Painting Pet Portraits: I See a Friend
Artist: Looking Into The Eyes of an Animal
“If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans”―James Herriot
I LOVE painting pet portraits.
Everyone loves their animals, and it is such a privilege to try and capture their essence and character via a painting.
I believe that if you can correctly capture their eyes on the canvas, then the rest of the painting follows.
It is so true that the soul/essence/character shows through their eyes.
“When I look into the eyes of an animal, I do not see an animal. I see a living being. I see a friend. I feel a soul”― Anthony Douglas Williams
I am happy to paint from a photograph.
I like to collect a bit of information about the pets, and I now write an original poem to go with each painting, and I hope I capture the essence of a pet this way — both by paint and also by the pen.
I still use the process of layering to complete a pet portrait.
- Sketching in loosely the main shapes of THE body, face, and outline of where the eyes will be.
- Complete the underlayers of paint in blocks of color.
- These are the colors that are usually darker and will provide both texture and interest as they show through to the top layers of the completed painting. I try and get the darkest tones painted in first, then the lightest and finally the ‘mid’ tones.
- Sometimes the underlayers are where I add texture by using textured medium, tissue paper, sand and collage to add interest and make the painting less flat, less 2D and more appealing to the eye.
- Each layer becomes progressively more detailed until the final intricate details — which when added bring ‘life’ to the painting.
“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened” ― Anatole France
It helps if you really love animals yourself. If you love animals then you are really motivated and driven to try and capture the animals ‘essence’. It can be really hard to describe what that is, but you know when you have been successful.
“Everything has a spirit, honor that” ~ Chief Arvol Looking Horse
I do think capturing the eyes are essential, a downward turn or kink in the ear, a slight curl on the tail, or the way a paw rests — all capture what it is about this pet that means the owner immediately recognizes it is them.
“An animal’s eyes have the power to speak a great language” –Martin Buber
Many family or friends commission a portrait after a beloved pet has died. They supply a photograph. You get to hear a lot of heart-tugging stories about what this pet met to the owner. These can be the most fulfilling portraits to complete.
If you love painting, drawing, or photography — this is an area that there is often an unlimited supply of work.
I started with a request from a work colleague, and it grew from there.
I had another colleague whose partner was killed in a car crash a few months after they had purchased their puppy.
I was given a photo of the puppy sitting in the back of the ute.
She was overwhelmed to receive the painting.
To be able to bring such joy to someone I still find incredible.
People already have photographs of their pets — usually hundreds of them, especially with the availability of cameras on mobile phones these days.
But when they receive a painting, people just melt.
I am not sure if they melt because it is unexpected (a gift from someone else) and it touches their heart; or if it is because the image of an animal they have loved so much is staring back at them.
“Some people talk to animals. Not many listen though. That’s the problem” ― A.A. Milne
Often they can’t stop saying how much it looks ‘exactly’ like their pet. People are captivated especially by the eyes.
A painting that I completed for my father after his dog died of old age a couple of years ago he has hung in his living room.
He says that the eyes seem to follow him around the room sometimes as if Pip is still watching what he is doing. I think that quite creepy but he finds it comforting and fascinating.
“How it is that animals understand things I do not know, but it is certain that they do understand. Perhaps there is a language which is not made of words and everything in the world understands it. Perhaps there is a soul hidden in everything, and it can always speak, without even making a sound, to another soul” ― Frances Hodgson Burnett
Maybe it is because people love animals so much, especially their pets that this is such a fulfilling artistic area.
Animals remind us of things we love and long for. Of acceptance, and peace, forgiveness, friendliness and pure love.
“Animals are the bridge between us and the beauty of all that is natural. They show us what’s missing in our lives, and how to love ourselves more completely and unconditionally. They connect us back to who we are, and to the purpose of why we’re here” ― Trisha McCagh
If this is an area of art that you are looking at becoming involved in, I will encourage you to ‘take the leap.’ It is immensely satisfying and rewarding. You get to bring joy to people in a way that is entirely different than other when completing other types of painting.
It is fulfilling and satisfying and at the end of the day, how many people can say that about what they do?
