Meet Hawthorne. He was a lovely little guy from Memphis. His parents asked me to do his portrait for Christmas this year. This painting of Hawthorne is an acrylic on canvas measuring 18″x18″.
I love doing pet portraits. They are probably my favorite paintings to do because I love dogs so much. The best part for me is seeing the photos that the “parents” send of their little fur children and reading their story. Hawthorne’s folks have given me permission to share their story of Hawthorne.
I received an email from Hawthorne’s mom requesting the painting followed by a mailed packet with photos and a letter. Here is how she described him…
“We found him – and then loved him. He was all boy. If there was a fence board loose he would find it; if something was left in a waste basket he’d eat it; early on he ate the arm of my leather chair! But he was quite intelligent and soon figured out that behavior would find him looking for a new home!”
“If I had to guess I say he is a cross between a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and a Beagle. If there was a party, he wanted to be in the center of it; If Sam was camped out on the sofa Hawthorne was there too. Sam called him the “Little Buddy” – and he really was.”
“He was one good-looking guy and carried himself well pretty much into old age. ”
These are the kinds of descriptions that I love. I can really get an idea of what Hawthorne meant to his family because of her letter.
I love to meet the pet when I can but when that is impossible, a description like the one of Hawthorne works really well.
Several years ago I was asked to paint a portrait of Maggie, Hawthorne’s sister. So when I got the photos of Hawthorne his parents shared some photos of Hawthorne and Maggie together. I had to include them because they also help you to get a feel for Hawthorne’s personality.
So that’s how I get to know my subject if I can’t meet him. I thought you might enjoy seeing how my process works in this way.
And I love Hawthorne’s story and photos. I hope his folks will like his painting. It’s on its way home to Memphis to join his sister’s painting hanging in their home. Nice to meet you Hawthorne!
Vineyard V is an acrylic abstract on gallery wrap canvas measuring 30″x40″. The colors of this painting invoke colors of vines and grapes and bottles and wine. And I really like wine.
October Fire is an acrylic abstract painting on 1 1/2″ gallery wrap canvas measuring 24″x36″. It is another in the series of abstract paintings that I have been working on this past week. Non-representational abstracts allow each viewer to see something different in the art. This painting is available for $395.
I have been working on a couple of abstract series lately. I have a new student who is studying abstract acrylic painting and it has gotten me motivated to paint in that way.
After missing several weeks of lessons Isabella is back and we had a lesson last night.
This was my version. We paint along together during the lesson so I always end up with the same thing the student does. I kind of like this one. Reminds me of Georgia O’Keeffe.
Of course, Truman was not impressed. We bore him so after he gets all the attention he can from my student he takes a nap. 🙂
The Studio 