I painted Tyson, the beautiful rottweiler dog last autumn. It was commissioned as a gift for the client’s friend. Tyson sadly passed away before I painted her, unusual name for a female dog. She looked so beautiful and regal in her photo, it was such a pleasure to paint her portrait.
![rottweiler dog portrait painting from a photo](https://trueimage.ie/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rottweiler-dog-portrait-painting-acrylic-743x1024.jpg)
I worked in the size of 40 x 30 cm on stretched canvas. The client wanted me to capture the balcony she was lying in, with the pillars and railings in the background. I combined a couple of photos which the client emailed to me. I used one for Tyson’s pose and another to remove some unnecessary detail in the background.
Reference photo Tyson’s finished painting on the shelf in my studio
I worked with acrylic paints, firstly creating a line sketch to establish the likeness. I usually work with watered down yellow ochre and some ultramarine blue for this first stage.
![work progress on a dog painting](https://trueimage.ie/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/work-progress-on-dog-painting-877x1024.jpg)
The painting is worked on in thin layers of paint until finished. I scan finished portraits with my scanner in house and photograph them on the shelf in my studio.
![detailed view of a rottweiler dog](https://trueimage.ie/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rottweiler-dog-portrait-painting-detail-1024x925.jpg)
The client was very happy with the painting and collected it from my studio.
![canvas side detail](https://trueimage.ie/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/canvas-detail-of-pet-portrait-768x1024.jpg)