I have done a bit more modelling of Poppy’s face and have started on her eyes. It takes many thin glazes (layers) of paint of various shades of browns and golds to achieve the luminous liquid look of animal eyes, but having made a start on her eyes, Poppy is starting to come to life.

In this next progress shot, I have done a bit more work on the field and have started to add in the red poppy flowers. I’ve also continued with the modelling of her face and started the basic underpainting on her body. Obviously the underpainting is just blocking in shapes (shadows and lights) to create the form of her body before the detail starts to go on in the top layers. I’ve also added some purple to the paynes grey to tie the background in with the dog’s fur, to give depth to the darkest shadows and to start creating some of the red highlights that are apparent in the reference photo of the black labrador retriever that I am using. Thats a handy co-incidence that will work well to tie in the colours in the dog with the background:)

This painting is in a very, very ugly stage that seems to be lasting forever. As much as it looks like it now, this will not be an abstract painting of a dog when it is finished. LOL - at least I hope not!

I am working this painting in the same way that many oil painters use - multiple thin glazes of colour, so it is pretty time consuming. This has taken about 16 hours so far and I would say has at least that many more to go.

Please subscribe to this feed Animal Art By Michelle  if you would like to be notified when Poppy is updated.

Michelle

Technorati Tags: labrador, pet portrait, dog art, painting, artist, artwork, dog,

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This is a painting I am working on in between commissions for my own portfolio - it might seem a bit strange but I have very few pieces of my own artwork to show clients because most of the work I have done over the past few years have been sold.  Which of course is a good thing, but I would also like to enter a few competitions and can’t do that when I keep selling everything, so hopefully over the next few months I can add a few pieces (at least six) to my own collection here and there. 

I’d also like to experiment with a much looser style and try out some more landscapes if I get a chance.  To help keep me motivated to achieve these goals, I’ve joined in the Australian Art Forum’s Winter Challenge with will run from 1 May to 1 September.

It seems that most artists that paint with a high degree of realism tend to produce  pet portraits with traditional landscapes or portrait backgrounds, and those artists that paint in a bold contemporary style usually don’t paint in highly realistic detail.  I would like to pursue a slightly different direction with some of my artwork, although I don’t think I will ever move away from my realistic and ‘up close and personal’ style, I want to explore combining that with modern contemporary backgrounds.   Bright bold background colours and landscapes full of beautiful saturated colours that border on the real/surreal/hyper real.  Will it work?  Can it be done?  LOL, who knows, but I am sure it will be fun to find out:)

This one is likely to take a while to complete as I am fitting it in between commissions.  ‘Poppy’ is 16″x20″ on gallery wrapped canvas.  This is a big experiment as acrylic is a new medium that I am teaching myself how to use.  The thing I love about being self-taught is that you can try new and unusual techniques because no ‘expert’ teacher has deemed there is a right way and a wrong way. 

Personally, I think as long as you use good quality artist’s materials, you can’t go far wrong by simply experimenting to find out what works (or dosn’t) for you:)

So here goes my experiment with ‘Poppy’.  I’ve deliberately chosen to offset the black labrador to the right hand side of the canvas, and to use a landscape orientation rather than portrait.  My vision for this one is to have the dog sitting a a field of red poppies. So I have to learn how to paint flowers as well, which will be fun:)

The first image shows my sketch of the Poppy, and the beginning of the background field, which has been created with many thin glaze layers of paint which has taken about 3.5 hours so far.

The next progress shot shows how I have started to block in the main shapes (shadows and highlights) in the underpainting using various dilutions of paynes grey.

More work on the underpainting and additional glazes on the background.

Stay tuned for the next updates on Poppy!

Michelle

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Pet portraits Home

There are so many animals of different kinds that end up in Rescue due to abandonment or abuse worldwide, not to mention the huge number of wild animal species affected by human behaviour and destruction of habitats. Most of the Rescue and Charity Organizations that help theses animals depend solely on donations to help them continue with their work.

While I have supported various animal charities for many years, I guess like many animal lovers, Ive always wanted to be able to do more to help more of these organizations continue with their wonderful (and desparately needed) work. The problem of course is that there are so many worthwhile animal charities that need help, from dogs and cats to native Australian animals, tigers, pandas, wolves and endangered wildlife worldwide, how is it possible to help all those in need of financial assistance?

I am happy to create and donate artwork for fundraising purposes, however due to the time it takes to create my very detailed portraits, there is a limit to how many I have time to fit into my schedule. Also, rather than donate to just a couple of organizations I would like to help as many as possible as possible, and so I have come up the idea of an “Art for Animal Rescue” Referal Program in which $15.00 AU of each paid pet portrait commission referred to me by any organization in the program will be donated back to that organization.

A selection of different size website links, banners and graphics are available for Groups to use on their website or newsletter, and a small poster promoting my “Art for Animal Rescue” program can be sent out for display on a noticeboard if the group has a public facility.

The program is open to non-profit, no-kill groups, including animal breed clubs that do rescue work, wildlife groups and registered charities. International organizations/rescue groups are welcome to join the program (must be able to accept payment through Paypal).

If you would like to support your local animal charity, please ask them to sign up for my “Art for Animal Rescue” program so that I can support them to.

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Michelle

Technorati Tags: animal rescue, fundraising, dog art, painting, artist, artwork, donation, Pet portraits Home

This is my latest painting of a gorgeous rescue Greyhound “Teddy”.  Rendering his fur realistically was a bit of a challenge.  I will probably leave this for a few days then make some minor adjustments before varnishing it.

This one is acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas.

Michelle

Technorati Tags: greyhound, pet portrait, dog art, painting, artist, artwork, dog,

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This is the first full acrylic painting I have done using Art Spectrum Colourfix paper as the support (I usually only use for acrylic to paint the background or underpainting then add the details with colour pencil). This one of ‘Kruger’ is 9″x12″.

This support seems to work exceptionally well to help portray the bristly nature of the Shar-Pei fur (although their coat’s look soft and silky, they are actually a bit harsh and prickly!).

I get so involved when I am painting that I always forget to stop and take photos so that I can post a work in progress post, but I managed to get a couple this time, the first is the initial sketch, the second with a partial underpainting and then the final portrait.

Michelle

Technorati Tags: shar-pei, pet portrait, dog art, painting, artist, artwork, dog, Shar Pei,

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Taking nice photographs of pets and other animals is the easy part when you know how - part of it involves taking hundreds at a time:).  That’s the best thing about digital cameras, taking hundred’s of photos every day isn’t expensive like it was in the days of film.

But learning to take good photographs is only the start , you really need to learn how to use a good graphics program like Photoshop, or at least that’s what I tell myself after I’ve spent *another* three hours playing with a photo;)  Seriously though, there are so many cool effects that you can do with graphics programs that it is so worth the time and effort that it takes to learn how to use them.

Generally speaking, it is always better to get everything with the lighting, pose and background as perfect as possible before you take the photo.  But sometimes with animals that is just not possible - especially when photographing cats.  If you have a cat, well then you know that cats just do what they want when they want and you really just have to work with them rather than against them.  Ha ha - otherwise you end up with a cat-astrophe!

The first photo below is an original photo of one of our cat’s, Tara and is a good example of the background not being perfect.  Tara is not a particularly affectionate cat and she really does not like having her photo taken so good photos of her are few and far between (actually, that is an understatement, judging by her reaction when she sees it, I am sure she thinks that the camera is some sort of cat-torture-device!). 

However, I managed to snap this photo of her as she was running away from my camera/cat-torture-device only because she stopped to give me this look of disgust:) 

Unfortunately, in the photo it looks like she has a stick growing out of her ear and under her chin. 

Thank goodness for Photshop because I was able to remove the stick that was growing out her ear, as well as the bit under her chin.  I also burned the background edges to focus more on Tara’s face and I lightened her eyes just a tad.  Viola!  Now I finally have a photo of Tara worth having enlarged and framed!

In a similar fashion, using the clone stamp, healing brush and blur tools of various diameter I was also able to remove the collar and tags from this photo of Jess, and then burn in a black background so that the focus is now directly on Jess.  Oh yeah, and I removed the gooby drool hanging from her bottom lip (the Schmacko’s made her do it!)

Taking a photo from this…

 To this…. 

Although I really need to put a white border around it so that the edge of the photo shows up against the black of this page.

I’ve always believed that Photography is in itself an artform, and just like photography, using a graphics program to enhance or improve photos is just like learning to use another art medium (like pastels or oil paint).  At some stage in the future I’d really like to explore abstract nature photography combined with digital manipulations because I think that the possibilities for creating unique art would be endless, and a lot of fun.  Course I will have to work out how to fit another three or four days into the week just to find the time:)

Technorati Tags: photography, pet photographer, Photo Gallery, artist, photography shoot, pet photography, dog, Australian Cattle Dog, abstract photography, nature photography dog photography, cat photography, photoshop, editing, digital photography

Happy New Year everyone! Wow, where has the last month gone? The rush of Christmas has come and gone and here we are already at the end of the first week of 2007.

While I havn’t managed to update this blog in the last month, I have finally had the time to add some new work to the Dog gallery and also the Photography Gallery. I quite often get asked about my techniques by other artists, and I actually managed to take some progress photos of two of the Christmas portraits that I did (the Rottweiler and the Chihuahua) and will put them togther as a work in progress type thread.

During my short break over Christmas and New year (I certainly needed it after the last minute commissions I had to finish), I had the opportunity to do several dog and cat photography sessions in the Perth area and have added a few to the photography gallery and have included a few of my favourites below.

Close-up images of animal faces, especially the eyes is a re-curring theme in both my artwork and photography.  I truly believe the eyes are the windows to the soul, and by focusing (no pun intended!) on the eyes, I think it allows the spirit and soul of the animal to shine through.

Buffy having a rest

Meesha - grey, cream and white Domestic Shorthair

Jess - Australian cattle Dog (Blue Heeler)

Tia - Up close and personal with my own dog

The one below is obviously not an animal, but I also enjoy nautre and landscape photography.  I took this one late in the evening at Roley Pools, the timing was great in as far as the golden evening light was concerned and I am quite happy with photos from that shoot.

Additional photos from these sessions can be viewed in my Photograph Gallery.

Technorati Tags: photography, pet photographer, Perth pet photographer, Photo Gallery, artist, artwork, photography shoot, puppy, pet portrait, pet photography, dog, Shih Tzu, Shar Pei, Australian Cattle Dog, landscape photography, nature photography dog photography, cat photography

I was lucky enough to fit in a photo shoot today, this time of a gorgeous Shih Tzu puppy called Sophia.  She is just the sweetest little thing and spent more time trying to climb into my lap for a cuddle than posing for the camera.

Ain’t she cute?

It’s a hard life for a playful puppy!

More photos of Sophia can be viewed in my Photo Gallery.

Shih Tzu Breed Profile:

The Shih Tzu is a happy natured breed that loves children and other animals. They are alert and are usually good watch dogs. They are a low maintenance breed in regards to excercise and feeding requirements, however they do require thorough daily grooming to prevent matting of their long double coat, although pets can be clipped regularly for easier maintenance. Shih Tzu’s are a suitable breed for living in small apartments.

Shih Tzu’s are very intelligent and although they can be stubborn, gentle and persistant training make these dogs a pleasure to own.

They are generally a healthy breed, although renal dysplasia and slipped stifles or kneecaps is not uncommon (and the reason for purchasing a puppy through a reputable breeder or Rescue organisation).

As they also have slightly protuding eyes, they can be prone to injury.  The biggest health problem with this breed is caused by neglecting the coat which can lead to tangles, hot spots, painful mats and skin infections - daily grooming or frequent clipping are essential for this breed. 

More information on this lovely breed can be found on the American Shih Tzu Club website.

Technorati Tags: photography, pet photographer, Photo Gallery, artist, artwork, photography shoot, puppy, pet portrait, pet photography, dog, Shih Tzu

Taking photographs of animals is not always as easy as it may seem, particularly capturing images that suitable to use as reference material for a Pet Portrait, so, knowing what I need in a good reference photo, I have offered a photography session for local (Perth) clients for a while. 

I enjoy photography so much that I am planning on expanding my business in 2007 to include Pet Photography as well as Pet Portraiture.  Definitely the best of both world’s (art and photography) and the best part is I get to play with lots of animals!

I have now added a Photography Gallery on my website with some more of my animal and wildlife photos.

The two below are of my Cat Tara (our rather unsociable cat who thinks that all humans except our eldest daughter have germs) and Gus, a gorgeous Rottweiler that I had the privelege of photographing last week.

Enjoy!

Michelle

Technorati Tags: photography, pet photographer, Photo Gallery, artist, artwork, wildlife photography, dog, pet portrait, pet photography, cat, Rottweiler

They are all pets that I was lucky enough to photograph today:)

Darth Maul and Padme are both Merino Suffolk cross sheep, Bambi is a four day old orphaned Fallow Deer Fawn and Lucy is a gorgeous dog! I can’t decide which one to paint first so keep an eye out for the artwork to follow!

Here are some of my favourite photos from the shoot:

Michelle

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