This painting was commissioned by one of the dogs’ owners for his wife’s birthday. The two pets are members of the family and very much loved by their owners. My client, Jim, commissioned a painting of his friend last year and another painting of a bookshelf filled with books this year which I will be posting here soon. He wanted this to be a present for his wife, so it will hang in their home.
It is hard to believe both are the same breed as they could not be more different: Cooper is golden with curly fur and Molly is completely black with an almost flat coat.
I had one photograph to work from for this portrait. The strong colour of the sofa the dogs are sitting on was quite overpowing, but worked as a good contrast to their fur colour at the end. I added the dogs’ names onto their collars. I didn’t make any other adjustments from the reference image.
My client was delighted with the painting:
Hi Ivana! This looks perfect thank you, It is beautifully done. Once I give the painting to Fiona I will let you know how it received….I’m sure it will be loved. Thank you again for everything, and for your professionalism.
Jim on the finished image he received of the painting of his and his wife’s two cockapoo dogs, March 2025
The painting is A3 in size at 30 x 40 cm. The dogs are really engaging with the camera, which is really hard to achieve with some. This meant I could really work this into their portrait and capture not only their likeness, but also their personalities.
I worked in acrylic paint on fine grain stretched canvas. I started with a line sketch in yellow ochre followed by colour blocking in the basic colours and background. This took a little while. I wanted the canvas fully and well covered before moving to adding details with a smaller brush. I used a larger 3/8″ flat brush for the entire surface at first and then moved to using round brushes in two sizes.
I decided not to detail the sofa too much and concentrate all my efforts in completing the finer detail in the dogs’ faces and expressions.
The finished painting is ready to hung on the wall with or without a frame. My client decided not to purchase a frame as he felt his wife Fiona would want to pick her own depending on where she would like to hang it.
Contact me on info@trueimage.ie for more information on commissioning a pet portrait or feel free to browse this website. I hope you enjoy it! Thank you for reading…