Cali - Rat Terrier commissioned portrait

This gorgeous girl is named Cali. You may remember I painted her brother Hawk several months ago, and I was thrilled when it was her turn for a portrait. I've never seen a Rattie with her coloring before, such a pretty smokey gray with gold eyes. Isn't she beautiful?


I'm told that Little Miss Thang here is a bit of a diva, and I'm guessing she's a total daddy's girl too, since this is to be a Fathers Day gift. So I tried to play up that side of her personality in her portrait.

I love it when owners tell me about the personalitiy of their dog when they commission a portrait. It gives me a connection to the dog and I love trying to capture their disposition and individuality in paint.

Since I've been busy, busy, busy, I decided to compile the work-in-progress photos into one post.
This was a fun size - 8 x 8 inches, acrylic on Ampersand Gessoboard.

The sketch:

Laying down the underpainting:

Laying down the background, getting a feel for what I'm going to do with it:

Yikes, "ugly stage!" Every painting has 'em, haha.

Working over the underpainting, starting on details of the ear and eye:

Nose, neck and collar:

Almost done, just need to refine the details and finish the background:

Finished portrait:

I had so much fun painting this little doll. I hope her daddy likes it.