Another Happy Face

In my last post, I mentioned a dog painting I did that I called Happy Face.  This is it, although, I am afraid it is a little washed out from the original.  I wish I knew how ro adjust the color in photoshop to add more gold and tone down the blue a bit..  No matter, I am not selling it here....
It was fun to paint.  Have you ever seen a Golden Retriever without a happy face?  They are always smiling. 

One more before leaving for New Zealand

A friend of mine had asked me to paint her dog. As we were only a month or so away from leaving for New Zealand for seven weeks, and my to-do list was very long, I didn' t think I could get it done before leaving. I sketched it in, and then it sat on the easel for a week or two, looking at me, asking why it wasn't finished! So one night I decided I was going to get it done and it just fell off the brush. I love paintings like that! This was photographed with my iphone (which takes better photos than my good camera!) but it was still wet, so there is a little glare on the right side. Now all I have to do is frame it and get it to her before we leave, now in less than two weeks.

A dog commission

This is the third dog commission I have done for this family, but it was the toughest! The photo they sent me of the dog wasn't the greatest, and when I tried a close up, I couldn't figure out where the various parts of the dog were within the black blob that was the head! I don't paint from imagination very well, and really do need reference. So I decided that I loved the girl and the dog together, and did that instead. It made it less necessary to get as detailed with the cockapoo. I titled it Best Buddies, as they look like they really are. The painting is a present for the little girl for her February birthday.

A dog commission

I loved painting this little guy. A friend of mine sent me a photo of her dog and asked me to paint him. Unfortunately, the photo was not very good. It was really hard to see his eyes. I an told that is a common problem with commissions, and my sister suggested I go online and find a photo of the same breed of dog and use his eyes, which I did. The owner of the dog was pleased with it, and so was I. It was a good solution, without violating any copyright issues.

Begging

I have had the photo reference for this for some time, and finally painted it. The dog belongs to a friend of mine that we hike with sometimes. He likes nothing more than to roll in the snow banks that are left under trees in the spring time as we hike. A lab through and through; he even likes frozen water!