Tag Archives: dog portrait

Commissioned Paintings for Holiday Gifts

Every holiday season I get a lot of requests for commissions, so this year we decided to cap the number of paintings to only 10.  Somehow that list filled up quickly, and as I finished them one by one, more orders came in.  In total I ended up painting 25 commissioned paintings.  Each one was approved and accepted by the patron (sometimes after minor changes), and arrived in time for the holidays.  We mailed paintings to many places around the country like Texas, Virginia, Oregon, and a couple were even mailed to Belgium.  They were commissioned as gifts for spouses, co-workers, significant others, parents, and close friends.  Each painting had a special story behind it, and I loved being in on the surprise.  My favorite painting was the portrait my brother commissioned of his wife.  I suggested a parody of the Mona Lisa with personal touches that symbolized important parts of my sister-in-law’s life.  Her reaction was priceless, and we got it on video (see below).  We take a picture of every painting that leaves the studio, so here is a slideshow of the paintings I made this holiday season (click on the pictures to view a slideshow).  They are all oil paint on wood panel, framed in a natural ash wood frame.  If you’d like to commission one, just let me know.

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Dog Portraits

There are cat people, and there are dog people.  From my experience as an artist, dog owners must love their pets more than cat owners, because I’ve painted way more commissioned portraits of dogs than of cats.  Maybe this is not an accurate way to measure a person’s love for their furry companion, in fact, I’m completely joking.  In all seriousness, after beer, dogs are the second most popular subject matter for commissioned oil paintings among my customer base.

I don’t have a dog, mainly because our condo association doesn’t allow pets, and also because we travel too much, but my family has always had multiple dogs and cats, so I grew up with them.  Whenever possible, I prefer to meet the dog, before I paint a portrait of it.  That way, I can incorporate its personality into the painting.  Here are a few examples of my dog portraits, and one of a cat.