Had another lesson on photos and painting recently.  Got a commission for a painting and was caught up in other life stuff (my sixtieth birthday, my daughter in from out of town, etc.)  but knew I had a deadline for a painting due soon.  When I finally had time to start it I realized what a horrible photo I was working from -- nice pose - but flashed out eyes, blurry, etc.  Scared me!  Ultimately it all worked out -- the client loved it-- but it was a lesson to really take the time and make s...
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One of the biggest challenges I face when doing a dog's portrait is getting a good photo.  I rely on the person commissioning me to provide photos.  Once in a while I get a wonderful shot with enough resolution to see detail and it's relatively effortless. A lot of the time I'm working with 3 or 4 or more photos combing aspects from each trying to get a beautiful painting that looks like your pet.  Some hints: Don't use your flash if possible.  If you can photograph your pet outside that's gr...
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Very excited right now about the other painting I'm doing.  Working with Miriam Durkin in Charlotte in a large portrait class (people).  I love painting people as well as dogs.  It is a special pleasure to have a model sit for me.  There is something so magical about seeing the subtleties of light when you have someone sit for you.  There are colors there that you never see in a photo.  Of course with dogs a photo is really the only way you can paint them --- unless they're asleep of course. ...
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Ruby is the beautiful shepherd that I posted in the last post.  We got her as a rescue from German Shepherd Rescue. Katie and I drove to Raleigh to pick her up and she was a bit like a zombie when we got her.  Once we had her home for a while she became the most loving dog we've ever owned.  If she had been smaller she would have been a lap dog.  The rescue group said that when they found her she was about nine months old and had already had a litter of pups.  Don't think she had a very good ...
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Okay -- This is a leap for me.  Writing about me and my art!  What I love to do most is paint. Dogs, cats, people -- all of the above.  My present passion is painting pet portraits.  Predominantly dogs.  Being an animal lover -- it's a wonderful way to combine two loves - animals and painting.  We presently have one dog, two cats and a horse. Cody, our mixed Golden & ?? is our pup. We call him our "grand-dog" since our daughter, Sam, brought him home 6 years ago asking us to just keep him for...
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