Russ and Briar

"My nephew Russ's beloved dog Briar died recently at age 13. He got her as a puppy and she had been his first dog, making the loss even more difficult. When his wife Lisa sent me an old photo of Russ with young Briar and asked if I could create a painting I was honored to help. The photo was low resolution, but a good enough reference for Russ that I could use it. Unfortunately, Briar was facing away from Russ and her head was tilted down so her eyes were not visible in the pose. I love to depict animal eyes, so I needed a better reference!

Lisa came through with several other photos of Briar as a puppy. One showed her at a much better angle, with her eyes more visible. She was still looking off to the left, so I flopped her image so she would be looking into the scene. In the photo Briar also had a big purple fake flower at her neck which was a distraction I eliminated. I combined these photos to create my reference composition using Photoshop, ran it past Lisa for her ok, and got started painting. She gave me artistic license to change anything.

I love depicting blue jeans and other fabrics in my art, but human faces always challenge me. This one was no exception, especially since I know Russ so well. I struggled to get the details just right so there would be no mistake that it is Russ, and I think I succeeded. Briar was the easy part!

Lisa surprised Russ with my painting for his 39th birthday gift and his gratitude makes me know this is something he will long treasure."