Dogs can be heroes just by being there when we need them. Some dogs, however, do more than simply “be there”. In the case of Marron (left), her presence inspired a movement that brought real change to a community in Peru.
Rescued off the streets of Iquitos, Peru, Marron became the co-founder for the Amazon Cares charity that has rescued countless other stray animals in the region. Capturing the heart of her human companion, Marron inspired an international effort to bring improved quality of life to animals in the region. It has been no small effort, but it has been a successful one.
Sadly, Marron went to the Rainbow Bridge on March 4, 2016. It was my honor and pleasure to paint her portrait with her pal Marilyn, another rescued pup from Peru.
Capturing the essence of an animal’s character is a primary objective when painting the portrait of someone’s beloved pet. Although my pet portraits are somewhat abstract, and the colors diverge a bit from reality, there still has to be plausibility. The image has to look like a specific animal, and it has to strike a chord with the animal’s human caretaker in a deep and moving way.
Even so, there is room to play.
Cats are fantastic creatures, and the relationships we form with them include a great deal of imagination. Painting their portraits often allows for a great deal of creativity beyond the simple depiction of their features.
In my most recent portrait of Francie, a beautiful dilute tortie cat (tortoise shell/calico with gray and creamy colors), I found a lot of creative energy in the way that her presence interacted with the background of her home. The reference photos I received of her revealed a rug with amazing abstract patterns and designs and colors as part of her domain, and I was drawn to it as I developed the initial sketches. I had to include that rug in the painting.
Moreso than many of my portraits, Francie’s painting took a turn towards the abstract in many ways, yet her personality still dominates the painting. According to her human caretaker, she is an intense creature with a variety of expressions, ranging from worried, annoyed, sleepy, impatient, alert, goofy, and loving. She can be demanding, yet also very loving, and she is a generous “big sister” to a younger feline with whom she shares her home.
“She is very emotionally involved with us and sensitive to our moods; she is always in the room with us, participating in whatever we’re doing… She was a rescue, found by a workman riding his bike home from work. She was on an overpass and he picked her up and carried her to a restaurant parking lot. We saw them from the window and we took her. She was not feral; she was vocal and made eye contact, and bonded with us immediately.”
Francie’s story is as amazing as she is. She was so fortunate to be rescued at the exact moment that the most perfect family arrived to take her home! I had great fun painting her portrait, and I am grateful that my artistry could help to express that love in a special way!
I have a habit of saying that sometimes when I probably should not. When one of my best collectors asks me to do something special, though, I want to give it a try.
I am a fine artist and not an illustrator, so I make it clear to patrons that I make the decisions about what goes into a painting, not them. Still yet, when a special request gives me a new artistic challenge, I am willing to try to incorporate different ideas into the composition.
Recently, some friends who have commissioned a number of my paintings in the past paid a visit to my studio. They were drawn to a painting of my cat Brewskie Butt that was hanging on the studio wall. There was just one problem. They were dog people, not cat people.
“Could you paint a portrait of our Rosie and Jake with a coffee mug like that?” they asked.
“Sure! I can do that!”
The project turned out to be a bigger challenge than I anticipated.
First of all, Rosie and Jake have completely different facial profiles. Rosie, a Border Collie, has a bouncy cheery look, while Jake, an English Cocker Spaniel, has more of a droopy dog look. They are different sizes, as well, so balancing them on a long horizontal canvas was not easy.
The coffee mug presented challenges too. I needed to have it look as though it was in front of the dogs and resting on a table. Making this look plausible wasn’t easy. Getting the proper perspective and color for the mug took quite a few trials and errors.
I added the window behind Jake, because the Rosie side was active and dynamic, but the space behind Jake seemed empty and dull. I went back and forth on the shape and color of the mug, too. I finally settled on a shape that worked best with the dogs in the back, and on an orangish yellow color that brought it into the foreground. (Warm colors tend to advance to the front and cool colors tend to recede to the back in a visual plane.)
I added a touch of orange to the background by adding a sun to the landscape in the window, tying the foreground and background together.
You can see the entire work in progress progression in this slideshow:
The final painting turned out quite spectacular and fun. Despite the challenges, I enjoyed the process of painting the portrait, and I was very pleased with the end result. I guess Rosie and Jake’s family was pleased too. They have already hung the painting over their kitchen table so that they can enjoy their morning coffee with their beloved pups!