I'm in Love!

"Cavalier King Charles Spaniel"
Pastel on Velour
Copyright - Jan Gibson

"Samson"
Pastel on Velour
Copyright - Jan Gibson

I ordered some velour paper and it arrived a little over a week ago. I was busy with a couple of commissions so didn't get a chance to try it until a couple of days ago. I have to say that I absolutely love it! The only thing I don't like about it is that mistakes are almost impossible to correct. But, with pastel, like oil or acrylic, you can paint over a mistake.

The first painting of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is from a reference photo from one of my art groups and I think there's more I could do to it. I just didn't want to take the time to tweak it when I painted it.

The second painting is of the little LowChen commission I posted photos of in an earlier blog post. I ended up combining several photos to get this painting. I've just emailed the dog's owner and have not had a chance to get a response back from her as to whether she likes the portrait or not. This dog was made for a pastel on velour, I think. The velour is very responsive to the curved strokes needed to depict his (& the CKC's) wavy hair in a way not readily available in another medium. With the portrait of Samson on the velour, I combined my love for the dog (I just want to steal him from his owner & kiss him all over his face!) with my love for the paper! A perfect combination, huh?

The Trials of a Pet Portrait Artist!

I have a new commission to paint a very sweet, but lively, LowChen dog. The owner did not have any good photos of him and he's definitely a dog who wouldn't sit still long enough to have his portrait painted so I took some photos of him for references. It almost seemed like a scene out of a Laurel and Hardy movie or something! Just as I'd snap the picture, Samson would turn his head
or scoot completely out of the frame! Food was a great incentive for him - an incentive to dance around until he got a treat from you, that is. At one point, it almost seemed as if he was laughing at us!


I did end up getting some decent photos of him and it was really a fun challenge doing so. Not only did I get some reference photos, I also got to know Samson a bit better. I had never seen a LowChen in person and had only recently even heard of the breed so this was a great opportunity for me. If Samson is any indication of the traits of the breed, I'd definitely recommend one for a pet. He's loving and lively and really beautiful!