Painting Akitas to raise money!

There are some very special people in my life, those who are there for us through thick and thin. The employees and our friends at Small Animal Hospital are those people. They have been there for us and Jennifer for years. They are always more than happy to help us with Jennifers dogs and anything she needs. Jennifer once worked there and formed lifetime friendships as they all worked together at saving animals daily.  I was giving the wonderful opportunity to pay it back when they needed a painting to auction off to raise money for the Akita Foundation.

Here are a few in process pictures. This is a pastel on suede mat board. I love the freedom and looseness I feel when using this substrate! I acheive a totally different feel. Layers of color, it does not blend with your finger so the color stays as applied. You end up with wonderful colors and textures. Enjoy

I am hoping that this will bring a nice price at auction to save more beautiful Akitas.

To see more of my fine art and fiber art visit my website at www.desireehabicht.com

to inquire about a pet portrait feel free to email me at desiree@desireehabicht.com

Irish, a memorial portrait

Final painting of Irish

I was asked by a group of dog trainers if I could paint a portrait for their friend as a memorial to Irish, a show Labrador Retriever that died suddenly from surgical complications. It is such a wonderful opportunity to be able to be a part of this gift and an honor to paint such a beautiful dog. I decided to do this painting on suede mat board so it gave it a soft feel, a bit defused. I love portraits, both animal and people on suede mat board. I think it creates a romantic feel to the painting. I started laying in the colored background which is always my favorite part. When painting white or black dogs I love to add a lot of color to help bring them to life. I get the dogs shape in and mark where the eyes, nose and mouth will be. Once I have it roughed in I do the eyes, if the eyes aren't right it won't work no matter how good everything else is. She has something called eyeliner, which is tricky to paint since I don't want it to look like she has two black eyes. I also struggled as the picture was only a 3x5 photo that was a bit overexposed and the right side of her face was in shadow, making that other eye just a black blob. I had to create her other eye and I am waiting to hear from the owner now if she is happy or wants more. Here is Irish, RIP.