Kooka

'Our Kooka' is a wild bird that has been visiting us on and off in the Blue Mts over the past eighteen months or so, since around January 2012. She starts to appear on our balcony most mornings for a very tiny portion indeed of organic mince meat and soon gets into a daily routine lasting several months. Then one day, all of a sudden, she flies off never to be seen again, or so we think. Lo and behold, our kookaburra reappears four months later to resume her daily visits for many more months, becoming so familiar with her hosts that she will quite happily sit on the feeder's lap. Sadly for the latter, she has yet again flown the coop, at least for a while.
Marnie A

I was really looking forward to painting Kooka, since I've met her personally on my aunt Marnie's balcony in the Blue Mountains... as it happens, I really struggled to get the background to work. In the photo there were the railings of the balcony to the left and behind but because the light was hitting them quite strongly and Kooka was in shade, they were too distracting. I scraped and repainted them in every non-distracting way I could think of and eventually because time was limited (one pet a day!!) I decided to paint the background without the railings... Tomorrow we have the lovely Daisy!

Ko Ko

Ko Ko is a 5 year old Australian Mist. Very affectionate, he dribbles with joy when being patted. His days are spent lolling in the sun, curled up next to his brother Kossie. His great loves are: having his ears licked clean by my dog, Buddy; licking cattachinos (cappuccino milk froth) off the kitchen bench (!); sitting on the top shelf of the bookcase and flinging books to the floor; and sharpening his claws on any soft furnishings that happen to be handy when the urge comes upon him.
Vicki

It was fun to paint Ko Ko because we're the best of friends... he always comes running to greet me when I visit Vicki and he won't leave me alone until we've had a full and generous cuddle. I didn't quite finish the Kookaburra today, but will post him tomorrow, stay tuned!

Pet Portraits Challenge update

Greetings! The first week of my Pet Portraits challenge is complete and there are 3 weeks still to go. I'm happy to say the response I've had has been awesome and now I have a pet to paint for each day of the challenge. I'm full up!! Thank you so much to everyone who has sent me photos of their beautiful pets. They are wonderfully various, from tiny to great, furry to feathered!

During this four week challenge there is no obligation to buy your pet portrait but if you would like to, it will be at a reduced price of $100 ($75 for the first 5) including postage. If you decide to buy your portrait it will be ready to ship to you around 2 weeks after it has been posted on the blog. Just let me know if you would like to purchase and I will send you an invoice and ship it off to you as soon as it's varnished and ready to go. If you live close by I might be able to home deliver!

Of course I would still love to paint your pet after the challenge is over. From then on Pet Portraits will be by commission. I will post up sizes and prices in the coming week, as well as my recommendation for an economical way to frame your pet portrait (stay tuned)...

Thank you again for all the positive feedback you have given me, I'm very grateful and feel encouraged to keep painting!!! Until tomorrow...

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!