Meet Cooper

This handsome fellow brought all the hoomans to the yard. Seriously, at every stage of creating Cooper’s portrait I had so many strangers come up to me in the coffee shop OBSESSED with this dog.

What I love most about Cooper is not only how he brings me all the joyful memories of my childhood golden retriever, but also how loved he is. His human, Amy, always wanted a pup her entire life and when she found herself adulting at a good pace, she took this guy in and preceded to spoil him as all fur-babies should be! (You can find her review on the painting here!)

Challenges

I think the most challenging thing is bringing more life to the painting when your model is already a 10/10. I attempted to bring better lighting, more details, and extra shine into his eyes, nose, and silly tongue! I wanted to make sure Cooper’s portrait kept his goof too.
 

Favorite Part of the Process

Definitely the nose. I had so much fun layering the colors! It’s important to capture the different hues on the underlayer of black to ensure vibrancy. I use purple with hints of magenta for the warmer, brighter spots and a sky and cobalt blue in the cooler parts.

Please take a look at more pet portraits and fill out the form if you’re interested in working with me! Also, I am always happy to share any process of my work– please leave a comment if there’s something you’d like to learn more about!