Indie

I had the privilege of painting this beautiful Golden Retriever in a cross between the pop-art and contemporary styles for a wonderful client out in Texas. Goldens have the greatest smiles, I couldn't help but to be happy while I was painting him.

Indie
12x16 · Oil

Brook

This is a portrait which I did for my niece for her birthday. Her dog's name is Brook, she is a Jack Russel Terrier/Chihuahua mix which came for a cat rescue in GA and is so sweet! My niece adores Brook and Brook adores her, just the way it should be!

Brook
18x18 · Oil

Great Gift for the Holidays!

OK, I can hear you saying it "COME ON...Summer isn't even over and you're talking about the holiday season already!? You're crazy!" Here's the thing, while I may be a little crazy here and there, I'm actually not on this one.

I looked at the calendar and just about died! How do I figure? 2 weeks for holiday shipping + 4-6 weeks for drying time (most portraits are painted in oils and they take a long time to dry) + time to work on the painting (they each require several steps with drying time in between) and WOW! Here we are!

If you’ve been thinking about ordering a special gift this year contact me before September 10th and save 10% on a custom portrait!

Sale on Custom Portraits
10% off now through September 10th

Galloping in the Meadow

As a child I had a horse whom I just adored! I loved to ride! I loved the feeling of freedom when I was on him and the bond I had with him. I relive some of those feelings every time I paint one of these beautiful creatures.

Galloping in the Meadow
8x10, Oil
FOR SALE ON ETSY (original and prints)

Chocolate Lab

My childhood dog was a doberman and my first dog as an adult was a lab/golden mix. These breeds hold a special place in my heart so it only seems right that they should be the first of my breed specific, non-commissioned, paintings!

I did also do a painting of a golden a while back which sold but the chocolate lab and doberman are both available.

Chocolate Lab
12x12
Oil
FOR SALE ON ETSY

By the Sea, Ghana

Recently I finished the largest painting I've ever done (Sligo). I believe this is the smallest. I painted this for March's Virtual Paintout challenge which was in Ghana. I've mentioned this before but I really love it when I have a chance to participate in this challenge. It's a lot of fun and such a great idea of Bill Guffey's!

By the Sea, Ghana
4x3
Oil
Original and Prints For Sale on Etsy

I found these fun little "mini masters" canvas and easel sets and had so much fun painting in miniature!

5 Inch Display Easel

I couldn't resist creating a miniature Certificate of Authenticity for this little painting!

Certificate of Authentication

Seamus

I was very excited to be asked to paint a second portrait for a friend of mine from high school. This new portrait, which will be joining Sophie on their walls, is of their much loved dog named Seamus.

Seamus
1616
Oil

Emma

Below is a portrait which was commissioned as a gift for a treasured elementary school teacher who was grieving the loss of her beloved dog. What a very kind gesture.

Emma
10x8
Colored Pencil

Sparky

It was an honor to be asked to paint a portrait of this sweet puppy. Most of the requests I get are for contemporary portraits. I love painting the contemporary portraits but it was fun to paint a traditional portrait again.

Sparky
12x9
Oil

Lucas Lucas Lucas

I have truly been blessed to have met a lovely family who has a tremendous love for their dogs. This is the third portrait I have done for them and as always, it has been such a pleasure! Meet Lucas Lucas Lucas, their first family pet. It is clear that he made a lasting impression on their hearts.

Lucas Lucas Lucas
12s12
Oil

Tucker

I painted Bogey a while back and had the privilege of painting Bogey's sibling, Tucker, for a Christmas present this year. I had an even greater privilege of getting to meet Tucker in person when I met up with the owner to hand deliver the painting. The majority of portraits which I've done have been long distance so I don't get to meet the owners in person, let alone the subjects of the portraits. As you can imagine, I'm quite an animal lover and Tucker is a very sweet, very well mannered puppy and he even let me give him a big kiss! It doesn't get much better than that!

Tucker
12x12
Oil

M&M iPad Puppy Portrait

Monty and Maggie
ArtStudio App on iPad

I painted this portrait of two sweet rat terriers using the ArtStudio app on my iPad. This is a great app with may features similar to the ones in Photoshop on the computer. I plan on doing an app comparison between ArtStudio and Procreate in my next post but the short of it is, in my opinion, they are both great apps so it comes down to personal preference.

Monty Detail

Maggie Detail

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Coming Up for Air...Gus Portrait Final

Between getting ready for the holidays, experiencing the holidays, and being crazy busy with my graphic design business (Bendt Design) I am just getting a chance to post some new artwork. I was commissioned to paint this lovely boy for a Christmas present. I really enjoy painting portraits and this one was no exception!

Gus
14x11
Oil

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GREAT Photography! Jill Luecht!

My last post was a little about my new dSLR camera and my attempts at taking reference photos. I thought I'd post today about a friend of mine who's a professional photographer and takes FANTASTIC photos, Jill Luecht.

Jill also uses a Canon! :)

Jill is a natural light, on-location, lifestyle photographer as well as a photo editor. You just have to check out some of her photos! She has a facebook page here where she posts about what she's currently working on. She also has a web www.luechtphotography.com where she tells more about herself and the services she offers along with an etsy shop.

How sweet is she!?

Jill currently lives and works in Germany though she does visit the US and when she's here she's generally available for photo shoots. With Christmas coming up I can't help but think what a great gift her photography would be!

Not only does she takes great photos but she can make great photos out of the rest of our lousy ones! So if you take photos over the holidays which you really wish you'd done a better job with, she can make them look like you did! How great is that!? There's nothing worse than thinking you got that perfect shot then realizing it didn't come out quite how you'd thought. It's not very likely you're going to be able to call everyone back to the scene for a reenactment to retake the photo. It's nice to know there's another option out there.

Jill does photo editing for businesses as well as for individuals, you can see examples on her Facebook page and website she does a great job of making something great out of something blah. I also found some of her work here and now I'm really wishing for one of those cupcakes! :)

As a graphic designer I work with photos a lot and if you can't tell already, I'm a huge fan of Jill's!


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Happy Birthday Jeanmarie!!!!

Strike a Pose
11x14
Graphite

My niece turns 10 today! Jeanmarie is a fun girl who's into many things including Art, Reading, Lacrosse, Soccer, and most of all Horses! I have watched her go through my web site and pick out pieces which she likes, mostly I have seen her point to the horses. So, a few weeks ago when we were talking about what to get for this special little girl on her birthday, the idea of my doing a horse portrait for her popped up.

I had a lot of fun working on this, not the least of which was based on whom I was creating it for. It's a lot of fun to give presents from the heart and I poured my heart into this. I find that working on graphite renderings puts me into a very peaceful place, I haven't done one in a while so I was reminded of this while I worked "ohmmmm...."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEANMARIE! I hope you enjoy your present as much as I enjoyed making it for you!

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