Fluffy dogs
I don't normally do pet portraits.
In fact, over the last two years, I've barely been accepting commissions at all. Why deal with getting specs, getting line work okayed, sending updates, getting paid, all to paint someone else's idea when I can get paid for painting MY ideas and not have all the hassle? I mean, don't get me wrong, most of the people who have commissioned me have been absolute dolls to work with. The 5% or so who were bat shit? They were UTTERLY bat shit.
In order for me to take a commission anymore, it has to be both interesting AND the buyer has to be willing to pay a pretty hefty chunk up front. I know, I know, artists are notoriously flaky but that's the way I work and there are plenty of other artists out there if you don't like it. I'm not spending months working on your peacock-dragon-wolf thingy on a promise and a prayer. Not anymore.
So when my riding instructor came to me asking if I ever paint dogs (just normal dogs, please), my immediate answer was no. Then came the story and the puppy dog eyes and it's Marty doing the asking. I'd break an arm if Marty asked me to, I have so much respect for the woman. The painting was for her daughter, who had just lost the last of her three lap dogs and was heartbroken.
The bad thing is?
To me, these are annoying fluffy dogs. I don't LIKE lap dogs. I've met very few who weren't yappy little monsters. Give me a dog big enough to wrestle with.
But to Marty's daughter?
These were her best friends. They'd been with her for years, helped vet out her boyfriends, seen her children born, kept her company when she was ill. They took up a good chunk of her heart and now they were gone.
How do you paint that? I mean, I got a couple photos to go off of but I didn't KNOW them. How the hell do I know if I've captured them correctly? To me, they're fluffy dogs. Give me the peacock-dragon-wolf thingy since both the buyer and I KNOW she just wants my interpretation, not any sort of truth.
...
They were technically fun to paint, though. This is a pretty big watercolor and getting both the black of the dachshund and the poofiness of the shitzus to look right in that medium was a challenge.
I delivered the painting to Marty last week. She was utterly thrilled. Once it's mounted and framed, I'll find out what the daughter thinks of it.
In fact, over the last two years, I've barely been accepting commissions at all. Why deal with getting specs, getting line work okayed, sending updates, getting paid, all to paint someone else's idea when I can get paid for painting MY ideas and not have all the hassle? I mean, don't get me wrong, most of the people who have commissioned me have been absolute dolls to work with. The 5% or so who were bat shit? They were UTTERLY bat shit.
In order for me to take a commission anymore, it has to be both interesting AND the buyer has to be willing to pay a pretty hefty chunk up front. I know, I know, artists are notoriously flaky but that's the way I work and there are plenty of other artists out there if you don't like it. I'm not spending months working on your peacock-dragon-wolf thingy on a promise and a prayer. Not anymore.
So when my riding instructor came to me asking if I ever paint dogs (just normal dogs, please), my immediate answer was no. Then came the story and the puppy dog eyes and it's Marty doing the asking. I'd break an arm if Marty asked me to, I have so much respect for the woman. The painting was for her daughter, who had just lost the last of her three lap dogs and was heartbroken.
The bad thing is?
To me, these are annoying fluffy dogs. I don't LIKE lap dogs. I've met very few who weren't yappy little monsters. Give me a dog big enough to wrestle with.
But to Marty's daughter?
These were her best friends. They'd been with her for years, helped vet out her boyfriends, seen her children born, kept her company when she was ill. They took up a good chunk of her heart and now they were gone.
How do you paint that? I mean, I got a couple photos to go off of but I didn't KNOW them. How the hell do I know if I've captured them correctly? To me, they're fluffy dogs. Give me the peacock-dragon-wolf thingy since both the buyer and I KNOW she just wants my interpretation, not any sort of truth.
...
They were technically fun to paint, though. This is a pretty big watercolor and getting both the black of the dachshund and the poofiness of the shitzus to look right in that medium was a challenge.
I delivered the painting to Marty last week. She was utterly thrilled. Once it's mounted and framed, I'll find out what the daughter thinks of it.