Welcome to my studio!

With all of my clients, my motivation and mission is to paint for them a portrait which goes beyond simply an accurate rendering of the physical features and reflects the personality and characteristics of each beloved pet. I ask you to submit a selection of pictures with good clarity so that I may create from them a portrait full of color, light, and mood. Through email or telephone communication with my clients, I am able to capture the essence and personality unique to their pets. A simple picture is turned into an extraordinary painting. The medium I use is pastels because they render soft, rich colors which are permanent and archival like oils. For more visual interest, I can create any number of nature scenes by adding elements to the portrait such as snow, trees, birds and mountains. Or perhaps you prefer an indoor setting? I am always open to your ideas and I love a new challenge! My desire and joy is to create a beautiful pet portrait that provides you and others lasting pleasure and enduring comfort.

What is a Pastel Painting? It’s a painting created with pastels, also known as chalk pastels or colored sticks made from powdered pigment with a binder. Pastels can produce brilliant color effects and tends particularly well to portraits, and gives them a softness and immediacy which other media lack. Pastels have been used to color drawings as early as the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; it was not until the eighteenth century that the art of pastel painting came into its own. The most celebrated pastel painter remains, French Impressionist, Edgar Degas. A pastel painting has the most vulnerable of all painted or drawn surfaces. Although its “dusty” look is what gives pastel work its particular character, it must be protected almost as soon as it is completed if it is to remain permanent. A pastel work should be properly mounted and framed behind glass. Museum quality archival sanded paper is my ideal pastel surface to create rich, deep and vivid colors by using a combination of different pastel brands – Rembrandt, Sennelier and Nupastel.

Tips

Achieve Excellent Photographs
For Your Pet Painting

It is very important for me to work with a photograph which has good clarity with reasonably good composition. The quality of my portrait will be dependent on the quality of your photo.

Composition
Fill the camera view finder with your pet, not your house or garden. You may have to take a dozen or more photos over a few days to get a good snapshot of your pet that you like.

Lighting
If you are outside, avoid being in direct sunlight. Stand with your back to the sun. The best day is a bright overcast day (not too heavy cloud so the light is still getting through). Early morning and early evening days with sun are ideal times for taking photos.

If you are inside, a light room near the window is best (your back to the window and your pet facing the window). Try to avoid using the flash so your pet’s eyes are not red in the photo.

Keep All Original Printed Photos
All photos help me with reference for color and texture of the eyes, nose, mouth, ears and coat. I prefer to work with the original printed photo, instead of an e-mailed jpeg file.