I completed this pet portrait of a borzoi breed dog named Oscar a few weeks ago, and wanted to share it with you.

Oscar was a magnificent animal who, sadly, went to the Rainbow Bridge 2 years ago. His owner, whom I met on Twitter, asked me to paint his portrait to help keep his memory alive.

I have never seen a borzoi in real life. What an amazing breed! Here are some photos that Oscar’s owner sent for me to paint from.

I began as I always do, by painting the background black and blocking in colors for the basic shapes. I use a process of building up color by painting many layers of varied colors on top of each other, always leaving some trace of the underneath layers.

At this point, I started having some difficulties dealing with the background. The angle and strong horizontal direction of the face posed some challenges for me.

I played with some different ideas for the background, but nothing really seemed to work right for me.

Finally, I decided to add a window in the back to give some opposing lines to the horizontal direction of the face.

The completed painting was sent to Oscar’s owner in the Kansas City area. her tweet about receiving he Oscar pet portrait told me that she was very happy with the painting!

Painting an animal who has passed away is a deeply moving process. All pet portraits are endearing to me, but when the animal has passed, I engage in the process with special reverence. I know that the painting has personal meaning for my patron, and I want to ensure that it meets a unique need for them.

I thank my friend for allowing me to be a part of this dear memory with her.

Interested in a custom pet portrait of your animal? Details can be found here.

Life is an Adventure!

BZTAT