Finished painting Little Rascal, acrylic on 12" x 16" deep edged canvas

Follow Lisa Shearing to paint a pet portrait in acrylics.

From amateur painter to full-time artist

I am an amateur painter and have been drawing and painting many subjects for as long as I can remember, but it is only since my children grew up that I decided to take my art further.

There was a stage in my life where I needed to boost my income. Near to the office where I worked I noticed a new cafe about to open - feeling very brave I decided to ask if they would like some paintings on their walls to sell, they agreed and that's where it all began. My art began to sell, much to my surprise! It was a good feeling when, as I passed the cafe on way into work, I spotted gaps on the wall and knew that a painting had been sold! From there, my confidence grew and people began to ask for commissions.

Painting pet portraits

Several years later, I have now left my full time job and moved to the coast in West Sussex. It has always been my aim to try and make some income with my painting. When I moved here I decided to specialise in pet portraits, as that was probably the most popular subject with my commissions.

I made a website from a template provider and set up a Facebook business page, and it has been really good. I like to think I'm improving all the time but I am forever learning and my best picture is yet to come. I really love doing my pet commissions! I am still to paint of my own pets though - two Ragdoll cats!

My love for painting dogs began in my local park where I used to live, Nonsuch Park, Surrey. I spotted a little Border Terrier sitting outside the cafe of Nonsuch House, he was waiting patiently for his owner, it was the expression on his face that made me want to paint him right there and then! I have become addicted to taking photos of dogs whenever I’m out whether shopping, at the beach or in the park.

I see something different about every dog, something in their expression or character that makes me want to paint them. I now never go out without my camera and sketchbook ..... it makes life interesting, you never know who you're going to meet, even if it's just at my local shops!

Little Rascal was a commission from my cousin to give to a friend.

I paint from photos, I prefer to have a number of photos as don't want to literally copy one photo. You need close up ones of the eyes and fur detail as well as the one you are basing the painting on.

I love my chosen medium of acrylics, it's very versatile and forgiving. It doesn't matter if you go wrong as the painting benefits from having lots of layers. I'm not loyal to a particular brand, I like Liquitex heavy body but I also use Daler Rowney System 3.

Demonstration: Little Rascal

Step one - the sketch

I primed the canvas with a couple of coats of white acrylic and then, using a 2b pencil, sketched my dog onto the canvas using the grid method (I use Jacksons Art Supplies grid tool app for iPad).

The drawing does not have to be too exact as long as the proportions are correct, I do however try to be as accurate as possible with the eyes.

Step two - starting the eyes

I carefully outlined the eyes with a rigger brush, trying not to do a solid outline as they will look more realistic if left slightly sketchy.

I like to get as much of the eye detail down in this early stage as the painting comes alive with the eyes and it gives me a positive feeling for the rest of the painting if the eyes are looking good!

I even put in the eye highlights now, they can always be altered later if you want to.

Step three - eyes and ears

I blocked in the eye colour with a mix of raw umber and burnt sienna.

I then blocked in the collar and the metal name disc with a mix of ultramarine blue and burnt sienna (and a touch of white for the disc).

I then used gestural marks for the shadow areas of the fur using a mix of burnt sienna, ultramarine and white.

For the ear shadow, I used a mix of raw umber, magenta and varying amounts of white as necessary.

Step four - the nose

Not forgetting the nose - I like to get the nose looking good at an early stage.

I blocked it in with a light coat of black, paying particular attention to the shape and angle. Take care when doing facial features that they all correspond with each other, the only way is to really look closely at your subject/photo.

Step five - the background

I roughly put in a few strokes of ultramarine, a hint of burnt sienna and white, to imitate folds of cloth.

The background is a suggestion of being on a bed. This will be worked on throughout the rest of the painting with further glazes.

I add a little white to the name disc, more to one side to suggest shine.

I also add some shine to the nose. Using a dry brush method, I just dab the top of the nose with white (mixed with a touch of black).

If nothing seems to come off the brush, moisten it slightly. This is where the old brushes come in handy! Then use a tiny stroke of white for the nostril shine.

He's starting to come alive now!

Step six - building up fur depth

I carried on building up layers of fur, using varying mixes of burnt sienna with ultramarine blue and white.

I realised at this stage that the positioning of the back thigh was not right so I painted over it and started again. Thankfully acrylic is very forgiving! You may have also noticed that the back foot is missing? I was waiting for the owner to supply a photo with back foot showing as in my reference photo his foot was bandaged up!

Step seven - finishing touches

To complete the background I laid a thin wash of Wedgwood and added a few bold strokes for folds.

Whilst still damp, with a large flat brush, I dragged a thin layer of white over the blue to suggest pillow shapes.

More layers of fur were added using varying amounts of ultramarine blue and burnt sienna with white. I also added just a few shadowy strokes of fur with a mix of Wedgwood and white.

I love painting a Westie as you can use nice thick chunky strokes of white paint for their hair around the face, particularly where it's been cut!

With a fine brush, I added lots of flicks of white paint and a shadow mix for those darker areas, making sure that the fur overlaps the background and not vice versa.

Then a final study of the photo and check the eyes ... finished I think? This is where I have to walk away quickly!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE DOG PAINTING DEMOS

About Lisa Shearing

Lisa is a self-taught artist who paints mainly in acrylics but loves trying something new.

She is available for commissions by emailing, [email protected] and a variety of swim-related greeting cards, art prints and a few original paintings can be purchased from her Etsy shop, www.etsy.com/shop/lisasart66

See more from Lisa in the PaintersOnline gallery by clicking here.

FOLLOW LISA'S DEMONSTRATION TO PAINT SEA SWIMMERS