Tater Tot: Custom Dog Portrait

Custom Dog Portrait for Kelly
8x10" watercolor on paper

Waaay back in June I gave away two free custom pet portraits (remember Ulia and Tater Tot?) for one dog and one cat owner.  Ulia's portrait was first, full of color, texture, and pattern.  I love the way it turned out, but was really wanting something simpler for Tater Tot.  My sketchbook is brimming with little dog doodles as I couldn't seem to make up my mind about composition.  Who knew pet portraits would be so tricky?  So, as difficult as it was for me to restrain myself from spontaneously splashing color in the background layer upon layer, I refrained and simply painted 'ol Tater with a plaid banner, hat, and a couple of birdies.  Hopefully this year I can gain a little more experience with pet portraits and find the balance between simplicity and complexity, pattern and plain, vibrant colors and neutrals.

In the meantime, I've added a new dog portrait listing in my shop based on this composition.  The customizable options are colors, birds, leash, and name (of course).  Thanks Kelly for being so patient in waiting for your Tater Tot portrait!  I think he looks quite handsome. :)

Ulia

Ulia, 8x10"
Watercolor on paper, mounted

Remember my pet portrait competition when I had all of you send me your favorite cat and dog pictures?  Well, this painting is the first of two that I'm giving to the winners, Katherine and Kelly.

Meet Katherine's adorable feline, Ulia.  Isn't she a doll?  I absolutely loved painting her and am so excited to now be offering custom cat portraits in my shop.  Hopefully, I'll have many more cats to paint!  Thanks again for entering the competition Katherine!  Ulia will be on her way to you today!

Kelly, your dog painting is next up...

and dogs...

In case you haven't heard, this isn't a dog blog.  OR a cat blog for that matter.  Although, I think either one of those options sound pretty amazing, especially with all of these pet pictures I've been getting lately!  Are these not the cutest dogs?  It'll be hard to choose, for sure.  I know there are still a handful of people out there who've told me about their pets, but haven't quite had time to send the picture, so I think I'll wait about another week or so before I make my final decision on who will be the lucky winners of two custom painted pet portraits!

In the mean time, I'll be catching up on my Downton Abbey while I paint and dream about a vacation in the mountains.  I recently stumbled on this amazing blog of painter and founding contributor to Kinfolk Magazine Lily Stockman, who I'm now convinced just might be my aesthetic soul mate.  I immediately connected with her work and have fallen in love with her blog, partly because she happens to be on a vacation of my dreams in Montana and is posting pictures about it, partly because of her studio and overall aesthetic, and partly because of her paintings.  Anyways, it's a little embarrassing to keep this rant going, but alls I'm sayin is read her bio.  I want to be her friend.

via

Oh!  and speaking of vacation...Seth and I are wanting to maybe take a not-so-expensive trip this winter.  Any ideas?  I'm clueless about vacationing.  Tips would also be helpful!  Thank you!