Pet Portrait: Comet and Rose

 Finished this pet portrait for a new customer over the weekend. It was such a wonderful feeling to bring it to her home and see her
reaction. I was so glad to know I had exceeded her expectations and captured the spirit of her beautiful greyhounds (which were super sweet, by the way!)

I thought it would be fun to share the process of the painting here on my blog.

I started with a sketch which I did from a photo the customer emailed to me. We discussed over email the size and details. I told her I would not proceed until she approved the sketch, which she did!

I then transfered the sketch to Arches 100% cotton watercolor paper by using my light table. I love this stuff! It is worth the extra money because of the way the paint goes on it. Perfect. The light table I use it an ArtGraph light pad. It is so easy to store and to move around in my small space.

 Here I have colored in the eyes. It seems like no matter what, I don't love a portrait until the eyes are done. Then there is life. I love painting and drawing eyes.

 When I started painting in the brindle of the other dog, I was really intimidated. But as you will see, it came out lovely. Beautiful pattern. You can also see in this picture that I have added ears to the brindle dog. I saw another picture of the customer's dogs and found some where the ears where up. Just had to add them in! The customer agreed.

 I was really getting excited at this point. It amazes me that my hands can do this stuff!

Here they are all ready for a nap! The customer asked for red pillows and a blue collar and I think they will be perfect with her decor in her home.

It was such a pleasure to create something she can treasure for years. And I loved meeting her and her sweet dogs!

If you would like to have a pet portrait done, please feel free to email me at lauraparkhurstillustrator@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you!