Jake

Jake is a 5 year old Hungarian Vizsla cross who we nickname our Velcro puppy. He loves to lean against people and can't ever seem to get close enough. He loves to play ball on the beach, defend his family from any unknown dangers and takes great joy in finding the sunniest spot in the yard to lie down in - currently my veggie patch!
Liz

Painting Jake was quite a challenge for me. When I started planning the painting I realised he's actually in dappled sunlight which had me somewhat confused about what was sunlight (warm) and what was a lighter part of him in shade (cool). I think I got there in the end. Stay tuned for next week's pet portraits, including a kookaburra!!

Timmy

Timmy is a playful energetic Lhasa Apso cross who loves people. He is a lively, affectionate and faithful companion who loves to sit beside my chair in the garden. He's a bubbly pooch who has a deep curiosity and love for helicopters...when he hears one overhead he runs outside stands on his back legs with front paws to the air indicating he wants to be lifted up to get a better view. His sporting activities include chasing one particular ball which is falling to bits and chasing the noisy cockatoos flying above the house. Oh yes, and Timmy loves a good ear massage and a warm rub on the back of his neck.
June

Timmy was great to paint, so much flowing hair! I didn't manage to get a time lapse for various reasons... still I'm happy how this one turned out. Stay tuned tomorrow for Jake!

Cattie

This is the late "Cattie" née "Penny" who died on 27 May 2003 at around eighteen years of age, sadly just six weeks after her big move from Darlington in Sydney to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains. She was quite the scaredy-cat when first adopted as a mature eight-year-old, or thereabouts, by two equally middle-aged human carers. But her timidity soon diminished and for the next decade she settled in to ruling the roost and a life of leisure in her very own domain. She was always adept at keeping her adoring 'owners' in check when it came to feeding and other matters, such as shedding her black and white fur everywhere she went. Thus in the company of her loving admirers, the rest of her life was spent truly enjoying free range over her three bedroom terrace and luscious, albeit modest, garden.
Marnie A

I needed to paint Cattie 'in full' since the only photos of her were printed ones without a lot of detail. But I think she came up well in the end. Here is a time lapse of her. I tried putting the camera on the other side of me to prevent the glare problem but instead my hand was in the way. Still working on the best set up for it!

Reo

Reo is an eight year old Australian Stockhorse. His fancy name is Baymak Reo, but most of his friends just call him Reo. Reo likes apples and is scared of butterflies. Because everyone knows that butterflies eat horses. Especially the little white ones. You know, the ones with sharp teeth that pretend to eat broccoli but really they hide in the grass and JUMP out and try to grab unsuspecting horses by the throat, so they can drag them back to their lairs and eat their flesh – yeah, those ones. Broccoli – pft! Reo is so not fooled by that.
Karen

I really enjoyed painting Reo, he's a lovely horse even if he is scared of butterflies... Here's a video of the work in progress... I'm still trying to figure out the best way to do my videos with lighting etc so hopefully by the end they'll be much better. Tune in tomorrow for Cattie!

Pet Portraits Challenge kicks off... here's Ruby!

This is Ruby, we rescued her from death row at the pound when she was 3 months old. She was an abused dog, having had her tail broken by her previous owner. Ruby is the most loving, loyal dog and greets everyone she meets with kisses and a wagging tail. She loves going for a run, is very fond of cashew nuts, and most of all, she loves to snuggle up to you any time of the day or night.
Phillipa

Ruby is my sister's dog, thanks Phil for starting me off with the lovely Ruby! Thanks also to everyone who's sent me pics of their pets, I'm looking forward to painting them all. If anyone is interested in having their pet painted, please see the instructions for sending photos and learn more about my Pet Portraits Challenge here.

I'm also experimenting with an app called Lapse It and made a time lapse video of this painting. Enjoy... and do come back tomorrow to see my cousin's horse Reo!

A comfortable place to sit

Here is a comfortable place to sit on a warm winter's day. I finished this 10x10" painting of mum's living room this morning. I'm a HUGE fan of the late Australian artist Margaret Olley so I added one of her paintings in place of the more modern painting that is actually there. Tomorrow I'll be starting on my pet portraits. I'm looking forward to posting them daily from monday, stay tuned!

A Pet Portrait a Day!

This is Buddy. He's a social butterfly who loves going for morning walks to greet all his friends and sniff out the daily news behind every post and tree. He dreams of walks that never end and looks forward to long morning cuddles in bed on the weekends. In the evenings Buddy practices his fine acting skills, pretending to be fast asleep when it's time to go out in the cold for a pee before bed time.

This is my second attempt to paint Buddy. As I'm painting each day and getting used to the primed boards I'm slowly improving my technique so I had another go at Buddy on a larger board (10x10").

I'm setting myself up to improve my pet portraits and need your help. Starting next monday the goal is to paint a pet each day for the next four weeks (weekends off) so I need pets to paint!! Furry or feathered, big or small... If you'd like to help me along, check out the instructions below. There will be no obligation to buy your pet's painting when it's done but if you would like to then the first 5 to send their photos will have the opportunity to buy their paintings for just $75 including postage (within Australia). Afterwards they will be $100 each which is still at a discounted price. Pet portraits are a beautiful way to capture your pet's uniqueness or remember a pet that has passed away and also make a wonderful gift!


Instructions:

1. Email 2-3 photos of your pet (click here for email address). Provide clear, in focus photos of at least the head and shoulders of your pet, taken in natural light if possible. Please don't tightly crop!! I'll choose the photo that I think is best and crop it as needed to work well in the square format.

2. Include in the email a short bio of your pet with name, age, likes/dislikes, personality, quirks/charms... This will be posted to the blog along with your pets painting.

3. If you decide to buy your painting it will be 8x8" and come to you unframed. It will take a couple of weeks to dry completely so expect to wait a little before it arrives in the mail. Paintings are on archival, primed MDF boards using artist quality oil paints and satin varnished.

4. Within Australia all postage will be included. International postage will be a bit extra and I can quote you the price before you decide to go ahead.

5. Payment for paintings will be via PayPal. Signing up for a PayPal account is free, quick and easy. Ask me for more information if you're not sure.

I'm all fired up to paint pets so please get behind me to make this a successful challenge!!