Sophie!

Sophie sounds like quite a character and I was so happy to get to paint her! She seems to go just about everywhere with her people from the beach, to camping trips, to taking rides on a motorcycle! Such a little cutie who's obviously very loved!

Here are the photos of the finished portrait:

Sophie - Detail

Sophie
Oil
16x16

Below are the work in progress photos:

Underpainting

This is the wild and crazy color phase!

In this round I added more detail, lightened up the background, put some of Sophie's natural coloring in, and added more definition to her body.

Here I simplified and lightened the background up a bit, both of which makes  Sophie stand out more. I also added the final touches here and there, refining it until I was happy with it. For this phase, I leave the painting sitting where I will pass by it frequently. Each time I pass, I have an initial reaction and I may or may not see something which jumps out at me which I want to tweak. Once I get to the point where I walk by and nothing jumps out, I photograph it and sent off for approval!

Once Sophie dries, I will paint the sides, apply a certificate and hanging wire to the the back, scan it in, wrap her up and ship her to her new home!


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