Commission #4: A Dog Portrait

 I love new challenges- I think that's part of why I love being an artist...there are always a variety of ideas being thrown my way and so many new beginnings to different projects. I was asked recently if I would consider doing a dog portrait. I actually had never considered this idea before, but after pondering it for a while, I started to get excited about the possibilities! She didn't give me many boundaries in design which is always my favourite kind of project. :)

 This specific pet portrait was to commemorate Felix, her dog, who passed away suddenly. From the pictures I saw, he seemed like such a sweet little thing. I got the sense that he was playful and fun. She told me that he loved playing outdoors with sticks, so I wanted to include elements of nature in the design.

 Halfway into painting, I was feeling so frustrated with how Felix was turning out. I was even considering just starting over. I just felt a bit of pressure to represent him well and wasn't sure that it was going to happen. And with watercolour, once it's painted, there's not much you can do to change things. Luckily, I pushed through and kept at it...and before I knew it, I was thrilled with how he was coming together. So, just goes to show, if you work hard at it, you never know what can happen! There. Cliche inspirational quotes are always a good way to end a post.