Pet Portraits and Wildlife Art

Cyril on the other hand is still a little bit coy but he does manage to look cute in his hammock!

In the meantime Shizzle is still trying out everything for nibble value! He'll have to provide all the food when the two of them are released.

And Shizzle takes his spoils to his bedroom to eat in peace! He'll make a proper squirrel!
If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. If you would like to win a pet portrait of your dog, cat, horse or any other pet please see my new competition. It costs nothing to enter, all you require is internet access.

If you are interested in commissioning me please visit my pet portrait artist website or my wildlife artist website
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!

And just because yesterday's update was such a poor shot here is a little bit more of an update on Ben's dog portrait. It has actually stopped raining, although I do think it will start again later on so I took a photo update when I could, no doubt if I had left it, it would be black skies and torrential downpours later on so a new photo would prove impossible, but now I've managed to capture a more truer photo, I expect it will turn out sunny so I could have left it longer! The moon is still out but it is reasonably bright so I can get on with some more work today. I was beginning to find Christmas portraits a little stressful at one point, I'm on top of things now but for a few weeks I seemed to be getting nowhere fast, the unfortunate/fortunate thing is I have to work full time and I cannot do as many paintings as I would like but there simply aren't enough to do to go full time! Oh the trials and tribulations I encounter!
I have lots of ideas bobbing around in my head about my website and I did have a little revamp (no idea why as I just couldn't take on anymore just yet) but I think I need to have a tidy up of it in the New Year. I've also got quite a few commissions for January plus I have a display to get ready for in February so in fact I think after Christmas will turn out to be just as busy for me!


Anyway, simply because he really is so cute, here are a couple more photos of little Cyril playing in his pen.


He's just so sweet! I'm of for my squirrel visit tomorrow and to take Cyril and Shizzle some treats so I'll take my camera again to see if I can get any more photos of them.


And on the home front, we are collecting a new tragopan hen today to go with the male shown above. He will have two girlfriends then, what a lucky boy!!!
I also feel as though I've made a fatal mistake today. I've stayed at home to finish pet portraits and allowed my other half to go to an auction on his own, he manages to buy all manner of things when I'm there and my back is turned so I just have no idea what rubbish he'll come home with! Oh well, at least he'll keep out of trouble down in the tractor shed!

If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. If you would like to win a pet portrait of your dog, cat, horse or any other pet please see my new competition. It costs nothing to enter, all you require is internet access.

If you are interested in commissioning me please visit my pet portrait artist website or my wildlife artist website
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!

I am dotting about with portraits at the moment to keep myself keen and busy. This is the latest of my dog portraits and features Ben, a yellow labrador. Ben's owner sent many many images to use but this one was his favourite pose in the end. I've also worked some more with Badger's dog portrait plus I've framed Murphy and Dizzy and Pepper which will both be collected in the coming week. Phew!


And just because she hasn't featured for a while, here is little Gypsy making herself very comfortable on the sofa! She looks like a cushion sandwich!
If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. If you would like to win a pet portrait of your dog, cat, horse or any other pet please see my new competition. It costs nothing to enter, all you require is internet access.

If you are interested in commissioning me please visit my pet portrait artist website or my wildlife artist website
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!

A little update for Badger's dog portrait. I've added more shadows and have began to add the grass highlights.

So I'm pleased to report Cyril is doing just fine and is on his way to freedom!!!

If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. If you would like to win a pet portrait of your dog, cat, horse or any other pet please see my new competition. It costs nothing to enter, all you require is internet access.

If you are interested in commissioning me please visit my pet portrait artist website or my wildlife artist website
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!

Things have been moving on in the dog portraits area. I've completed another dog portrait which I cannot post just yet and I've also made progress on Fudge and Ruby but any photo I take is just awful because the light is so poor it looks awful. This is about the best shot I could get of Badger's dog painting but you can see the poor lighting in the background, it is in fact grey and yet looks graduated.
I've also been back to visit Cyril the squirrel, he is still very reluctant to be friends with Shizzle and is very defensive when the two of them meet, however, due to the fact he liked to hang in my hat which was getting wet in the rain, Alex, who is kindly looking after him, has donated a handbag which is waterproof, and it has been lined with Willow's old waterproof and fleecy dog coat and then his woollen hat is inside this. She's told me he is very proud of his new abode so hopefully he will stay a little drier! We are also trying to fatten him up as he does seem tot be a bit of a runt and Alex packs his handbag full of nuts each day to ensure he is stuffing himself silly.

As for everything else, it's been wet and miserable all week, the ugly autumn weather has taken over.

If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. If you would like to win a pet portrait of your dog, cat, horse or any other pet please see my new competition. It costs nothing to enter, all you require is internet access.

If you are interested in commissioning me please visit my pet portrait artist website or my wildlife artist website
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!

Almost done with this dog portrait, I need to work on the legs and tail of Murphy but the light is so poor it is impossible to see the pale greys I need to add even under the daylight bulb.

Next on the drawing board will be Fudge and Ruby and this will started this evening as it is in graphite so I should be able to see things a little better.

If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. If you would like to win a pet portrait of your dog, cat, horse or any other pet please see my new competition. It costs nothing to enter, all you require is internet access.

If you are interested in commissioning me please visit my pet portrait artist website or my wildlife artist website
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!

This dog portrait is all but completed now, I just need to leave it for a couple of days to check things over and fiddle about with some of the shadows.



If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. If you would like to win a pet portrait of your dog, cat, horse or any other pet please see my new competition. It costs nothing to enter, all you require is internet access.

If you are interested in commissioning me please visit my pet portrait artist website or my wildlife artist website
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!

I've started work on one of my graphite pencil portraits, this is of a little terrier how has sadly passed away and also for a returning customer.

This was the customer's first commission from a past Christmas of their black labrador.

And pet news flash.....

I cannot believe I forgot to mention it was Willow's first birthday yesterday. She has a new football to ruin as she does like to puncture them and she has a collection of four flat and torn ones to choose from already. I expect it to last only a matter of days before a hole appears but then she will have weeks of tearing it up to keep her happy.

And here she is with one of her footballs, spot the hole!!!

Anyway, these are our muscovy ducks who have now taken to sitting on the fence by the house waiting for any treats to be given to them. These are all females, mum is closest to the camera and all the others are from the brood shown in this little video from June

The boys are all too lazy to fly up to the house and seem quite content to stay in the orchard all day as it catches the sun.

We also took delivery of a pair of himilayan monal pheasants today. The male is still very plain but his colours will change rapidly and they are one of the prettiest pheasants to be seen. The weather is a bit rubbish today so as soon as the skies brighten up a little I'll be out taking photos for you all to see. They have a massive enclosure and will join a female we already have so fingers crossed they'll settle in quite quickly.

If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. If you would like to win a pet portrait of your dog, cat, horse or any other pet please see my new competition. It costs nothing to enter, all you require is internet access.

Thanks for visiting!

I've worked some more of Murphy's fur on his back and it looks much shinier now and I've started his chest area, still a long way to go though.
I also went shopping and bought a stock pile of mounts and hope to add a mount library to my website so that people can make their choices easier. At the moment I generally take the portrait to the shop with me and take lots of photos of different colours over the portrait to send to the customer then I have to return to buy them, although this isn't as bad as it sounds as it isn't too far away and I do take a bulk load of portraits at a time, I thought it may be easier to put the colours available on my website.



And important pet news....
Very early this morning I took Willow to meet Brinkley, a huge leonberger who looks like a great big fluffy lion, so they could walk in the woods together as Willow panics at dog training when Brinkley is centre stage. They got on quite well and Willow did try to floor Brinkley but due to his size and his common sense it proved a task too far for Willow and they eventually settled down to trot off into the woods together. Hopefully when we meet up again at dog training she'll shout at him a little less, poor Brinkley!

And I also went to visit Cyril, and in all truth he is a little bit braver, although Shizzle is still manic and believes everthing is his, Cyril was coping a little better. When Shizzle chased him Cyril didn't immediately hide in my hat and hood and he seems to be getting his fair share of food so perhaps it will be uncomfortable for a while until they just decide each other is not so bad after all. I will say I got injured in the line of duty, Shizzle speeds around their enclosure at supersonic speeds and he decided to leap onto me scratching all of my face and hands, no wonder poor Cyril is a little reluctant to be his best friend. I think if they manage to leave each other uninjured it will be good for them both though as Shizzle is probably more squirrel like than Cyril and this is how they are in the wild defending their territories so if we had just released him it may have been a shock too far, this way Cyril may harden up for the big squirrel world to come.
If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. If you would like to win a pet portrait of your dog, cat, horse or any other pet please see my new competition. It costs nothing to enter, all you require is internet access.

If you are interested in commissioning me please visit my pet portrait artist website or my wildlife artist website
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!

Meet Jasper, this is what his owner has to say...

Meet Jasper, he's the sweetest dog you could ever know. He loves agility but also has a cheeky side and will only jump for treats. That's why he is my perfect pet and deserved a perfect pet portrait! I hope you like the picture!
If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. If you would like to win a pet portrait of your dog, cat, horse or any other pet please see my new competition. It costs nothing to enter, all you require is internet access.

If you are interested in commissioning me please visit my pet portrait artist website or my wildlife artist website
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art!

Thanks for visiting!

Meet Ruby, this is the second of two entries for her. This is what her owner has to say...

This is my 11 month old Jack Russell Ruby. She is very cheeky and always on the look out for food.
She is very mischevious and is always up to no good! She loves chasing cats but is actually scared of them and once she catches up with them, she runs away with her tail between her legs!

If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. If you would like to win a pet portrait of your dog, cat, horse or any other pet please see my new competition. It costs nothing to enter, all you require is internet access.

If you are interested in commissioning me please visit my pet portrait artist website or my wildlife artist website
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!

Meet Ruby, this is the first of two entries of her. This is what her owner has to say...

This is my 11 month old Jack Russell Ruby. She is very cheeky and always on the look out for food.
She is very mischevious and is always up to no good! She loves chasing cats but is actually scared of them and once she catches up with them, she runs away with her tail between her legs!

If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. If you would like to win a pet portrait of your dog, cat, horse or any other pet please see my new competition. It costs nothing to enter, all you require is internet access.

If you are interested in commissioning me please visit my pet portrait artist website or my wildlife artist website
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!

Meet Charlie, this is what his owner has to say....
Pets name is Charlie, he is a black labrador cross with a springer spaniel. He is a real pet, on the news that our granny had died, he jumped up onto my mums lap and gave here a hug as she was weepy. She felt comforted and we all marvelled at the affection he poured towards her in her saddest hours. what a great loveable pet.

If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. If you would like to win a pet portrait of your dog, cat, horse or any other pet please see my new competition. It costs nothing to enter, all you require is internet access.

If you are interested in commissioning me please visit my pet portrait artist website or my wildlife artist website
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!

A few things have got in the way of my commissions in the lst couple of days so I'm not where I want to be at the moment but this is the latest update for Dizzy and Murphy's dog portrait.

And news on Cyril....
Cyril has moved house and is living with Shizzle the squirrel not far away. I delivered him on Sunday but unfortunately things were a bit of a disaster to begin with. Shizzle is almost twice the size of Cyril and much more of a boy about town. He's more dominant than Cyril and decided to boss him about (a bit of fur was sent flying) and Cyril was a little bit stressed about this. I hoped things would calm down after they became used to each other and it seemed that by Tuesday they were suffering each other although not friends and Cyril was coping. However, being soppy as I am I decided to visit yesterday and things are definitely not going as well as planned. I found Cyril hiding behind a door in the corner and when I picked him up he was shaking like a leaf. He decided to move into my hood and curl up against my neck, this has not helped my resolve to leave him there in any way! I stayed for an hour and the whole time Cyril just stayed in my hood not wanting to come out, Shizzle on the other hand was prancing all over looking for him as it seems to have helped him no end by having a companion. I left my hood for Cyril and we put it inside my wool hat he already had and hung him behind the door to make him feel safe. The last update I had from is adopted Mum Alex was that he was staying put in the hood but accepting grapes and nuts. Cyril has already shown me up by biting Alex and he did have a bit of an episode whan she tried to feed him, squealing and looking ready to pounce at her. However, having put forward all of the bad news, I did leave Cyril behind in the hope that things will improve and it does seem to be a combination of a new home, the flat mate from hell and me having adandoned him making things a little difficult. It's a lot for a little fella to cope with all in one go! We've decided our best plan of action is to leave things a while longer but if Cyril is still such a nervous wreck I'll bring him home. Anyway, here is a little pic of when he was being a little better behaved!


If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. If you would like to win a pet portrait of your dog, cat, horse or any other pet please see my new competition. It costs nothing to enter, all you require is internet access.

If you are interested in commissioning me please visit my pet portrait artist website or my wildlife artist website
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!

If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. If you would like to win a pet portrait of your dog, cat, horse or any other pet please see my new competition. It costs nothing to enter, all you require is internet access.

If you are interested in commissioning me please visit my pet portrait artist website or my wildlife artist website
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!

This is Sam who we were lucky enough to meet at the RSPCA centre in Kent 2 years ago. He is known in our local park as 'The Black Flash' as he runs like the wind. He's a great character - friendly to everyone and really well behaved too. A lovable rogue!!

If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. If you would like to win a pet portrait of your dog, cat, horse or any other pet please see my new competition. It costs nothing to enter, all you require is internet access.

If you are interested in commissioning me please visit my pet portrait artist website or my wildlife artist website
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!

If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. If you would like to win a pet portrait of your dog, cat, horse or any other pet please see my new competition. It costs nothing to enter, all you require is internet access.

If you are interested in commissioning me please visit my pet portrait artist website or my wildlife artist website
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!

At long last there was just about enough light to take a photo of Pepper's dog portrait now it is completed. I'm not sure it is the best photo but given the fact it is now going to rain for the foreseeable future I took the chance that this was the best light for a while. Rubbish weather, I feel really miserable at this time of year, I'm a bit of an outdoors girl and get very annoyed at being stuck inside or because of the gloomy damp weather and it seems that will be the case this weekend, although I really should be tied to the drawing board to get things under control!

As for other portraits, I have already made a start with Dizzy and think I've matched the colours quite well, you can see the work so far here as I've updated my facebook page already.

Other than that I'm on holiday from my day job today and will have to venture out into the soggy outdoors with Willow but at least we'll get some fresh air, the problem is the woods are a bit mucky now and I'm forever slipping this way and that but it all adds to the fun!!!



If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. If you would like to win a pet portrait of your dog, cat, horse or any other pet please see my new competition. It costs nothing to enter, all you require is internet access.

If you are interested in commissioning me please visit my pet portrait artist website or my wildlife artist website
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!

I think I've finally finished Harry's dog portrait. I will just need to stare at it for a few days to do any 'tweeking' and 'tinkering'


If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. If you would like to win a pet portrait of your dog, cat, horse or any other pet please see my new competition. It costs nothing to enter, all you require is internet access.

If you are interested in commissioning me please visit my pet portrait artist website or my wildlife artist website
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!

Bit more progress to show on Harry's dog portrait. I've continued working on his face and have added the darker shades now to give a better colour as Harry was looking a little pale for a while. I will need to add more high and lowlights but that's the best bit when everything starts to look more realistic.
There are a couple of extra stages shown in the slideshow below so you can see how much difference the darker colours have made.



Anyway, Willow is beiing very annoying and obviously wants to go for a walk so I'm going to dig out my wellies and venture out into the grey dismal gloom. Yuk!

Also here is our photo from work, we had a big photo taken of all the people that worked there but no dogs were allowed, so us being devious little creatures managed to round up the photographer to take a little shot of some of the dogs who go to work every day. I would say there are probably another 8 - 10 dogs who turn up regularly but these 3 are very often together and all get along very well.


If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. If you would like to win a pet portrait of your dog, cat, horse or any other pet please see my new competition. It costs nothing to enter, all you require is internet access.

If you are interested in commissioning me please visit my pet portrait artist website or my wildlife artist website

Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!

If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. If you would like to win a pet portrait of your dog, cat, horse or any other pet please see my new competition. It costs nothing to enter, all you require is internet access.

If you are interested in commissioning me please visit my pet portrait artist website or my wildlife artist website
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!

Harry's dog portrait is still slowly making progress, here you can see the difference after highlights have been added to give the fur some gloss and sheen.

If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. If you would like to win a pet portrait of your dog, cat, horse or any other pet please see my new competition. It costs nothing to enter, all you require is internet access.

If you are interested in commissioning me please visit my pet portrait artist website or my wildlife artist website
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!

If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. If you would like to win a pet portrait of your dog, cat, horse or any other pet please see my new competition. It costs nothing to enter, all you require is internet access.

If you are interested in commissioning me please visit my pet portrait artist website or my wildlife artist website
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!

If you like my work please take the time to leave me a comment or become a follower. If you would like to win a pet portrait of your dog, cat, horse or any other pet please see my new competition. It costs nothing to enter, all you require is internet access.

If you are interested in commissioning me please visit my pet portrait artist website or my wildlife artist website
Now visit my picasa photo album to see completed pieces of art.

Thanks for visiting!