Portrait of Barbie in progress

Here's the first hour of a portrait of Barbie the cat. It's oil on gessoed illustration board.

Portrait of Ken

I took a break from a painting that I’ve been working on and stressing over for 2 years to do a quick one hour oil sketch of Ken. He’s a cat who loves to hang over whatever is around and stare at you for hours on end. It’s always nice to knock a piece out in one take and not look back. This painting did that for me.

Sacre Coeur From Musée d’Orsay

Finished a new painting today. My favorite sight from a recent trip to Paris. The painting is 3′ x 5′ and was a serious challenge, but I’m happy with the result.

Portrait of Dignan

Here’s a portrait of Dignan. Lot’s of color in his coat, which gets a bit confusing, but it came together quickly. Oil on canvas, 16″x30″.

Portrait of Najee - Final

Here’s the final of Najee’s portrait. A few more precise details in the head, and then I rapidly painted the rest of the body to keep it loose and not distract the focus from the face. I’m very happy with this one.

Portrait of Najee - second session

After letting the initial paint set up a bit, I start laying in more precise and thicker paint. The underlying layer is still slightly wet, but the thicker paint allows me to easily cover areas for correction. This image is after another hour of work, and the head is looking good. I’ll take a break and come back to it with a fresh eye.

Portrait of Najee - first session

During the same session as the previous post, I continue with corrections on the initial block in. The head begins to take shape. I’ve been working for about 45 minutes up to this point. Time for a break.

Portrait of Najee - block in

Najee is a beautiful 2 year old German Shepard. I'm creating a portrait of him which will hang at the San Francisco Animal Care and Control offices.

I start on a 30"x40" canvas lightly toned with burnt umber. My initial block in is extremely wet and created with a large brush and a rag for wiping out. This only takes about 10 minutes and is just to set the position on the canvas.