My latest colorful pet portrait features a white English bulldog named Spartacus. His portrait was created with acrylic paints on a 14×18 inch stretched canvas. It was completed on September 1, 2022. This is the third bulldog portrait I have painted. I really love painting bulldogs, because their wrinkly skin and unique features make them very fun to paint! This is also a full body portrait, which is not common. Most of the portraits I create focus mostly on the head and upper body. It was a nice change of pace to create a full body portrait. I especially loved painting his toenails and the highlights and shadows of his paws. You can see a larger version of this artwork in my portfolio here.
Spartacus’ portrait was painted from a single photo reference, with minor modifications. The owner requested vibrant colors on a gradient background similar to the other two bulldog portraits. The background is mostly teal green, blue, and violet, with some darker violet and blue areas for the shadows under the dog. His portrait was painted with mostly cool colors, especially blue, violet, and purple, with some green, pink, and yellow. He has a small patch of brindle on the left side of his head. His eyes were left their natural dark brown color. Since he is a mostly solid white English bulldog, I focus mostly on the shadows and undertones in the fur to bring out his shape. I really love painting white animals, as there is so much you can do with their fur color. White animals are not really white. When you really study a photograph of a white animal, you can really start to see all the undertones in their fur created by the light source and shadows.
If you love this painting of Spartacus, and want one of your own dog or cat, please contact me. You can find more information on my pet portraits on my page here. I can paint any species or breed of animal, and can work with just about any photo. I have done many breeds of dog and cat, and even farm animals, rodents, reptiles, and birds. You can view my portfolio to see all my paintings and get ideas for your own portrait.
Spartacus’ portrait is hanging in his parent’s house, for them to enjoy for many years to come. They were kind enough to allow me to add him to my online portfolio, where a reproduction of the artwork is available as a fine art print and other home decor products. Choose from 7 different types of wall art, including framed prints and canvas prints. Also choose from other unique decor items like fleece blankets, throw pillows, coffee mugs, jigsaw puzzles, ornaments, stickers, tote bags, greeting cards, phone cases, beach towels, and apparel.