Welcome to the blog of "I Paint Your Pet"! Here, I'll take you on a journey through the creative process of creating a unique pet portrait. Discover the techniques, inspiration, and personal stories that make each painting so special. After all, a pet is a cherished part of the family, and how wonderful it is to capture that bond forever.

Here I describe how I am going to paint a portrait of a dog. The dimensions of the painting are 30x40 cm.

This is Flip…..it’s the dog of my client. 
Who is Flip? As a puppy, he and his two little sisters were thrown over the wall of a campsite; he weighed only 200 grams. My client’s parents dog just passed away, so Flip came into their lives at just the right moment. Flip ended up in a wonderful home and is a very sweet dog—you can see that right away in the photo.

This serves as the starting point for creating a beautiful portrait. Since it can be difficult for a client to visualize the final result, I first created a sample using watercolors on paper. In real life, Flip has a more reddish coat—like a fox—so that is a detail I need to incorporate. We agreed that I would paint the background a darker color. I will also paint the edges of the canvas.

First sample with watercolours on paper

I’ll start with the background. The light is coming from the right, so the background will be darker there, transitioning to a lighter color on the left.

The painting needs to dry for at least a week before the next step.

A second layer has been applied to the background, giving it a beautiful, intense color.

I started with the eyes, nose, and mouth. Positioning is crucial so that his owners will recognize Flip. In the photo, Flip is wearing a bandana, but the request is to paint a collar instead. So, I looked for reference images and painted an initial sketch of the collar with the name tag.

The background has been painted twice and is dry. I have now applied the first layer for Flip. There is a huge variety of colors in the ears visible there. I mix various colors on my palette for this—ochre yellow, red glaze, and titanium white—to create different tones. While painting the fur, I pay close attention to the direction of the hairs. I am also focusing on the eyes again to give them a beautiful expression.