I received some great new dog/cat rescue stories this past fall and have been busy painting and rewriting (where needed) . Now that the work is done, we are busy finding a new publisher in the Kansas City area that will do small book runs for us. I don’t really think of myself as an illustrator, so sometimes it has been a challenge to paint the story. Some stories and photos look really very easy to translate…but then aren’t! What’s best about the whole project is reading and re-reading the submitted stories and gazing at the photos of the many lucky dogs and cats that have found a great (and sometimes very patient) home.
Category Archives: dog painting
Give Me That Dog
Golden Dog
During these cold a dreary days of early spring, it’s great to be able to work on some custom “headshots” of dogs and cats. My big dogs like to sit on the couch and watch me work away. I sometimes wonder what they think about my studio activities!
Dogs In Tall Grass
Small Dog Paintings
Yellow Dog_Black Dog painting
We were running low on some of the smaller watercolors/drawings/sketches available in our Bellacompany store in Weston, MO, so I’ve decided to create more! These paintings are about 15″X20″…ACRYLIC on heavy watercolor paper. I have lots of images of dogs and cats, and we have 3 dogs and 4 cats as models if I need them,… In the past, I did watercolors when I traveled, but I haven’t had an opportunity to travel…so, no new small watercolors. When I experimented with watercolor the other day, it just wasn’t working! Then I tried using acrylic paint on watercolor paper….I like the effect and the outcome. Enjoy!
Custom Portrait Work
I find it pretty stressful to paint portraits of dogs, but in the long run, it’s very rewarding and worth the time spent. The problem always is that the dog owner knows and loves their dog(s) very much, but I only have a couple of photos to work with! The process is difficult but the end result is usually worth all the anxiety!
Portrait of a Great Dog
I just finished another “headshot” of a great looking dog. These small acrylic on canvas paintings are a challenge, even tho the end result looks so simple! Find out more by visiting bellacompany.com
The Critic
I finished this painting late last year. Then, I made some corrections to it. Then, I entered it into a show competition. Then, I decided I really didn’t like the image! Who needs a jury when I have myself!
I am pleased with this Prelude to a Walk. I will be showing this painting at a wine tasting in St Joseph, Missouri this coming Thursday,
spring
Sometimes it’s tough to get started in the day and then, the day just slips by and nothing much happens. I don’t feel like doing anything…and nothing gets done! It’s raining and grey. I could and should be jumping for joy. We’ve had a couple of years of very dry weather and all this rain really is good. Now that its early afternoon, I could almost continue to do nothing. Is doing nothing good for the soul? I hope so…this short blog is about all I’ve accomplished!
I’m not sure how many actually read this blog, but an interesting conversation might be: “how doing nothing is good for the soul”! What kind of treasures do you find in a day of day dreaming and aimless wandering around?