This beautiful portrait is of a chocolate lab named Otis. It was painted with acrylic paints on a 30″ x 40″ stretched canvas. It was completed on April 12, 2022. This is the largest portrait I have done to date. His portrait was painted in natural colors with a green and brown abstract background. The painting was created with a composite of several reference photos, resulting in a unique work of art.
Although I am known for my vibrant colorful art, I will, on occasion, create paintings with natural colors, especially if the owner requests it. Painting in natural colors provides a different set of challenges than painting in vibrant full saturation colors. When I create a portrait with bright rainbow colors, I am trying to match the overall tones of the painting: the absolute light and dark of the colors. I do this by keeping to a color scheme that is relative to the actual color. For example, I use blue or purple to represent black, and orange to represent tan, and so on. I end up using a lot of pure out-of-the-tube colors in this style.
Closeup Detail of Otis Painting
In contrast, for doing realistic and natural colored portraits, I have to match the tone as well as the color. So this involves mixing a lot of colors to get the right match. No animal is a solid color; even white or black animals have a lot of undertones in their fur in addition to highlights and shadows. In Otis’ brown fur are a lot of those undertones. Some of the browns are warmer (more orange or yellow), some are cooler (more blue). Some are lighter and others darker. The brown areas that are facing towards the light source are going to be warmer overall, with yellow undertones. In contrast, the brown areas in the shadowed areas have reflected light and have gray-blue undertones. The brown on his forehead is more reddish than that on the top of his nose, which is more yellow. In the detail photo above, many of these undertones can be seen. All of these undertones make the painting more realistic thank just using a flat color and adding white or black.
Otis Painting Progress
Above is a series of captures of the progress of the painting. In the first photo in the upper left, is the beginning stage. I always start with the background to get it out of the way. They wanted a lot of natural greens and browns in the background. Next I paint the eyes, since I feel that is the most important part of the portrait. I also start on the other facial features like the nose and mouth. In the second picture you can also see where I started adding the base layer of the shadows, and kind of outlining the features. The third photo shows what is called the “under-painting”. This is where I pick the overall colors of the portrait and put them down as a base layer, then paint on top of it. This helps to cut down on white spots, and end up using less paint. Between the third and fourth photo there are about 3-4 additional layers for details and highlights, shadows, and tones.
Otis Chocolate Lab Canvas Painting
If you love the painting of Otis and want one of your own pet, please visit my Pet Portraits Information Page on my website. I have been painting pet portraits professionally for 5 years (since 2017) and have a large Portfolio of work. I have painted many dogs and cats, but also have painted farm animals, reptiles, pocket pets, birds, and wildlife. I can paint any animal in any style you like.
Otis’ portrait is hanging in his owner’s home, for them to enjoy for many years. They have graciously allowed me to offer high quality art print reproductions of his painting in my Online Art Prints Store. This beautiful art print would be the perfect gift for someone who owns or loves a chocolate lab. Choose from paper prints, canvas, acrylic, metal, or wood. There are hundreds of options for framing and mat colors. Each print type comes in several sizes to choose from. There are also other products as well, including fleece blankets, coffee mugs, jigsaw puzzles, ornaments, tote bags, throw pillows, phone cases, and much more!
