#4: Cash’s Portrait

"Cash" 8" x 10" acrylic on canvas panel © Xan Blackburn
“Cash”8” x 10″acrylic on canvas panel© Xan Blackburn Chris’ greyhound, Cash, at age 10, is on her second life!  That’s pretty good for a spooky grey, I’d say!  She had a bad reaction to routine shots, actually died, but was brought back to life – a modern-day miracle!  And, a gorgeous, blue-brindle gal, to boot. …

Surprising Sadie, Done

Sadie (eye detail)
Wow.  Well, once I got rolling, this just went like a flash!  Isn’t it funny, ha ha, that the painting part of this portrait actually went quickly, but all the hair-pulling, sketching, sighing and laying in bed at night imagining the painting took days!  I should be used to that, but there ya go. I …

Portrait Marathon: #13 – Fletcher

Fletcheracrylic on canvas, 5 x 5© Xan Blackburn Fletcher’s mom is like me, I’m afraid: photographically challenged.  Alas, those of us suffering this affliction are lucky to avoid getting our thumbs on the lens.  After taking another try, we collected what we both agreed we’d better settle for, though it was still a bit vague. …

Portrait Marathon: #9 – Ruger!

RugerAcrylic on canvas, 5 x 5© Xan Blackburn Handsome Ruger!  His mom sent me a few pictures, and a description, as usual.  She described a protector, her “Sheriff”, a “relaxed but aware” presence, always ready to lie down. But the pictures she sent had me laughing out loud.  He looked to me like he had …

Portrait Marathon: #7 – Tip Top!

Tip TopAcrylic on Aquabord, 5 x 5© Xan Blackburn Tip Top’s portrait was a special challenge in that I only had one photo to work from, which was small and low-resolution, as well as being fairly dim.  Her head is lit from the rear, leaving most of her face in shadow, with just a rim …

Portrait Marathon: #5 Miss Star

Note to future participants:  Have your photos ready!  Keep an eye on your email if you know your turn is coming up, so I don’t have to skip over you.  😉   Miss StarAcrylic on canvas© Xan Blackburn Star’s portrait took a whole different direction than … any portrait I’ve ever done, I guess!  Why is …

Portrait Marathon: #2 Darcy

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 …