Pet Artist Devon

I am a pet artist based in Devon and am currently taking bookings for the festive season.

Black Labrador Painting realistically portrayed.
Black Labrador Painting realistically portrayed.

This is the busiest time of the year for pet artists therefore it is never too early to secure your place.  There is an overflow from this time which takes me usually up until the summer to catch up.

Prices start at £280 for an aperture size of 12″ x 10″ which includes framing from a stock selection.

This price also includes Postage to the UK only.  Paintings are securely padded and wrapped in a large strong box.

Large size paintings will need to be collected in person, or an arrangement made for a mutually convenient meet up. If you are local I am happy to take photographs of your dog to use as a reference.

There is no extra charge for taking photographs and I will ask for you to come to my home address.  I work from home and have some original paintings of dogs that can also be seen. Photographs I have taken can be viewed on the computer so we can agree on the best one.  I will email a mock up with a suitable ambient background in the colours of your choice.  A deposit will be needed to secure your place and give you peace of mind.

It can be very difficult to think of gifts for your partner, husband, girlfriend or boyfriend, and if you have a pet, these paintings are something very special.  I take very special pride in capturing the individual character of your pet, and this takes a lot of  time to achieve.  A black labrador dog is not just that, but your loving companion and family member.  I want my paintings to reflect a personality trait which relates to your dog and not just any dog.

Please get in touch, and I look forward to hearing from you!  Helen

Pet Portrait Artist Exeter

German Shepherd Dog Pet Portrait

“Jenny” German Shepherd Dog
“Jenny” German Shepherd Dog

This is one of my recent pet portrait artist painting commissions of a beautiful German Shepherd Dog, who lives near Exeter.  Her name is Jenny who lives and she was commissioned as a surprise gift.

We live not far from Exeter and welcome anyone wishing to find out more about booking a commission.  I have some paintings of animals that can be viewed at home where I work. 

Pet Portrait Artist Exeter

So if you live fairly local you can always bring your dog and I would love to meet them and take some photos for reference. These can be uploaded to my computer and we can select the best ones.  

Pet paintings make really special gifts.  A great idea for those who have everything and want something a bit special.

Memorial paintings of your dog or any pet are very popular.  Something to be treasured for a lifetime.

Many hours of work go into my paintings ensuring I capture that special something individual to your dog, horse or cat. Jenny’s expression was caught perfectly according to her owner and the recipient was over the moon. I like to paint subtle backgrounds, so that the subject stands out. Often shading in some colours of the animal fur into the background, so as to bring it all in together. 

 

Pet Portraits UK

Pet Portraits in the UK, not only do I get commissions of dogs, horses and cat, but yes here is a parrot and his name is Cookoo.

The reference photo was taken of Cookoo sitting on the window ledge.  His owner was calling him to go back into his cage, but, no, Cookoo was having none of it!  You can read by the side-way glance was he was thinking.  It was a real pleasure to paint with the beautiful bright purples and blues.  Primarily painting dogs you don’t see many breeds in this particular colour!

A pet portrait can be any pet, including those of the reptile variety.  However, please get in touch for a quote if you live in the UK as tricky detailed scales may take a while longer to perfect.

I am currently taking on commissioned pet portraits in the UK only, however this may change later in the year.

If you are interesting in keeping a parrot as a pet you may find this link useful. I think they can be very demanding and vocal of course.  I remember my aunt having one when I was little and his name was Elvis.  If was allowed to fly freely around the room, I do remember being a little bit scared of him.

Dog Artist Bideford

It has been a few weeks since updating my Blog as I am playing catch up to my recent orders. During the last couple of weeks I have been busy working on a German Shepherd dog and a Collie cross.  Both of which are now complete in the frames and with their new owners.

I am currently finishing a gorgeous Golden Retriever Dog whose name is Durrow.  He sadly passed away very recently and his owners are very keen to have a portrait memorial of him. Next week I have planned a black and white cat who again sadly is no longer with his us.  His name is Smartie and he will be wearing a very smart bow tie!

For anyone living locally near or around Bideford who would like a painting of their dog, I am able to take photographs for reference.

Bearded Collie Painting

This beautiful bearded collie is a member of a Dog Agility Club in Scotland.  His painting being a commission as a surprise gift to their trainer.  All club members contributed towards the cost and what a great idea!

 

The Bearded Collie dog breed was developed in Scotland to herd sheep and cattle in any weather or terrain. They function today as excellent family companions, show dogs and working sheepdogs.

Bearded Collie Pet Portrait

All the collie breeds excel at sports because of their need to please. They make great family pets being energetic, playful and good with children.

Mac’s portrait framing compliments his colours being a pale grey painted wood.

I am also working on an Australian Sheep Dog this week, his name is Dingo, and have finished the Grey Mare Misty. Due to an unplanned operation this week I will be unable to work for a few weeks, but when I am fighting fit, will have updates, not only of further dogs and cats, but a parrot too!

Latest Dog Paintings

Mac the Bearded Collie and Dotty the Pug are my latest two completed dog paintings.  Both to a size of 12″ x 10″ and have been framed to completed the look.

The last few months, well actually months before the end of the year have been extremely busy. The studio has been a in constant use, and I will need to get time to replenish some art equipment. 

 

This cute girl Dotty is an older Pug dog and is very much loved by her owner, who wanted a forever keepsake of her best friend.

The subtle background shades which compliment Dotty’s colouring and also allowing her to stand out.  With a wired waxed pine frame picking out her orange tones to complete the overall effect.

I have also completed a grey mare Misty painting to a size of 12″ x 16″ which I will update soon.

Pet Portraits from Photos

Pet Portrait Mock Up

Pet portraits are achieved using your favourite photos as reference.  To start I select the colour of Pastelmat Board background to work from.  It doesn’t make a difference to the finished artwork but selecting the right colour can help me with applying colour.  Darker bases are easier when you are painting a light coloured animal, and therefore a white base for the darker coloured animals.  I keep a good supply of pastelmat surface card in various colours.  Although my favourite has to be the light blue and buttercup or maize.  The latter two being very similar although the maize is slightly paler.

The first step for me is to use an A4 size piece of paper to visualise how much the head fills the space.  Starting with the eyes and where they are in relation to each dog.  Also with one dog being larger than the other this paper size gives me a starting point.  The size of each dog has to fit nicely into the aperture size of the painting. So it is a tricky process to get right.

This is something that works for me and is not very easy to explain. So once I have pinpointed where the eyes are going to be I can work outwards from there.  The initial stage is just a rough outline of each dog using a pastel pencil. The next stage I fill in the shaded areas with darker colours.  Also white highlighted fur I will colour in.

I will keep a client informed of progress and updated photos.  Sometimes a client may like to see the initial drawing only before it is completed.  So having a nice surprise at the end.  This painting of Buddy and Tess is being delivered locally tomorrow. Aperture size 20″ x 16″.

Dog Artist UK

Finished a gorgeous double painting of two border terriers last week so if you are looking for a dog artist in the UK, I would love to hear from you.  Here is one of the duo, Bentley. His companion is Lola and you can see the full painting here on my dog portfolio.

Lola and Bentley visited to have their reference photos taken, which is a great way to see a little into their personalities.

Bentley is a very quiet border terrier who plods along bothering no-one.  He looks like a teddy bear and is so loving. You can see the love portrayed through his eyes.

Bentley’s companion Lola on the other hand is much more dominant and is the boss! Exactly like our female Border Terrier, Binny she definitely likes to be the boss of the house.  

If you are looking for a dog artist in the uk who paints in a traditional realistic style, I would love to hear from you.

Once I have received your initial enquiry through the enquiry form page I will reply with my email address.  Having an email address exposed on the website just attracts too much spam.  I will then ask you for some photos of your dog and we can proceed from there.

Pet Artist Barnstaple

This week i’m uploading a portrait of a dog painting which is not in my portfolio. Whilst updating with Copper the Beagle it made me remember Lucy.  So here she is in a cropped in style, and framed in a wood cream distressed moulding.

Pet Artist Barnstaple

A friend of mine who owns two dogs one being a Spinone contacted me this week.  She likes pencil drawings in a loose scribbled style and asked me to try it out.  

Rogan with his rugged fur and good looks made an ideal choice to have a play with a graphite pencil. The surface I used was a pale grey Pastelmat, and I wasn’t sure if this would work. Well this was the result!  It literally took about 20 minutes to do and was a refreshing change. 

 

 

Bichon Frise Pet Painting

So the new year has gone off to a very busy start.  Bookings are now being secured from June onwards. I have made very good progress on the double border terrier painting.  Hoping to have this finished by the end of this week so I can sketch out another double dog portrait. This Bichon Frise dog’s name is Tiny.

A Bichon Frise pet painting I did around 3 years ago and doesn’t time does fly when you think about it. I have completed three portraits for this client.  I have quite a few returning customer one of whom has commissioned me 5 times now!