What will be included with the Pet portrait?

• A portrait in pastel (if chosen) on high quality Clairefontaine Pastelmat paper
• A portrait in graphite (if chosen) on Fabriano Bristol 220g white paper
• The portrait in a surround mount on high quality Ivory Acid Free mountboard
• An A4 Certificate of Authenticity - plus a smaller one to put on the back of the framed painting
• Instructions on how to handle your portrait once you have recieved it
• Plus 2 greeting cards with your finished portrait on, so that you can proudly send to family and freinds (more can be ordered at a reasonable cost)

Reference Material

All I need to work on the portrait is a few high quality, clear photographs of the animal, especially that show the eye and fur in detail. These can be sent to me via email. I have found recently that, for example, Whatsapp tends to compress the quality. So email or another sharing platform like Google photos or Dropbox is perfect. If you send me a photograph or cd or even a pendrive then these will be returned to you with the finished painting. If you live in Spain, within a reasonable distance, I can arrange to meet you and your pet and take the photo for you.

If you are going to take a new photograph of your pet, the ideal photograph would be one that is of high quality and in focus, which has been taken in good light, preferably natural sunlight. The eyes need to be clearly visible as these would be the main focus of the painting. Unless the portrait is of a sleeping animal. And the fur has to be in detail especially to show the colour. If you can try to take as many photos as you can as I know it can be difficult to photograph animals when they are a bit lively. We can work together and choose a few good ones and take it from there. Another good tip is if you can get down the the pet's level.
A good tip is to get the camera lens level with the eyes.

Medium

Background

You will have a choice of a background for your portrait. Either a plain background or a detailed background. For a detailed background, for example, Dora has a seascape background , whereas Storm is just a gradient colour. If you require a detailed background then 20% will be added to the price quoted.

Group Portraits

If you wish to have more than one animal in the portrait but don't have a photo of them together, having a few seperate photos is acceptable. An example of two different dogs and different photos is shown here. I can compose all of the pets on one portrait. Note that the ideal size for two pets, showing just head a shoulders is 30 x 40 cm.

Timescale

Usually allow 2 - 4 weeks for completion of the portrait, depending on my current workload. If the portrait is for a birthday present then please allow at least 8 weeks before ordering. Christmas is also a busy period and so again please could you order by October. Once I have received your photographs I will start working on it and doing a few rough drafts of the composition etc. I will be in contact with you on each stage of the painting via email or Whatsapp, so that you can inform me if there are any changes to be made. If you are satisfied with the half finished portrait then I will carry on and send you a message with the final result.

Process

Once I have received the images from you and we have then discussed the size of the painting, or if you want a scenic background, then I will sketch out the composition for the portrait. I always start by painting the eyes and then work around them. The eyes will always be the focus of the painting. Once I have made a start I will be in contact with you constantly (if you so wish)and will send you an image of the work in progress via our prefered form of contact (email or Whatsapp are just a couple). If you are happy to proceed then I will carry on.

Once the portrait has been finished, I will fix it with a fixative spray and cover with Glassine paper which is yet another way to protect from smudging.

Framing

All paintings sent outside of Spain will be supplied with a surround mount but no frame due to risk of damage during transit. But with the sizes that I've suggested in the price guide, frames can be easily bought from Ikea or if in Spain , Leroy Merlin. Or if you prefer you can take the painting to a frame shop and get one custom made. Any paintings that require a frame and are to be posted, the cost will be around 50Euros, this is for a 20 x 30cm portrait with a 30 x 40 cm frame. The price would also include insurance and the packaging, which is supplied by the postal company that I use.