These probably take the longest of any paintings I work on but I love painting animals. Here are a few recent pet portraits I’ve finished:
I prefer to paint the eyes early on in the process to make sure that the pet’s personality comes through:
Once the eyes are finished I move on to finishing the background and then I paint each little piece of fur into place:
It’s hard to find paint brushes small enough to paint fur and I usually end up trimming larger sizes down so they resemble an eyelash on a stick.
Some fur can be painted a little thicker:
But the eyes are always my favorite thing:
This one was painted on a linen canvas…leaving the outer edges of the canvas visible:
Cat whiskers are always painted last…with my custom “eyelash” brush:
I don’t know if I ever shared this portrait of Happy but it’s one of my favorite paintings ever. Her sweet smile! If I ever wrote a children’s book about her this would be the cover:
Here’s a short video of me painting Happy’s fur into place:
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I open up a few commission slots a month and would love the opportunity to paint a pet if you like the style I paint in. I list them in my Etsy shop under custom pet portraits!
A long time ago I used to paint human portraits…and I’m slowly working back into it. I’ve started with this Joan of Arc portrait but using my daughter Sienna as the model:
Still rusty but practice makes better. What are you wanting to practice and get better at this year?
Ashley, you are so multi-talented. Your pet portraints are so full of personality.
Beautiful Ashley……. you have captured their souls,,,, you have such a gift…..blessings, dee
INCREDIBLE! Love how these pet portraits bring them to life!
Ashley — these are beautiful. I actually think I can feel their personalities.
Ashley, your paintings are fabulous. I feel like I could pet those animals right through the screen! You are so talented. Thank you for sharing your art with us.
So very beautiful!!!!! 😀