First of all, let me wish you all a very Happy New Year 2026. I hope it is a good one with lots of love, happiness and joy. I also want to thank all of my subscribers and followers for their continued support over the years. It gives my work meaning…
Onto some of the work I completed in 2025:
I was contacted by a client from the UK about commissioning a painting of this beautiful springer spaniel dog. This was to be a 40th birthday gift to my client’s brother who lives in the west of Ireland in Sligo. All the siblings decided a painted portrait of their brother’s favourite dog would be a good present for such a milestone birthday.
Her name was Roxy and she was a friendly, empathetic, protective dog who loved hunting and trekking.
Niall, about Roxy’s character, July 2025
My clients had a specific photo in mind for the portrait. They wanted a square format, which worked really well. I cropped the image a little to give this beautiful dog more prominence in the portrait. I had another photo for reference. The portrait is 30 x 30 cm in size and I used professional grade acrylic paints on fine grain stretched canvas.
I missed the birthday deadline as Niall contacted me only a week before, but it meant his brother could have a look at the scanned painting before I posted it off to him. Niall and his siblings were very happy with the result:
Hi Ivana! That’s fantastic! I’ve checked with my brother and he’s also very happy with it. Thanks so much for the effort and skill you put into this.
Niall, about receiving the scanned image of the finished painting of Roxy, Sligo, September 2025
I began the painting process with a detailed line sketch of the dog and background. I used yellow ochre as my colour of choice with a small round brush to capture as much as I could. Once this process was finalised and I was happy with the likeness, I moved to colour blocking the portrait.
Colour blocking for me is the first layer of paint I put on the entire surface of the canvas. I want to capture the nuances of temperature and tone. This creates the colour base for additional layers and details. The first colours are translucent in places to make sure the sketch shows through. The further layers are a thicker in places, especially on the main subject.
When the painting was almost finished, I added some detail with a round brush around Roxy’s main features. The greens in the background and the browns in her fur created a good colour harmony and I used the same pigments throughout for continuity.
I am now working on new commissions for 2026 and accepting bookings, so please email me your ideas to info@trueimage.ie. I am already excited about what the New Year 2026 will bring.