Ronny

Learn how to paint a portrait of Ronny the black Lab using water-mixable oils with Andrea Abraham.

I have been painting commissions on and off over the years, even at school I would do the odd pencil sketch of a friends favourite pop star.

Art was always a subject I loved at school, so I went on to study 'Spatial Design' at the Kent Institute of Art and Design, but I soon realised it wasn't for me and I left to pursue a career in travel, working on ships and as cabin crew for BA, where I have been for the past 16 years.

After an accident in 2010, I had sometime off work which enabled me to join an art group 'Crossbarn Art' run by artist Jamel Akib. As a result, I have learnt various techniques, tried different mediums and developed my passion for painting animals.

Taking pet portrait commissions

I now regularly take commissions, something that I first found very daunting. All of my previous commissions had been for friends, and now I was receiving enquiries through my website.

Getting the likeness of a clients beloved pet, and bringing it to life on canvas is something I have gradually grown confident in. I work from photographs, asking for as many as possible so I can pick out personality and characteristics of the animal I am painting.

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Water-mixable oils

I mainly work in water-mixable oils, to me they are like a slow drying acrylic paint, I like to focus on just the animal so you will very rarely see a background on any of my paintings.

'Ronny' is my latest commission of a gorgeous black Labrador, he is painted on a 30x30cm canvas board.

For this portrait I used Artisan water-mixable oil paints in - Paynes grey, lamp black, titanium white, French ultramarine, burnt umber, raw sienna, cadmium yellow dark hue, cadmium red.

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For mixing I used water and liquin.

Choosing the right photograph to work from

Reference photograph of Ronny

Picking the right photograph is key to a successful painting.

I am often sent photographs which I know will not look right as a painting, so I ask for as many as possible and then spend time playing around with them on my computer - cropping them and enhancing the colours.

I send the photo I have chosen to paint back to my client for approval before I get to work.

Stage 1

I draw a grid on my canvas and paint in the outline of Ronny in watercolour, this allows any mistakes to be washed off.

Stage 2

Using acrylics I paint in the markings, I have chosen blue as my base colour as Ronny has lots of blue tones in his fur.

Stage 3

Now I can start making Ronny come alive, I always start with the eyes.

Stage 4

Once I am happy with the eyes I work outwards filling in detail as I go.

Stage 5

He is slowly coming together and looking like Ronny, my client pointed out that he has a distinctive white line down his nose and wanted me to make sure this was noticeable.

Stage 6

Apart from his collar he is fully painted and left for day or two to dry so I can go back and finish off the fine detail.

Stage 7

So here is the finished portrait of Ronny, I've painted in his collar and darkened and lightened areas that needed more definition.

Finally I email a copy to my client to make sure she is happy and to see if there are any details I have missed, thankfully she is thrilled to bits which makes the whole process so rewarding.

To see more of my paintings check out www.hampshireportraitstudio.co.uk or see the Painters-Online gallery.

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Andrea originally wrote this for the April 2015 bonus features e-newsletter. Make sure you are opted in to receive more of these great demonstrations from Painters Online gallery artists.