Remember the beautiful Sasha from last year? My client gave this painting as a birthday gift to her husband. Sasha was his dog and a dearly missed pet. Let’s take a look back at some photos from when I captured her portrait.

Sketching is key and I always take my time. Getting the lines where they are suppose to be can sometimes feel like I’m solving a mathematical equation. Sometimes it only takes me an hour and other times it can take me several. It all depends on how good the photos are my clients send me.

Those eyes gets me every time.  I don’t always start with the eyes, though they are typically done early in my progress since it’s odd having a pet without eyes starring back at you. I work with the soul energy of the pet when I paint them and the eyes are a key of capturing that energy. They are the window to an animal’s character and energy.

My client gave me free range of the background color, which is always fun. I kept sensing a midnight blue color, and I could ‘feel’ the color coming through. I just knew it would work. The gradient look is perfect for Sasha as my instincts are telling me that she had a very deep soul with a very happy personality. What a wonderful companion.

Once the client OK’ed the background color, I continued working on Sasha’s fur. See video above or here.

And here’s the finished painting again.

Did you enjoy this behind the scene’s look? I tried to share one for each painting I do and you can find more in the Behind the Scenes category.