Surprise Pet Portrait Presents
To round off this series marking three years as a full-time pet portrait artist, I wanted to share something a little different: a surprise gift, rather than a traditional commission.
A good friend of mine has a gorgeous dog, so I decided to create a portrait as a birthday present — for the friend, not the dog! The challenge? I wanted it to be a surprise, and so I had to get a good reference photo without giving the game away.
Her family secretly sent me several possible photos, but none were quite right, especially for an 8x10 head-and-shoulders portrait. One of them, however, caught my eye. It had a fun, colourful background that inspired a different idea — a small watercolour version in a 4x4 format. So while the family worked on taking some more photos for the larger portrait, I made a start on the mini one. It turned out so well I wondered if this style of mini watercolour portrait could be a lovely addition to the range of commissions I offer.
With a little help (and a few treats), the dog eventually struck the perfect pose. Because I knew her personally, I had the added joy of capturing in pencil a personality I was already familiar with. The larger portrait came together beautifully, and I found a frame to match the smaller one, completing the set.
It’s always special to deliver a portrait in person and see the reaction first-hand (both the client’s and the subject’s!). I’m used to shipping commissions all over the world, but just a few weeks ago, when I asked for a client’s address, I discovered they lived just round the corner! Total coincidence (even with Google favouring local results), but a lovely one nonetheless. It was great to be able to hand the portrait over in person!
Pet portraits make perfect presents for pet lovers, and so it was such a joy to see my friends reaction when she opened the pictures. They have asked for prints, so I will soon start work on the challenge of colour correction, that is, making sure the colours that are printed are faithful to the original.
Over the last three blogs, I’ve shared just a few of the 50+ portraits I’ve completed this year — each with its own set of creative challenges and rewarding moments. One of my biggest ongoing challenges last year? Actually posting on social media! So I]m really pleased to have got these blogs out and hope they help give a little more insight into my world.
Looking ahead to year four, I’m so grateful to have several months of commissions already lined up — and I can’t wait to see how they’ll continue to stretch and grow me as an artist.
Whether you’ve been following along for the last three years, or discovered my work more recently, thank you so much for joining me on the journey.