DarcyAcrylic on canvas, 5 x 5© Xan Blackburn 2012 Alrighty! Darcy swam up out of a clear blue lake, or anyway, that was my experience of painting her! Watch the animation to see what I mean. Darcy’s mom calls her a “heart healer”. At almost 12 years old, with this sweet face, you can just … Read More “Portrait Marathon: #2 Darcy”
SaraDigital painting (ArtRage Studio Pro)5″ x 7″© Xan Blackburn 2012 While sign-ups are going on, I still have some commissions to wrap up. These two are digital paintings, of wolfhound mixes Sara and Roscoe. Wow! That was FUN! (More below … ) RoscoeDigital painting (ArtRage Studio Pro)5″ x 7″© Xan Blackburn 2012 Lily and DaddyAcrylic … Read More “Meanwhile …”
Jack © Xan Blackburn 2012 Greyhound soft sculpture Back in April, I participated in an auction, committing to create a soft sculpture portrait for the highest bidder. Marcy won on May 1st, and she chose Jack, her brindle greyhound, to be the subject of our portrait. Yes: May. So, it’s been a long-term project, you … Read More “Soft Sculpture: Jack!”
In my last call for commissions, I made a point of offering to add humans to the mix. I got some wonderful reference photos from several of you! This is fairly new territory for me, at least in commissions, but I’m very excited (and anxious, and fascinated) to be here. What I’m passionately interested in … Read More “People in my Pet Portraits”
It’s that time of year again! Since 2007, Alisha and I have been doing a fundraiser for Hope for Hounds. Raising money for Dr. Couto’s ongoing research into canine cancer has been a way to give some hope to the many, many pet parents whose dogs are diagnosed with the various cancers that steal so … Read More “Hope for Hounds Collars”
Except for the final varnish, Petey’s portrait is done. Let’s look at the final steps. Petey – work in progressacrylic, 8″ x 10″© Xan Blackburn 2012 This step doesn’t look too much further along than the last step I showed you. The work is mostly deepening the shadows, and adding detail to Petey’s features. Time … Read More “Petey is done … What’s next?”
Petey in progress – Detailacrylic on canvas panel, 8 x 10© Xan Blackburn 2012 I swear, I haven’t been completely idle all this time! Hope for Hounds Since the last entry, I’ve been working on the 2012 Hope for Hounds collar and tee-shirt design, which is a yearly fundraiser, and collaborative effort between myself, 2 … Read More “Petey: time for a new color”
Petey: Greyhound portrait in progress Petey got some long-awaited (and well-deserved) attention today. Let’s see where he’s at right now. Petey: work in progressAcrylic, 8″ x 10″© Xan Blackburn 2012 I know I’ve said this before, but I really enjoy this phase. There’s a dreamy quality to it, the suggestion of things not quite pinned … Read More “Petey: that watery phase”
Petey – Work in progressAcrylic on canvas panel, 8″ x 10″© Xan Blackburn 2012 Petey is a handsome young devil, isn’t he? Jumping right in, I took the reference photo, re-sized it, got as much information as possible out of it (luckily, most greyhounds have a lot in common, so I can use locally available … Read More “Petey’s portrait”
Jean has decided she’d prefer to have her dog Petey’s portrait done, so the large painting of Niccolo and MaeBella will go back on the shelf. We’re still negotiating the PERFECT choice for reference, so in the mean time, I’m working on my website, which is due for a major overhaul. Yeah, it looks okay, … Read More “Okay, Petey instead!”
