Springer Spaniel | Acrylic Painting

DUDLEY

​Portrait size: 
9" x  12"
​Completed: December 2016
6th November 2016
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Hi Karen. I was wondering if you could do a commission of my mothers springer spaniel before Christmas? And if so can you post?​
Andrea approached me to create a beautiful portrait of Dudley as a Christmas gift for her mother. Although they provided a favourite photo of Dudley, unfortunately, it was too small and pixelated when zooming in, which I knew would cause issues when attempting to create the fine details. Fortunately, the customer also provided larger photos of Dudley taken in natural light, which allowed me to accurately capture his unique features, rich brown tones, and small markings in the portrait.​
The early phases of crafting an acrylic painting may sometimes seem disordered and messy. Acrylic paints are known for their quick drying properties, leading to sharper edges compared to the softened edges achievable with oil paints, which may result in a less seamless blend. Nonetheless, I consider acrylics to be the perfect medium for my work because of their rapid drying time. This feature enables me to work swiftly and add complex details to my artwork. In Dudley's painting, I devoted considerable time to developing the blades of grass, a significant element of the composition, to ensure that the sunlight warmed the grass in just the right spots.

Creating the reference photo

To accurately depict Dudley's facial features, I relied on additional photographs provided. Nevertheless, this was a challenge due to the considerable variation in lighting conditions across the images. As a result, I had to devote a significant amount of time and effort to editing the photos to ensure I had a consistent and reliable reference for my painting.​

Customer Testimonial

"  Hi Karen, Sorry that I haven't been in touch sooner, it's been hectic since Christmas!
Just wanted to let you know that mum loves her portrait and we all cried our eyes out when we first saw it.
What you've done is so special and we couldn't have asked for a better painting to remember him by.
​It captures his brilliant personality so well.
I'll definitely be recommending you to my spaniel loving friends!    "
Andrea
Northern Ireland​, UK


​Commission a bespoke portrait

If you're seeking a custom portrait of your Springer Spaniel or any other pet, for a gift or to mark a special event, you have the freedom to choose the medium that best suits your taste including coloured pencils, acrylics, or oil pastels. For further details, my commissions page provides all the information you need or get in touch to discuss your concepts.
Other pages that may be of interest
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