Tag: pet portraits

Pet Portraits for Gifts

Cat Pet Portrait by BZTATThroughout the year, I talk to many people who say, “I would like to give a pet portrait as a gift for the holidays.”

There’s no better gift than the gift of art, and a portrait of a beloved pet can make your loved one’s holiday very special. Custom art takes time to complete, though, so you need to get your order in early.
 
As the season starts to change, I like to remind people to make custom orders now to make sure that I have plenty of time to complete them. 

To ensure that your custom pet portrait gifts are completed and shipped in time for Hanukkah and Christmas, you must order before October 31, 2018. After that, I cannot promise to get it completed and shipped on time.

Order your pet portrait before October 5 and get a 15% off discount on all portrait styles.

I have 4 portrait styles that fit with different budgets, including:

French bulldog contemporary dog portrait painting by BZTATPremiere Contemporary Pet Portrait Paintings

Premiere Contemporary Custom Pet Portrait Paintings are deluxe artistic interpretations of your pet that are painted in a colorful and highly customized style. These paintings reflect the unique characteristics of your pet in a semi-abstract style. They take many hours to complete due to my technique of layering various colors and attention to detail.

 

 

Custom Contemporary Folk Art Style Cat Portrait by BZTAT

Contemporary Folk Art Pet Portrait Paintings

Contemporary Folk Art Portrait Paintings are artistic interpretations of your pet that are painted in a fun, contemporary folk art style on wood. These paintings reflect the characteristics of your pet in loose and whimsical fashion. Although less customized that the Premiere Contemporary Custom Pet Portrait Paintings, Folk Art style portraits capture the essence of your pet in a colorful and cheerful work of art.

 

Black and White cat portrait drawing by BZTATContemporary Pet Portrait Drawings

Contemporary Pet Portrait Drawings are artistic interpretations of your pet that are created in a contemporary style. These drawings reflect the characteristics of your pet in loose and whimsical fashion. Portrait drawings are created with Prismacolor Pencils on colored papers or white Bristol Board with inked in backgrounds. 

 

 

 

 

Contemporary Digital Pet Portraits

                                Digital cat portrait by BZTAT        Digital Dog Portrait by BZTAT

Contemporary Digital Pet Portraits are artistic interpretations of your pet that are created from your photos in a contemporary digital style. Using a variety of digital apps and filters, I digitally manipulate your photo into a unique, one of a kind artwork. Choose to get the image printed on paper or receive a jpg image that you can print on your own.

I look forward to creating a special gift for your loved ones!

Life is an Adventure!

BZTAT

“Officer Down!” Police Dog takes a bullet for his human comrades.

Jethro, a canine police officer who was shot in the line of dutyUPDATE: Sadly, Jethro took a turn for the worse and he succumbed to his injuries on January 10, 2016. He died a hero and saved the lives of his fellow human officers. Funds raised in his name will go towards making other canine officers safer as they perform their duties in our community. RIP Jethro.

In Canton, Ohio, we value our canine police officers as much as we do their human counterparts. Canton’s police dogs are local heroes, and they have more than earned that status.

As a city whose population is shrinking, Canton has urban crime rates that rival those of much bigger cities. Our safety forces are seriously underfunded and their numbers are truly inadequate for the needs, so canine officers are frequently called upon to intervene in very hazardous situations. This weekend, one of our canine heroes, Jethro, was struck down in the line of duty, and there are few dry eyes in Canton as a result.

Jethro was shot in the line of duty as he chased an armed burglar. The burglar unloaded a series of bullets intended for human officers and Jethro was struck as he chased the criminal down. He literally took the bullet for his human comrades. Despite being shot at least 3 times, Jethro survived, but he is not out of the woods yet. He is being monitored closely and being provided round the clock care at the Stark County Emergency Veterinary Clinic.

(Jethro’s human partner returned fire, as did other officers, and the burglar was wounded and apprehended.)

Most medium to large cities have canine officers, and they perform a critical service for our communities. These animals often go into situations where it is unsafe for human officers to go, and they can be placed in very risky situations. We need to ensure their protection as much as we possibly can, as they are extremely important to our communities’ safety. Many communities lack the resources to do that, though. Canton is one of them.

Although Canton has bullet proof vests for its canine officers, they are old and heavy, and they are rarely used. Jethro was not vested at the time of his shooting.

We now know that we need to improve our protection for our valued canine officers. We are sorry we didn’t do it before, Jethro, but we are doing it now. Local community leader and dog blogger Beth Philly of DOGGIES.COM has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to cover Jethro’s vet bills and to purchase new vests for all of Canton’s canine officers. If you would like to contribute, we would love to accept your donation.

Jethro’s story has touched a nerve in Canton, and it is spreading well beyond Canton’s city limits. When an animal is injured through an act of bravery, it brings us to our knees. Officers from Police Departments across the country have bent a knee and shared prayers and well wishes for Jethro. So have concerned citizens from all over the world. I am told that the parking lot of the Stark County Emergency Veterinary Clinic is full of emergency vehicles with officers standing vigil in the clinic’s lobby for Jethro.

The drug is not recommended to be taken with alcohol, which is quite logical, since although effect is increasing, so does the side effects, including headaches and also the rapid onset of addiction.

My art is dedicated to celebrating the human/animal bond, and never before have I witnessed such a story about that bond. I have decided to create a Premiere Pet Portrait Painting of Jethro to celebrate his bond with his community and his fellow officers. The portrait will be given to Officer Ryan Davis, Jethro’s handler, and his family, who considers Jethro a pet. The bond between Jethro and Officer Davis rises to dimensions beyond the traditional human-pet relationship, and the community’s love for Jethro takes on a whole new dimension. How could I resist the artistic challenge of creating this awesome creature’s portrait?

I will post again about Jethro’s story and the progress of his portrait. You can learn more about his entry into the Canton Police force here, and you can contribute to the GoFundMe campaign here. Follow the DOGGIES.COM blog for updates on his condition and medical progress.

Let’s all hope that Jethro has many adventures still left ahead of him.

 

Life is an Adventure!

BZTAT

Back to the Business of Creating Schtuff

The last couple of weeks have been kind of crazy for me. I have been caught up in the Shorty Awards frenzy and I have been preoccupied with establishing the business side of BZTAT studios.

What a ride! Yes, I remain a finalist in the Shorty Awards, and I am trying to find a way to get to New York City on March 3 so that I can attend the ceremony. More about that later.

As fun and gratifying as it was to have my Twitter following support me so enthusiastically in the Shorties, I am glad to get back to the business of painting and creating things. I never stopped, but I am glad to have it as my primary focus again.

What have I been working on? Well…

I have recently completed two canine pet portraits, which I will detail in future posts here. I am working on another pet portrait of three West Highland Terriers (Westies) and I am about to begin a cat portrait as well.

And I have begun work on the ultimate grand pet portrait, the “Downtown Cats” mural. The mural depicts the most famous downtown cats in Canton, OH—my own Brewskie Butt, Who, Slick and Noah—and will eventually be mounted on the building currently occupied by HEAP in Downtown Canton, OH.

The mock up design that is seen above is what the mural will look like when it is finished.

Currently, it doesn’t look like much, but it has entailed quite bit of work. here are some photos of the beginning stages. Please excuse the photo quality, as the studio lighting is set for painting, not for photography.

Buying-boards
Purchasing the MDO boards

Medium Density Overlay (MDO) board is a wood panel that is often used in the sign painting industry. It is recommended for use for outdoor murals. I purchased the boards at a local lumber and hardware store.

 cutting-the-boards
Kevin Anderson cutting boards to shape of a window

I am not particularly handy with power tools, but my friend Kevin Anderson of Anderson Creative is a wiz with them. He cut the boards for me into the shape of windows, simulating the windows on the building across from the place where the mural will be hung.

Four-panels-in-studio
In the studio

Each panel was primed with white gesso and then painted with a dark blue background. All of my paintings begin with a dark layer of color. I follow a process of layering subsequent layers of colors over a dark background, allowing the initial layers to define shapes as later colors are applied.

wooden-panel
Masking off and drawing in background

I masked off the window pane shape with painter’s tape and drew a sketch of the background design for my painting reference.

Downtown-Cats-mural-WIP
Blocking in the background design

I then began blocking in the shapes of the cityscape design with paint.

Downtown-Cats-mural-WIP
Developing background design

At this stage there are 3-5 layers of color applied. many more layers will be applied before it is finished to create rich vibrant color and visual texture.

Downtown-Cats-mural-WIP
close-up of background design

All of the materials used in this mural are those that are recommended for exterior use. The paint, board and gesso are all materials designed for exterior use and weather resistance. The final work will be coated with a weather and UV protecting sealant to ensure the longevity of the piece.

The “Downtown Cats” mural is obviously a very large project that will take a long time to complete. Completion and hanging of the piece is slated for July of this year. I will periodically update my progress on the piece as it develops in various stages.

Thanks for following along with me on this adventure!

Life is an Adventure!

BZTAT