A New Addition to the Family

This is SIERRA, she is a Labrador cross Great Pyrenees and she is a new addition to my clients family.
Previously, she owned three Golden Retrievers, only one of which is still living. In fact I painted digital hand painted portraits of all three of them a while back. You can see those paintings here. Bailey is the only one left and so now he has a new friend in Sierra.

Her owner is still getting used to her, as she has always had retrievers in the past and Sierra's traits are very different. As her mum says "The vet calls her a Great Pyrenees Mix. I haven't quite figured out if she's more Lab or Great Pyrenees. She swims like a labrador and protects her territory like a Great Pyrenees. The spots on her ears are supposedly the trait of the Great Pyrenees in her."

I think it is amazing that different breeds of dog behave so differently, and it must feel strange when you have always had one particular breed and then you take on another.

A friend of mine, for years bred and trained German Shepherd dogs, until she, through ill health, couldn't  continue with this. When her last German Shepherd died, she had to have another dog, but one that didn't demand so much from her physically. So she opted for a Cocker Spaniel. He is now four years old and my friend still can't get over just how different he is. She learns something new almost everyday.

Anyway, back to Sierra.
This is the photo I used as a reference with the insert showing the crop that I used to paint the portrait. I softened the edges and lightened the image so that I could see the details. I sent this to my client before I proceeded, as I wanted to be sure that she was happy with what I was going to do. She chose the greeny/blue background.

Original  Photo with insert

Sierra's portrait is painted with artist quality soft pastels and pastel pencils for the fine detail.

Sierra - A Labrador/Great Pyrenees Dog
Pastel on Clairefontaine Pastelmat
Size 10"x8"

If you would like me to paint your pet's portrait, all you need do is email me some clear sharp photos and we will go from there. I go out of my way to create a pet portrait with your ideas and wishes included.  Any questions either before or during the time I am painting are most welcome.

NB: If you are not sure if your photos are suitable, please send them to me anyway. I will let you know when I have evaluated them.

A 10"x8" portrait in pastel like this is yours for £80 ($130 US)