The initial sketch for this Pet Portrait Painting of Lapso Apso, Dusty Rose, was a gift from a wonderful neighborhood client, Ben to his wife Amanda (see below). It was very well received, Amanda then had the opportunity to have me tweak the colors, patterns, etc to her liking, before I created the final painting (shown above with Ben & Dusty Rose who is as sweet as she looks and often stops in for treats on her walk.
My clients Jim & Carol commissioned me to do another portrait for their newest member of the family...Sam! Who, I'm told, has quite the a personality "...he is a crazy retriever, a good game of fetch can last hours if you let it, he thinks every toy in the house is his and will pile them up on his bed to prove it, he's the life of the party and isn't afraid to show it, he has superman genes in his dna (can leap tall buildings or sister dogs in a single bound) 6) he's going to be a little too helpful in the garden..." Sounds like lots of fun to me!
This is the 4 foot portrait I did a few years ago of their other dogs, Bud, Waldo, Meenie and Ella:
Meet Bruiser! This was another holiday Pet Portrait Gift Order from December. Did you know that I can personalize this with your pet's name and custom colors if it looks like your Pug? It will save you $100 on your Pet Portrait Print! 
As I drove to clay class Monday night I decided this dog was asking for wings but being the neurotic artist, I worried it would hasten the departure of sixteen year old Izzy...then thought even if it does, maybe this means I'll be giving her permission to go, in case she's just been sticking around for me. (I know...welcome to the emotional crazy world of my mind and heart!)
Then Wednesday my Mom sent me an email regarding the previous post commenting that the dog looked like Snicker...her beloved big yellow lab that passed away over the summer...and I realized right away it was Snicker and not Izzy and how appropriate those wings were...and that's the reason everyone who saw the sculpture called it a 'he' including me. So this is Snick. My Christmas gift to her and Bill is a portrait of him that I have yet to create but I gave them some drawings as a preview of my ideas:
Snick was not the only family dog to go last year, Willie my brother's dog (who I'm also working on a portrait of) and 2 dogs that belong to my Mom's stepchildren's families Pretty Boy and Nimush the 3 legged dog. That's a lot of new doggie angels frolicking in heaven...and many broken hearts they left behind. Mom, a hospice social worker, has been on me for awhile to design pet loss sympathy cards, and/or a book. Perhaps we will pen one together, but not while my Izzerloo is still wagging her tail on this earth...and I'm happy to say she has been doing pretty darn well these past few months and doesn't look to be taking on wings any time soon.
My wonderful Mom with Snicker, the 'Patron Saint of Stick Chewing' last spring.
This is Buck and Bonnie's Pet Portrait...I was given the beautiful photo below for reference.
If you think a Pet Portrait might be a good idea for a Valentines gift, get your order in SOON! Or consider a Pet Portrait Gift Certificate.
Another holiday Pet Portrait reveal, Hank is my first Leonberger. I was just given a little history lesson "The
original breed was created by taking a Landseer Newfoundland and
breeding that to a Saint Bernard. That dog was then bred to Great
Pyrenees. The original breeding took place in the 1800s in Germany." Stay tuned for more in the next week...
