Sadly a lot of the dogs and cats I get asked to paint have left this earth. A portrait of a beloved pet really is a nice way to remember them and I am honored I am trusted with this task. But painting a dog who isn't available for a couple of good reference snap shots is a challenge.
This dog is named Woody and he's been gone at least ten years. I knew him in high school and he was one cool dawg. His owner had saved this photo on her MySpace page, then when Facebook became cool she saved it from her MySpace (which compresses images) then posted it to Facebook (which compressed it even more!) then saved it from Facebook and sent it to me. Quite the challenge! I kept everything light and loose as I didn't want to get any details that were unclear wrong. He turned out cute!
Woody!
This is what I had to work with. What a funny boy.