Archives for November 2011

Kenai

Hello and welcome back  to the Pet Portraits By Cy Blog. Today I want to introduce all of you to Kenai, my latest portrait  painting. Kenai is owned and greatly loved by Ariel from Firestone Colorado. Kenai is a Blue Doberman, he is the son of Goblin,(father, a Black Doberman) and Jeepers Creepers (mother, a Fawn Doberman). We ironically chose to paint Kenai in this fall/Halloween scene and I did not realize his parents were named with this holiday in mind. In fact I later found out that the owners of Kenai’s parents were married on Halloween! It ended up being the perfect setting.

Ariel met Kenai when he was 2 days old, and she was a senior in high school, She would drive down to Colorado Springs to visit with Kenai for weeks before she could bring him home, which she did the day after she graduated. Kenai is now 6 years old and I can tell he and Ariel love each other and are best friends. 

When I met Kenai for the first time he was very friendly and gentle, I could see he has had some physical injuries over the years, a broken leg at an early age and a back injury later in life, But he seemed very happy and very well cared for.  He did not mind our photo session at all, and was a pleasure to work with. Upon the delivery of the portrait he was chewing on a bone, and aside from a welcoming bark of sorts he was content to stay near us and enjoy his chewing, apparently not knowing or caring that he has now been immortalized in a painting.

It was a very pleasureful experience to meet and paint Kenai, I really like the composition of the piece, I love the color orange, and therefore was thrilled to include pumpkins in the Pet Portrait. I also love Halloween and by putting the receding, dark, yet inviting forest in the background I was able to include some mystery in the piece.  These compositional components plus Kenai’s confident pose, I feel portrays him in the Regal and important way that he deserves.

Some Doberman facts: 

Dobermans date back to 1890 when Louis Doberman of Apolda Germany crossed a German Pinscher with both a German Rottweiler and a Greyhound.

Dobermans prefer other people to other dogs and this fondness is most easily developed and seen in a one person relationship.

A Doberman is well equipped to handle jobs that require strength, speed and intelligence. He has been used as a guide for the blind and has been involved in a considerable amount of war service. Also because of his acute sense of smell he is a formidable hunter.

The original Dobermans were bred as guard dogs and got the reputation as a mean animal, nowadays friendlier strains are available and are very adaptable as a household pet.

There are four main types of Dobermans: Black, Blue, Fawn, and Red. Kenai is a Blue Doberman.

Thank you for visiting my website and reading my Pet Portraits By Cy Blog!

Dont forget about my 2011 free wildlife print Holiday Promotion! Check out my Blog archives for September and view the “Pet Portraits By Cy Fall/ Holiday  Promotion” post !!!

"Rocky" Pet Portraits in Charcoal

Hello Friends and welcome to my Pet portraits by Cy blog! I will be periodically sharing charcoal sketches of pets which I will be drawing either from life or from photos which I shoot.  I will Accompany these pet portrait sketches with a number of possible stories or useful pieces of pet information. Sometimes I will write about the animal portrayed and or the sketching process and under what circumstances the sketch was produced.

Rocky is my first installment, Rocky is a very fun golden retriever who is owned by the owner of the Hitching Post here in Niwot Colorado. I was the featured artist at the first Friday art walk in Niwot on November 4th.  Rocky is the shop dog and spends all day visiting the shops customers. The Hitching post sells all sorts of items that a horse owner or enthusiast would love,  from saddles, riding gear and clothing to fine art.

I set my easel up and sketched Rocky from both a photo and from life, he was at my feet for most of the process. Many people ventured into the store and enjoyed watching me sketch the dog that would jump up for affection shortly after their arrival. I have two paintings for sale at the hitching post, both can be seen on  http://www.petportraitsbycy.com/ on the horse section of my fine art prints and cards page. There are many fine artists who have horse paintings and prints for sale at the store.

Niwot is a fun and thriving little art community located between Boulder and Longmont Colorado. There are nice art galleries, coffee shops clothing stores and of course the Niwot market, owned by my good friend Bert Steele. In Niwot you can also see beautiful murals both outside and in. Our latest is a 180 foot long mural on the west side of the excel energy building. It was painted by my good friend and fellow muralist Denise Chamberlain. I have painted a number of murals in town as well. you can see some on my mural site,   http://muralsbycy.com/.  For a fun art, dining and gathering  experience, check out our little town on the first Friday night of the month!

Please check back to see more of my charcoal pet portrait sketches. I will be potentially adding  charcoal  as a pet portrait medium to compliment my Acrylic on canvas work. More on this later,  but please feel free to inquire if interested. Thank you for reading my Pet portraits By Cy blog!!

Dont forget about my 2011 free wildlife print Holiday Promotion! Check out my Blog archives for September and view the “Pet Portraits By Cy Fall/ Holiday  Promotion” post !!!