It wasn't until the loss of my cherished 17-year-old dog, Edward that I rediscovered my passion for art. I wanted something to remember him by, and started looking for artists to commission a custom pet portrait. In the process, I suddenly remembered that I used to paint, way back when. I thought, if I myself could paint a personalized dog portrait of Edward, it would be even more special!
It had been so long since I drew or painted, I wasn’t sure I could do an Edward portrait justice. I really wanted to capture his spirit, and his coat’s texture and haircut. If you know someone with a Bedlington Terrier, you’ll know that we Beddie owners are obsessed with our dog’s grooming and presentation. During the pandemic, when all the groomers shut down, I spent time learning how to give him the Bedington haircut myself!
I was nervous about starting the painting. But I was also eager to capture Edward as soon as possible, before my memory of all his details faded.
As it so happened, a friend invited me to a group paint-your-pet. As you can imagine, I have a set of friends who absolutely love their pets, and we all hang out with each other with the pets. Having friends who also knew Edward there really helped motivate me to do a good job on the painting.
First, I started with an outline of Edward’s silhouette and did the background. I chose warm yellow and brown hues because I wanted a good contrast to Edward’s cool blue coat. That way, Edward’s hair would “pop”.
Next, I blocked in Edward’s eyes and nose. Edward had big dark eyes and he would communicate with me by looking me straight in the eyes. It’s hard to explain, and perhaps people with deep connections with their dogs can understand, but dogs, especially Edward, have a way of telling you how they feel, or what they want without needing words.
Then I blocked in the darkest shadows on his hair. I kept the brush work loose and textured, because I wanted to capture the fluffiness of Edward’s coat.
I continued to work darkest to lighter values. The bright highlights on the top of his head, chest and legs really helped capture his hair texture. Sometimes, Edward looked like a cloud after his baths and blow outs, and I wanted to preserve that quality in his portrait. I also had a lot of fun painting his ear tassels. His tassels were a particular favorite part of his hair cut–someone once called them his earrings.
The fun thing about doing a custom pet portrait yourself is making artistic decisions in real time, when inspiration hits. Sometimes, you can’t plan all the details out, you just go with what your gut tells you to paint in the moment.
A challenge to painting is knowing when to stop, before the painting becomes overworked. And at some point, it felt right to put the brush down, because I could “feel” Edward’s spirit looking back at me. It’s a wild feeling and hard to explain, but it felt like my memory of him had been captured.
Having the portrait is really special and I love having the memento to my dog’s memory as my wall art. I was inspired to paint pet portraits for other people to help people celebrate the special bond humans and pets share. It thrills me when someone sees their pet’s finished portraits and I hear that I’ve captured their pet’s spirit. I’ve heard touching stories too when the commissioner makes a personalized gift of the portrait.
Each piece I create is a reflection of my love for animals and the simple joys in life. The things I'm interested in change a bit, but in general, you will see me paint dogs and other pets, pastries, botanicals and architectural elements. Each of those subjects mark a different period in my life.
It was such a joy to paint Edward. It was a joy I lost for over 15 years, and I marvel at his ability to continue giving me joy after he passed. It’s wild what a dog can do for you, so in a way, it makes sense that my dog would be the one to lead me back to something I had forgotten about. And he continues to spread joy every time I have the opportunity to paint a portrait to honor the love people have for their pets.