What Makes My Portraits So Special?
The painted portrait is a funny breed of fine art-- struggling to keep itself alive against the competition of photographs, insisting that there is something more worthwhile in being portrayed by a sympathetic human eye than an objective lens. As you can see I am a proponent of the sympathetic human eye.
Each portrait is a work of love because I know first hand just how special a pet can become to their owner.
When I look at my own pets I have somehow stopped seeing what everyone else sees and can only see their loveable quirks. I see Dexter's face crinkle up when he's sleepy but oh-so-happy to see me and the way Dee Dee paws at me when she wants me to pet her more. Their personalities are what makes them special, and I strive to keep that alive in each of my pet portraits.
With this vibrance in spirit that I strive for in my portraits, also comes a vibrance of color that you might not notice as much in other pet portraits.
This detail comes from my extensive education in fine arts painting, where I learned how to paint in the realist as well as abstract schools which both value the smart use of color. While my portraits are very realistic, as you can see in my Gallery, at closer inspection they also have sophisticated brushwork and complicated color relationships. This gives the portrait the ability to continually hold the viewers attention-- there is always something new to appreciate.
The real thing that sets my portraits apart from other portraits is the way they surpass all sense of flatness and jump off the page to grab you.
To achieve this, I focus on getting the perfect expression in the animal's eyes and getting accuracy in the color palette. Nothing is more important to me than making this your pet, not some generic poster-pet. In each portrait it is my goal to immortalize your pet as a work of fine art that can be appreciated formally and intrinsically.
Every portrait I create is painted on 100% cotton duck canvas that has been hand-stretched on a wooden frame, custom sized to your preference.
The canvas is sealed with a primer that prevents the oil paints from ruining the cloth underneath, ensuring your painting will last a long, long time. I paint the portraits with the highest quality Winsor & Newton oil paints, and end with a top coat of liquin to create a uniform finish on the portrait.