Tag: custom pet portraits

Pandora–The Painting of a Cat


Meet Pandora, a beautiful silver Maine Coon Cat, or @Pandafur as she is known on Twitter. Pandafur is a very special Twitter friend of my spokescat, Brewskie Butt (@Brewskiebutt). Pandafur’s person commissioned her pet portrait after getting to know us on Twitter and seeing my artwork online. What a special treat to paint such a glamorous animal!

If you read Pandafur’s blog (which you should!), you will see this and many other pictures of her. In this one, she is posing with her Plague Rat, a toy made in the UK, which is the greatest sensation among cats on Twitter. Panda has this bright pink comforter in many of her pictures, so I wanted to include that color in her portrait.

My first step in creating Pandafur’s pet portrait was to make a sketch, using Photoshop and some pure old fashioned drawing.

Next, I began blocking in colors on a black canvas. As you can see, the colors are far from what is seen in the final image. This is purposeful. Using various colors layered on top of each other adds unique visual texture and light effects that create vivid and rich coloration in the painting.

The painting process of layering different colors on top of each other continued. In-process pictures were posted on Twitter for those who like to follow my process as it occurs. Folks seem to enjoy watching the process as the image develops.

Finally, the portrait was finished! Pandafur and her person, who followed the development of the painting on Twitter, were very pleased. Since they have experienced a flood in their home as a result of a washing machine hose break, I am very happy that they will soon be receiving something new to celebrate in their home! Pandafur’s pet portrait will be shipped to them this week, and they should receive it at about the time that the flood clean-up is finished!

It was a great adventure painting Pandafur! The next adventure? A painting of a young boy and his cat, commissioned as a gift by his loving grandmother. Since it is a surprise gift, I won’t be able to post pictures until the boy has received it. I will be working on other pictures simultaneously, however…

Life is an Adventure!

BZTAT

Would you like a custom pet portrait of your pet? BZTAT will paint your animal for a very reasonable price. For information, email her at bztat@artadventuresstudios.com.

Follow works in progress by BZTAT on Twitter by searching #bztatptg.

Art Adventures Studios, located in downtown Canton, OH near Second April Galerie and the historic Onesto Hotel.

Samson: The Painting of a Dog

“Samson” by BZTAT

Meet Samson, a beautiful Pomeranian dog from San Diego, CA! Samson is the housemate a Twitter Critter friend (@PerrytheBirman) whose portrait was featured on the “Buzz from BZTAT!” on April 18. Samson and Perry’s person (@debweeva on Twitter) commissioned their pet portraits after getting to know us on Twitter and seeing my artwork online. It was a privilege to paint both of these beautiful creatures!

I have not met Samson or Perry in person, as they live very far away from me. I created their portraits from photos on their person’s Flickr page.

I knew that painting Samson would be a challenge, as solid colored animals are the most difficult for me. My style depends upon strong contrasts, and solid colored animals have very subtle visual contrasts. Honestly, Samson is the first white dog that I ever painted.


I started by making a reference image by abstracting the photo with Photoshop. This gave me an idea of the basic shapes and lines to the face. I then traced the image onto a black canvas using an overhead transparency.

I began layering colors to get different color and texture effects. I struggled, however,when I started to integrate the subject with the background. I was posting in process photos on Twitter, and everyone was loving it, including my patron. But it wasn’t looking right to me. I had to take some time away from it to get some clarity. I worked on another picture for awhile to take a break.

The image was troubling to me because the face, which takes up the majority of the picture, was very flat and abstract. The background, although also abstract, was more dimensional,
which made the face look too much like a cut-out mask to me.

I fiddled and fiddled, trying to make the face more dimensional, with no success. My style just didn’t lend well to that. Finally, it occurred to me to flatten the background instead. That worked!!!

Now that it is finished, I feel pretty accomplished, having accepted and successfully met a new challenge! There were some moments of insecurity, throughout the process. Such is the life of an artist.

Painting Samson and his housemate Perry was a great adventure! I will be sending them their portraits this week.

Next up? Another Twitter Critter friend, @Pandafur, who is a beautiful Maine Coon cat from Massachusetts!

Life is an Adventure!

BZTAT

Would you like a custom pet portrait of your pet? BZTAT will paint your animal for a very reasonable price. For information, email her at bztat@artadventuresstudios.com.

Follow works in progress by BZTAT on Twitter by searching #bztatptg.

Art Adventures Studios, located in downtown Canton, OHnear Second April Galerie and the historic Onesto Hotel.

Perry the Birman: Painting of a Cat

“Perry the Birman” by BZTAT

Meet Perry, a beautiful Birman cat from San Diego, CA! Perry is a Twitter Critter friend (@PerrytheBirman). His person (@debweeva) commissioned his portrait after getting to know us on Twitter and seeing my artwork online. It was a priveledge to paint this beautiful creature!

Alas, I have never actually met Perry, although I would very much like to, as he is so amazing in photos. I created his painting from photos posted on his person’s Flickr page. This particular photo was striking to me, and was the general basis for the painting.

I initially thought that I would paint the basket, but I decided against that later. I prefer an element of fantasy to my pictures, and the basket didn’t really lend so well to that.

I made a preliminary drawing onto a black canvas and started blocking in color. As you can see, I left an area for the basket that I later filled in.

I made some changes to the eyes, added some whiskers, and put in some grass. I kept adding layers of color. People often ask how I achieve the intense color that is the trademark of my paintings. I do this through a process of building up color by painting many layers of varied colors on top of each other, always leaving some trace of each layer.

Finally, the painting is finished!

Painting Perry was a great adventure, and now, I off to paint his canine house mate, Samson!

Life is an Adventure!

BZTAT

Would you like a custom pet portrait of your pet? BZTAT will paint your animal for a very reasonable price. For information, email her at bztat@artadventuresstudios.com.

Follow works in progress by BZTAT on Twitter by searching #bztatptg.

Art Adventures Studios, located in downtown Canton, OHnear Second April Galerie and the historic Onesto Hotel.