Sally Mae

"This is the second commissioned dog portrait I have done for Bill and Julie - the first was "Tom," I designed this one to hang nicely as a companion to the first. Sally Mae is a dog they rescued in 2009, and she has stolen their hearts. I had a difficult time getting her to pose for my reference photos, since she is very alert and didn't want to sit still for very long. The little collage of snapshots* shows the best of some I took on two different days... and the one I ultimately chose and how I simplified the background. Sally's coat is a beautiful mix of different colors of hair, which I had fun creating with my paints."