I had the privilege of meeting this handsome little man, Max, recently. He came over with his owner for a photo shoot so we could get some nice shots to work with for a painting. His owner had commissioned me to do an 8×10 for a wedding anniversary gift. He had a lot of photos of Max, but we didn’t have quite the right one the captured his personality as well as the right setting. We decided it was best to get together to do a shoot so we could get exactly what he wanted in the portrait.
He is a totally playful pup, even at 10 he was a ball of energy having to check everything out. With the photography session complete it became easier to find just the right angles as well as having plenty of reference for details and if there was an occasional shadow in question.
Final layout of the painting was a layering of 3 different shots one for the head, one the body and the background was dropped in.
The final composition was a combination of 2 shots from the photo session and one of the owners pre-existing. The painting is an 8″x10″, about as small as go for a full figure, anything smaller and it just doesn’t have the presence and personality when hung.
“Max” ©Jess Hurley Scott
Detail of face
Even though there was a very quick turnaround time on this (about 10 days total!) with the anniversary coming up quickly I rearranged some things to make sure I had time to paint our furry little friend, and I hear the gift was a big hit! Thank you, John, for the opportunity to work with you and Max, and Happy Anniversary!
“Max” 8×10 acrylic on canvas © Jess Hurley Scott
well scituated 