Dalmatian WIP #3

Ever Hopeful - 10" x 8" oil on hardboard/masonite

Well, this is going to be my last work in progress for this painting. I found it very difficult to get an accurate photo of it, partly because the light kept reflecting off the wet oil paint and partly it seems because of the different tones in the painting which the camera had difficulty in capturing. This is as close as I can get it for accuracy and is a reasonably accurate copy. 

I know that quite a few people starting out painting find it difficult to give their paintings depth and this is usually due to lack of tone. I always suggest to novice artists who have this problem, to make a monochrome copy of their painting as it will then often reveal to them the lack of difference in tone. For interest I made a monochrome copy of this painting as shown below:

You can see that the painting still retains depth even when the colour has been stripped from it. The difference in tones keeps interest in the painting and this is what we artists are striving for.

The painting will be finished shortly (I hope!)

If you have any questions, please email me at info@azpaintings.com

Dalmatian WIP #2

Ever Hopeful - 10" x 8" oil on hardboard/masonite

This is Ever Hopeful a little further on - only painting in the evenings still as I'm busy with commissions during the day. It's frustrating though, as I'm itching to get it finished, but I must just be patient!

If you would like me to paint your own pet, just email me at info@azpaintings.com or click on the 'shop' button in the menu above and then the 'commissioning a painting' button.

Completely off topic

This is totally off topic but if you have 10 minutes to spare in your busy day I thought you might enjoy sitting back listening to the music and reading the words of the well known but nevertheless always apt "Desiderata".

I hope that if you were maybe feeling stressed before watching this, you now feel relaxed and at peace. :)

WIP - Ever Hopeful

Ever Hopeful - 10" x 8"oil on hardboard/masonite

I think most reading this blog will know that I paint full-time. A lot of people think that painting all day must be a very relaxing occupation - well for some it may be, but not for me. I love it and am obsessed by it, but when I am painting portrait commissions, it is hard work as a considerable amount of concentration is necessary to ensure the painting is an accurate portrait. So, after the day's work is finished, the dogs are walked and dinner eaten, what do I do to relax? Paint of course! The difference with these 'evening' paintings (also quite often painted during the day when I can't bear not to get on with them!) is that I don't have to make the dogs featured look exactly like the photographic reference - although I must admit that a lot of them do, but the difference is that they don't have to, which removes the element of, well, I suppose, stress. 

The painting above is one of my 'relaxing paintings' and I still have quite a way to go with it. The plan at the moment is that it will have a dark background when finished. The owner and photographer of these dogs is Dawn 'Simengaard' Jaworski, a friend I met on facebook - thank you Dawn for sending the photo to me.

Once the painting is finished it will be offered for sale with a donation of 10% being made to Dalmatian Rescue of North Miami in memory of Hope - RIP

If you wish you can see some photos of Hope here although I warn you they are upsetting. Sadly she died shortly after being rescued.

German Shepherd Dog - Chance

Chance - 10" x 14" oil on hardboard/masonite

There are quite a few advantages in painting dogs for a living and one of these is that you meet such very nice people and make good friends. One of my friends, made through my paintings, is Lisa Husar. Lisa is a professional photographer and she specialises in photographing wildlife. I am not exaggerating when I say that her photos are stunning - if you don't believe me, have a look at her website teamhusar.com and you will see I am right!

Lisa commissioned this painting for her neighbour and friend after the tragic loss of his beautiful bitch, Chance. As is usual for me, this painting was quite tough to paint - as the painting grows, so does my sadness in the knowledge that the dog is no longer. I suppose some people would think this very odd, but I know that my fellow artists who paint animals will fully understand; when you become so involved with a painting, it is as if, while you are creating them, they live, and when of course you know they don't.............sadness is bound to follow. 

I hope that when the painting is dry and I am able to ship it out to the US to Lisa and she presents it to Chance's owner, that he will not only appreciate her kindness and generosity but also that the painting will bring him some comfort in remembered happy times.

All You Need Is Love

All You Need Is Love - 6" x 6" oil on hardboard/masonite

I have recently updated the home page of my website and put a little slideshow on it. This is one of the paintings which I included in the slideshow as I think it clearly demonstrates the affection well loved dogs have for their owners - ah sweet! I contacted the photographer of the reference photograph, Noel Zia Lee, to check that she was happy with this - and she sent me a very nice email - thank you Noel.

This painting is sold and a donation from the profits was made to Old Dog Haven - doing so much to place unwanted elderly dogs in forever homes.

If you would like to commission a painting, please click on the shop link in the menu above or email me at info@azpaintings.com

Rottweiler pet portrait

Reflections - 5" x 7" oil on hardboard/masonite

The August challenge on the Daily Painters International Art Gallery blog was "Reflections" and so I thought this painting, completed last year, would be a suitable entry. I also posted it in the Artists International Gallery and was amazed at the incredible amount of comments (all nice by the way!) it received - and from a bunch of very talented artists. Of course I was absolutely thrilled.

If you would like to commission a portrait please either click on the link in the menu above (shop), or email me at info@azpaintings.com

My thanks to MandCo at Flickr for the reference photograph

Strictly for the Dogs!

A friend on facebook posted the following and I thought it worth repeating... 

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It came to me that every time I lose a dog they take a piece of my heart with them. And every new dog who comes into my life gifts me with a piece of their heart. If I live long enough, all the components of my heart will be dog, and I will become as generous and loving as they are.

 

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Saluki Head Study

Saluki - Ch Glenoak Ishaara 20" x 16" watercolour

As Dean Grey at Exploding Doughnut commented that he had never seen a saluki before, I thought I would post another one here - this time a head study.

To commission a similar painting please email me at info@azpaintings.com

Blog Changes and Dalmatian Update

Well one guess and it was wrong! I do hope that it is working correctly in all browsers. Ah well now to reveal - I'm not sure how you write the sound 'dah dah' !

What I hope now happens when you click on a painting is that it opens on the same page as the blog, not a new page as previously. I used to have this for my old website galleries before I updated my website (www.azpaintings.com - not this blog) and it is something called 'Lightbox' devised by Lokesh Dhakar and is, to quote: "a JavaScript application used to display large images using modal dialogs". It is in very widespread use over the net as it is so useful and visually appealing. In one way it is very easy to implement on a blog and in another way, takes ages. The reason for this is that for it to work, a tiny bit of html code has to be removed from older photographs - the newer ones don't seem to have it and so are okay.

Anyway, for those who would like to implement the effect on their blog this is what you need to do:
(always save a copy of your template before you make any changes in case you can't make the new one work)

Login to Blogger Dashboard, go to Layout → Edit HTML and add the following code right before the </head> tag:

<link href="http://rilwis.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/blogger/lightbox.css" media="screen" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />

<script src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1/jquery.min.js" type="text/javascript">script>

<script src="http://rilwis.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/blogger/lightbox.min.js" type="text/javascript">script>

(of course you need to save this)

If your photos on your blog are new, that's all there is to it. However, if they are older - and this was the vast majority of mine, then you need to edit the html code on each of them. Near the top of the post you will find a line which begins: '< a href ' If you find the code s1600, all is fine, but if it says s1600-h, you will need to delete the '-h' part of it.  (this will drive you to the edge of insanity by the way)

I found the above information from this blog deluxeblogtips.

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Now to the Dalmatian part of this posting, you may remember the rescue of a Dalmatian named Fletcher who was gravely ill with pneumonia. Well, I am more than delighted to say he is fully recovered and although it was very hard for his foster mum to let him go, he now has a forever home and his new owners are thrilled with him and he has apparently settled in very well.

Blog Changes

Well I have been very hard at work today on my blog and I wonder if anyone will be able to notice what the difference is? I have tested it on Internet Explorer and Firefox and I prefer the effect on Firefox - actually I much prefer to use Firefox anyway and hardly ever use IE these days.

I hope someone notices what I've done! I will tell you all anyway once hopefully there have been some guesses, and if anyone wants to do the same, I will tell you how.  :)

Saluki

 Saluki - Joop - 20" x 16" watercolour

After the short legged dachshunds, I thought today a rather longer legged hound might be fun. Unlike dachshunds, salukis hunt by sight not scent and they are both very elegant and very fast! It is said that as a breed they tend to be rather aloof with strangers, so I was somewhat surprised when I went to a saluki show a couple of years ago and was met with many wagging tails and affectionate greetings. I suppose some have that 'stand-offish' temperament but clearly a lot don't!

If you have any questions please email me at info@azpaintings.com

If you'd like to commission a painting, please click on Shop in the menu above and then Commissioning A Painting

Smooth Haired Dachshund

Ch Seatris Laced with Success - 20" x 16" watercolour

Well, after showing you all two different dachshund coats, I thought I'd make it a trilogy!!

The dog above is a Smooth Haired Dachshund - as of course it says in the title!

If you have any questions please email me at info@azpaintings.com

If you'd like to commission a painting, please click on Shop in the menu above and then Commissioning A Painting

Wirehaired Dachshund

Ch Kanix Hilda At Stargang - 20" x 16" watercolour

I thought it might be fun, following my posting of a Longhaired Dachshund, to show a dachshund with a different coat. I hope you can see that the coat on this dachshund is somewhat shorter and rougher than the previous one! It is a Miniature Wirehaired Dachshund for those unfamiliar with the breed.

As usual, if you have any questions, please email me at info@azpaintings.com

 

 

Rhodesian Ridgeback painting

Rhodesian Ridgeback - Ch Nyuki Takamali Shujaa of Morlingcourt
(20" x 16" watercolour)

While I'm busy with current commissions, I thought you might like to see some more of my past paintings - I hope you enjoy them! 

A commissioned portrait

If you have any questions, please email me at info@azpaintings.com

Dalmatian Commission

22" x 18" watercolour on Saunders Waterford NOT paper

This is a portrait I have been working on for a while and just recently completed. I can show it here now as the owners have seen it and are very happy with it. These two sweet girls have passed on through old age, having spent their lives as much loved pets. It was quite emotionally tough painting them - it always is hard painting dogs no longer around. It may be difficult for non-artists to understand this, and the rapport the artist builds up with his/her subject, even if only seen in a photograph (as most of mine are), but I am sure any pet portrait artists reading this will understand only too well. Nevertheless, it is a privilege to be able to pay tribute to much loved animals.

Anna and Misha

Email problems

During this week I have been informed of several emails to me being returned as undeliverable. I have now discovered that my 'quota' had been exceeded. However, apparently all it needed was for me to tick the box marked 'unlimited' for the problem to be resolved!

So, if you have written to me at info@azpaintings.com recently and had problems getting through, I do apologize and ask you to try again, as hopefully it is all sorted out now.

(Needless to say my daily Japanese spam email comment on this blog got through - still at least with the advice of my friends here, it now comes to me for moderation (ie delete) before it appears here!)

Dalmatian In The Sky

Dalmatian In The Sky - 10" x 8" oil on hardboard/masonite

This painting was inspired by the monthly challenge on the Daily Painters International Art Gallery blog, the theme of which for July was 'Illusion'. I must admit that I very nearly didn't prepare a painting this month, partly because I have been busy with commissions but also, I am ashamed to admit, because I simply couldn't think of an 'illusion' subject!

However, I am pleased to say that my brain finally (after a lot of bullying) produced an idea for a painting which I am showing today. As I hope is obvious, the Dalmatian is walking through shallow water in which the evening sky is reflected and my aim was to make the Dalmatian appear to be walking in the clouds - almost - but with the ripples on the water to tie it to reality and also maybe create some confusion in the viewer. After some tweaking (I really need someone on hand to stop me continually messing with finished paintings!) I am quite pleased with my 'illusion' painting and I hope you like it too :)

Once sold, I will make a donation of 10% from the profits to Save The Dalmatians. You may remember I told you about the rescue of Fletcher who was suffering from pneumonia and was very gravely ill. Following my last update I am absolutely delighted to tell you that he is now eating very well, slowly putting on weight and showing himself to be the most affectionate dog imaginable. As I said previously how he could ever have been abandoned is beyond understanding. Of course buying my painting will help Save the Dalmatians in their work, but if you don't fancy buying a painting, why not spare whatever change you have in your pockets as you read this and make a donation direct - it only takes a few minutes through paypal. Click here and you will go straight to Save The Dalmatians.

To view a short video of Fletcher (together with his foster mum's own 2 Dalmatians) - click here

SOLD

This painting is straight off the easel and will need to dry for several days before it can be shipped

If you have any questions, please email me at info@azpaintings.com

Happy 4th July

I would like to wish all my American friends a very

HAPPY 4TH JULY

Pomeranian

Pomeranian - 6" x 6" oil on hardboard/masonite

I'm still busy with commissions at the moment but just squeezed this little painting in - generally painted in the evenings while most people are relaxing or sleeping - well that's how it feels sometimes! Actually, if I am honest, I find it very difficult to just sit and watch tv and either like to have a crossword to puzzle over or a painting to work on. I love the pensive expression on this little dog and did toy with the idea of naming the painting 'Pensive Pomeranian' but thought better of it. 

The donation (10% once sold) from this painting is going to Save The Dalmatians. I have been following the progress of a dog named Fletcher, rescued from a shelter and suffering from pneumonia. A poor, painfully thin dog with no appetite and very ill indeed. However, the rescuer has taken him to the vet and Fletcher is on antibiotics and every sort of food which the rescuer can think of. The most recent update on him is that he is starting to eat on his own and gives his rescuer the most beautiful Dalmatian smiles. For those interested, I will let you know how he progresses. If you would like to help Save The Dalmatians direct, please visit their website where you can make a donation through paypal - it only takes a few minutes and every single dollar helps.

UPDATE: Fletcher is doing very well. He has now regained his appetite and is eating well and possibly just starting to put on a little weight. He is coughing much less and gives his rescuer the most wonderful smiles. He loves to lie on his back for tummy rubs and is a very affectionate boy. It is absolutely impossible to understand how he could have been abandoned. It looks as if he has a home waiting for him once he is fully recovered, although I think his rescuer is going to have a tough time letting him go!

  SOLD

If you have any questions, please email me at info@azpaintings.com

With thanks to RowdyKittens at Flickr for the reference photograph

An old Cherokee proverb

Well, not a painting, but this appealed so much to me I thought it would be nice to share it.

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.
He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.
One is Evil - It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is Good - It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"
The old Cherokee replied, "The one you feed."

I'm thinking of starting a wolf painting soon as they are a species I hugely admire. I'm not sure at the moment whether to paint one of my small oils, or perhaps make it into a larger painting. I wonder?

If you have any comments, it's always lovely to read them or if you'd like to contact me privately about anything my email address is info@azpaintings.com.

Miniature Smooth Dachshund - Tim

Tim: Radclyffe Fulmarus 1995 - 2010

 

Here is the finished painting of Tim commissioned by his owner/breeders Ted and Margaret Jones of the Radclyffe Mini Smooth Dachshunds who have kindly given me permission to feature Tim's portrait.

Very sadly while I was painting Tim, Ted emailed the sad news that Tim had passed on. However, he had lived a good, very long life and died of a heart attack whilst being carried. We could only wish that all dogs had such lives. Nevertheless, I know I am not the only animal portrait artist who finds it truly sad painting deceased pets. We get to know the animal so well as we work on them for so very many hours that they almost live for us - well they do for me! The consolation though is that it is a priviledge to be able to produce a hopefully fitting memento for their owners.

Thank you Ted for your very kind words about the painting.

Miniature Smooth Dachshund - Tim (work in progress)

Photo 1 of WIP

As promised, I have made the effort to take some photographs of my painting process during my latest commission. I'm just trying to make up my mind whether to include them all in one post or do a few! I think I will post all of the WIP's - there are 3 of them - in one post and then the final painting in its own one. I hope this will be acceptable.

In the above painting, I have drawn the outline and some important features of the dog, painted in the wash blue background and started laying in the base washes on Tim himself. I hope you can already see that in some places there are several layers of wash. I think this is a place where new watercolour artists often have some problems, in that they either make their washes too wet and disturb the colour underneath with a resultant mud effect or put the watercolours on with too little water, making them look harsh and unrealistic. I would say obviously practice is required and also a lightness of hand/brush.  

Photo 2 of WIP

In this photo you can see even more layers added and I should have mentioned in the previous photograph, that there is just the tiniest hint of grass in the background. I suppose one other point which is relevant as far as I am concerned, is that I have painted in Tim's eye with a fair amount of detail even at this early stage. I like to do this with 'my' dogs as I feel then that I have a relationship with them - I imagine that sounds a little crazy, but that's me!!

Photo 3 of WIP

This photo shows  the layering in of brush strokes to form the hairs. As I've mentioned previously, I don't paint the hairs invididually as I'm not very fond of the effect. Instead I splay out the hairs on my brushes (not very good for them by the way) so that I paint several hairs at one time. I also go over many areas with a brush very, very slightly dampened with clear water to blend in some of the hairs. This is a difficult operation to complete successfully as I am trying to get the watercolours to lose a little of their colour and run slightly but so slightly that it is barely visible. Yes, sometimes it goes wrong and needs gently lifting and repainting.

This is the last of the WIP's and the next post will be the final painting.

If you have any queries, please either leave a comment or email me at info@azpaintings.com and I'll be happy to help. 

Stars and Stripes

Stars And Stripes - FOR SALE tiger original oil

About This Painting:

Media: Oil

Size: 6 in X 6 in (15.2 cm X 15.2 cm)

SOLD

The Circle Of Life

The Circle Of Life - 7" x 5" on hardboard/masonite

This painting is very special to me; it was inspired by the monthly challenge on the Daily Painters International Art Gallery which this month has been anything to do with dots and/or circles. 

I think anyone who has the slightest knowledge of me wouldn't be at all surprised to see that my rendition of a 'dots' painting would involve a Dalmatian in some form or other! However, this painting also reflects the 'circle' aspect in that it involves 3 generations of my own dogs - the circle of life. The black spotted dog is Emma. She is no longer with us and I don't think a day goes past that I don't think of her - we miss her more than I can say. She was Hazel's mother - Hazel is the liver-spotted girl - and in this painting Hazel's puppies are snuggling up to their devoted grandmother with the complete approval of Hazel. It was a very beautiful scene and reasonably unusual as often bitches will not allow even their own mother anywhere near their puppies. In this painting the puppies are 9 days old and their spots are just beginning to appear. Dalmatian puppies are born pure white, except for any with patches - solid areas of colour usually on the head - and pigment round their eyes and on their noses. At this age they are totally helpless with their eyes shut and their ears not yet open. We of course kept a puppy from this litter - we only breed when we want a puppy ourselves - and this little girl became our Angel who in her character often reminds us of her sweet grandmother.

I hope that this painting will be purchased by someone who will also find it special.

SOLD

(and to those who wonder, sold to the person who bought my first painting posted online and who has become a special friend)

This painting is straight off the easel and will need several days to dry before it can be shipped.