Oil painting of Crufts Best In Show 2016 winner - the Westie Devon

 Ch Burneze Geordie Girl - Devon

Best In Show Crufts 2016

20" x 16" oil on canvas

Painting Presentation at Crufts 9 March 2016

Last year I was delighted to be approached by the Kennel Club Arts Foundation and asked if I would paint the 2016 Crufts Best In Show winner, the lovely Devon - Ch Burneze Geordie Girl. Last Thursday I went to Crufts to take part in the presentation of the painting to Devon's owner, Marie Burns. Here are some photos from the show and of course of the portrait. I hope you like them!

Anne

info@azpaintings.com

Miniature Poodle Watercolour Painting

Watercolour painting of chocolate miniature poodle on Saunders Waterford NOT paper

 Another watercolour painting today, this time of a smashing miniature poodle. I think maybe poodles aren't appreciated by some for being the lively and extremely intelligent dogs they are (and they come in a different size to suit everyone!) 

It is a common misconception that poodles originate from France but they were actually water retrievers in Germany 'pudels'. Their lower bodies were shaved to stop their heavy coats from being water-logged but the long coat over the front of the body and chest 'mane' was left to protect the vital organs and owners left long hair around the joints to protect them from injury and rheumatism. 

This handsome young man is not only an adored pet but is also the first chocolate miniature poodle to have been made a UK Champion for nine years! An accolade indeed! I always enjoy painting poodles and I hope you enjoy seeing 'Mr Brown'.

Anne

info@azpaintings.com

Watercolour Dalmatian portrait (Peanut)

16" x 20" watercolour on Saunders Waterford NOT

Well I hope everyone reading this had a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year and in fact is still having a good new year! I started 2016 with a sickly computer and a sickly me. Neither of us was seriously ill but it did make posting too difficult to struggle with. However, we are now both back and fully fit!

I'm hoping to get back to posting regularly now and if you have any comments or there is anything you'd like to see or have discussed,  please let me know.

As I say under the painting, this lovely Dalmatian was painted on Saunders Waterford NOT. For those of you new to this blog and not familiar with watercolour papers, you might wonder what NOT stands for. It actually means NOT hot pressed. Hot pressed watercolour paper is very smooth as opposed to rough watercolour paper which is.... yes, you guessed it, rough. NOT fits in between the two. I use Saunders Waterford as I find it a forgiving paper, meaning that it is possible to be relatively rough with it. I always suggest to people new to watercolours, that they pop along to their local art shop and buy a selection of different papers to see which they like best and which suits their style of painting best. I find Saunders Waterford paper to be like Baby Bear's porridge in Goldilocks and The Three Bears, that is, just right! 

Anne

Belgian Shepherd Dog - Groenendael

16" x 20" Watercolour 

Having been negligent of this blog for so long, it's quite difficult to try and catch up and at the same time of course this is a very busy time of year for artists. So this is my excuse for my postings, some of which are going to be rather brief! Please accept my apologies.

The above painting was one of three Groenendaels painted earlier this year. They were commissioned as a surprise gift so a lot of secrecy was involved! 

If you do have any questions you'd like to ask me, do feel free to either comment below or email me and I will get back to you, or if your query is of general interest, will publish it in this blog.

Anne

info@azpaintings.com

Luca - Dalmatian Oil Portrait Painting

14" x 10" oil on canvas

Hmm, not wonderfully organised at updating my blog yet! Well, early days... 

Today I'm sharing an oil painting completed a few months ago. I really enjoyed painting this boy - it was fun to have a different pose from usual. I think it probably goes without saying that I do love the expression in his eyes and spent a long time getting them just as I wanted. I hope you agree that it was worth the time! 

The portrait was commissioned by his breeder in the UK as a gift for his owner - what a lovely gesture. 

 

This boy is alive and well and lives with his owner in France.  

If you have any questions or would like to discuss commissioning a painting please email me at info@azpaintings.com (now booking into the New Year)

Anne

Golden Retriever Oil Painting (and another apology!)

14" x 10" oil on linen canvas - Golden Retriever Elliot

Once again I must apologise for the dearth of blog posts - I can only say that I am simply so busy painting that everything else has been taking a back seat. I can can tell you though that things are planned to be somewhat more organised in the New Year and I am thinking of publishing a newsletter - perhaps bi-monthly. 

However, for now here is a recent commission of a gorgeous golden retriever which I hope you enjoy. 

Don't forget I am only an email address away if you want to ask me anything or chat - although expect fairly brief responses pre-Christmas!! 

Anne

PS I am fully booked for this Christmas - sorry to those who've been disappointed 

Rhodesian Ridgeback oil painting

Rhodesian Ridgeback - Jackson. 16" x 20" oil on canvas

Another recent commission which I can now share as it was commissioned as a birthday present and given today. I've been informed that everyone was crying when the parcel was opened which I must admit made me feel quite emotional too!

If you would like to commission a painting or have a question please email me at info@azpaintings.com

Saluki watercolour

Saluki Watercolour on Saunders Waterford NOT

Tonight I'm sharing one of my recent(ish) commissions. As it says, it's a watercolour, 16" x 20", on my favourite paper Saunders Waterford NOT. For those of you who don't know, NOT stands for not hot pressed which means that the surface has a small amount of texture rather than the completely smooth surface of hot pressed.

If you have any comments/questions, please feel free to either leave a comment here or email me at info@azpaintings.com

Border Collie - watercolour dog portrait

Border Collie - watercolour on Saunders Waterford NOT paper

I think a lot of my readers will have a similar problem to mine - not enough hours in the day! Some things are left or not given enough attention and I have been concerned about my blog. I would love to hear from you to know what sort of contet matter you'd like to see - bearing in mind of course that it will be art related! Do please be in touch to see if I can make my posts more relevant or interesting to you.

My email address is: info@azpaintings.com

Many thanks - Anne