Marley is an oil on canvas panel measuring 11″X14″. He lives in Manassas with his dad and the painting was a birthday present for him.
I love doing pet portraits! It is always fun seeing photos of peoples beloved pets and hearing stories about them. 
Black dogs are the hardest for me to paint because it’s difficult to show the highlights of their features. And I almost always do black dog portraits in oil because I can achieve the features better in oils.
This is how “Marley” started out on the easel. I keep several photos close at hand so that I can continually refer to it.
The palette for “Marley” has some colors on it that you don’t necessarily see in the portrait but they are in there, mixed with other colors to achieve the look we want.
So Happy Birthday Marley’s Dad. Hope you enjoy your painting!
The Studio 
