Dog Portrait Information

I love producing dog portraits because you can put so much character into the artwork. I suppose it is because I am such a dog fan and they always seem to have those individual little peculiarities to each of their characters.

If you have a dog, or more than one, I would love to be the artist you choose to produce it's portrait.

Portrait of Tom, Labrador by Joanna Culley

Click to enlarge Golden Labrador portrait

I specialise in creating an effect of 'realism' in a painting, which is where I make the dog look as life-like as possible. This is done with putting in the background colours of the dog as washes, and then using a very fine brush in order to pick up the individual hairs and capture the detail around the eye. In fact, I start to paint the eyes first, because once this is right, the rest of the painting falls into place. I like to use only Hot Press best quality paper and artist materials, to ensure you have a piece of work that will last. I can also paint to order, so if you have a particular idea or have seen a style that you like, I can work to your ideas. This includes adding a background scene, or perhaps creating a mottled background effect on the paper. Alternatives to watercolour, are graphite/pencil or pastel, pen and ink, or a combination of these.

If the distance is manageable, I will always come and take photos of your dog as I have a professional digital camera. This ensures that I can take a large collection of pictures and find one that shows off your dog. Ones where the dog is looking alert is often the best. Although, if the detail is there, any pose will suffice. I also like to save all the pictures onto a customised disk and give to my customer as a bonus gift.