Pet Portraits

Jeju, the Korean village dog

Bodhi, the 7-month-old kitten

This post is inspired by the mini animal portraits I painted on wooden cookies that I gifted to family and friends as Christmas ornaments this year. The family pets made me want to delve deeper into animal portraits painted by famous artists.

Chloe, the dog

Sexy Rexy, the cat

Next, are the Rosemarys' cat and dog, taken from rather blurry photos in a small Christmas card collage.

Shock, the dog

Maze, the dog

The next pair of dogs belong to my neighbors, Amber & Max Staples. I had promised them actual full-size portraits, but I haven't gotten around to painting them yet. 

Cookie, the dog

Kya, the dog

The final pair of my mini portraits are of my daughter's mother-in-law's dog, Kya and my friends' dog, Cookie.

I must say that these were challenging to paint with acrylics at this small scale!

Now that I've admitted my lackluster ability to paint detailed animal portraits on wooden cookies, I need to show you what my uber-talented older brother has accomplished digitally using MS Paint 3D. He recently completed a collage of all of his son's family pets. Amazing!

Head of a Dog (1876), Manet

Head of a Dog (1930), Munch

So, clearly, we Pattersons have some talent, though not professional artists. My brother can certainly compete with the likes of Manet and Munch! Manet's portrait is in oils (another challenge) in a blending of Realism and Impressionism styles. Compare Munch's dog, also in oils, in the Expressionist style.

Le Chat Tigre (1863),
Rousseau

I usually like the works of Henri Rousseau, although his striped cat reminds me of the works of some of the novice seniors whom I've taught through volunteering at Paws with Cause. Let's compare side-by-side. I think it's encouraging to first-time painters to see the works of more famous artists.

My Commissioned Portrait

Sitting Dog on a Pillow
(1855), Courbet

I appreciate Gustave Courbet's rendering of a dog sitting on a pillow, and happy to compare it to one of my own commissioned works. Although his portrait is in oils and mine in acrylics, I think I prefer mine for its brightness. I've even captured the dog's apparent cataracts!

I'd like to finish this topic with one of the lesser-known paintings by Vincent Van Gogh. I know it's not a pet portrait, but it certainly captures the expression of the animal using the artist's recognizable style and brushstrokes. Apparently, it is one of two cow paintings from 1882-83.

 

Lying Cow (1883), Van Gogh

Please check out my other animal portrait posts: Animal Art & Wildlife Photography (May 2020); Animal Portraits (Oct 2021); Animal Portraits with Seniors (Nov 2021); Making Connections with Artists & Animals (Dec 2021); Cats in the World of Art & Painting (Jan 2022); and Animal Portraits Revisited (Jan 2022).