Earlier this year a client contacted me to paint a special portrait of her beloved Winston. Sadly, he had passed away a few months before 🙁 . Then after seeing a painting I had created for one of her friends at Christmas time, she reached out to me to paint a portrait of her own.
She sent me a variety of photos, and we selected the one that was most “him” – with him resting contently on the floor looking up with his beautiful brown eyes. We had initially planned to create the painting on a gallery depth canvas per my usual specs. But very shortly after the order was placed she came across a picture frame that she thought would be perfect for the upcoming painting. She sent me measurements and photos of the frame, and so I was able to confirm that we could fit a standard 11″x14″ canvas board in it. So since I hadn’t started on the original canvas just yet, we were able to easily change gears and proceeded with the thinner canvas format:
(Thin canvas board profile.)
Luckily I had some practice with canvas boards and picture frames last year while working on an order for a piece called ‘Odie’, so I knew what I was getting into. And since she sent such detailed measurements, I was able to confirm that the 11×14 canvas board would just pop right into the frame when it was ready, so that was really handy too.
Once the painting was all finished and before packing it up, I took a little video tour of it to try and capture Winston’s fluffy fur detail & brown eyed stare:
(If the video isn’t loading properly, it can also be viewed directly on my YouTube page HERE.)
Oh! And for the signature, I usually sign my paintings on the side of the canvas. But since this one was painted on a thin board the side signature placement wasn’t a possibility. So I offered to put it on the back as not to distract from Winston’s handsome face, but it was requested I put my name right on the front, which I thought was quite sweet 🙂
The morning after the painting was received safe & sound in Leduc AB, my client sent me this lovely photo of the painting in the frame:
I think this frame is absolutely perfect for Winston’s painting! The colours are so complimentary and warm, and I love the varying textures between the white wood, black velvet, and gold accents. I’m really glad we went with the canvas board format so she could use this particular frame! So neat.
My client also sent me this amazing note when she received the painting:
“I didn’t think the real version could be better then the photo you sent me. I was completely wrong! It’s as if he is sitting right here! So incredibly real and life like. I showed our other golden retriever and he had a real reaction to it. He went up to it and you could tell he was looking so hard at it. He started wagging his tail and just stood there looking at the picture. He knew who this was. We are all just standing here admiring it and like I expected, I couldn’t stop the tears. It feels like my sweet boy, has come home! So incredible, such a gift!”
Couldn’t ask for a better reaction, oh my goodness! So happy that she is so happy 🙂
For a full image of Winston’s painting, please visit my Pet Portrait Portfolio page.
