This is an acrylic painting of Butch, the lovely black labrador. ‘He is getting quite old but acting like a puppy each day’ is how the client described him to me when she enquired about commissioning his portrait. The painting was a gift to his owner who will be celebrating his 60th birthday. His two daughters wanted to give him something special and this photo of Butch is his favourite. The ‘hat’ is really a lampshade and the photo I worked from was a black and white image.
The painting is 30 x 40 cm in size and I worked in acrylic on stretched canvas. I worked the painting with warm blacks and greys and the red of the ‘hat’ warmed the portrait further. I added more detail to the nose, eyes and muzzle to create some depth.
The client was very happy with the finished painting of Butch:
Hi Ivana, I’m so in love with the portrait. You captured him so well and it’s just absolutely beautiful.
Sinead, Kilkenny, Ireland
I took some photographs when I was working on the painting to show you step by step how I created the portrait. I worked loosely around the edges and in detail around his head.
Client photo 
Initial sketch 
First colour blocking 
Colour blocking 
First layer of paint 
Adding detail 
Adding detail 
Adding final detail