Recently I got a change to do a commissioned pet portrait. I haven't painted a dog in several months and I was so pleasantly surprised at how this one came together. Usually there's a whole lot more adjustments and change of plans along the way but this one felt really easy from start to finish. I thought I'd take advantage of that and share the process. *Just note that usually things don't work out this easily. This was definitely the exception.

I began with lots of photo references of the client's son's Shiba Inu. I really liked this side view best and since that pose was a little different than what I usually do I ran the idea by her first. Then I did a little happy dance when she agreed that was a good choice.

I started with my favorite colors, just mixing them up a little differently to fit the look of the Shiba. I took a break halfway through to go to the pool with the kids. When I got back, I was really excited to get back to work on it and finished it pretty quickly.

The next day after all was dry, I wired the back for hanging. I also titled, signed, and dated and the back. I put a light sealer on the front.

Then I packaged her up and shipped her off to her new home. I loved this one and I hope Nikko's dad loves it too.