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Whether the artist wanted to paint expressive portraits, landscapes or abstract works, they have long found that the texture of paint can be an integral part of the painting experience. Painters saw how the effect could be used to describe form and texture and, by the nineteenth century had developed it further into the technique now known as impasto. As the nineteenth century progressed, artists started using this technique for it’s own sake, creating works using this method alone. (more…)

Since the early Renaissance, artists working on portraits in oil (or any other subject for that matter) have always started with a layer of size to seal the raw canvas or board prior to the gesso ground. It’s job is to protect the canvas from the chemicals in the paint that may cause it to break down. Today, if you use an acrylic primer, size is not always needed, but it’s remains a good way of protecting the canvas and if you make your own gesso is an important part of the preparation. (more…)

Stretched canvas is a very popular option for pet portrait artists as a support for their paintings. Nonetheless, there are substitute supports that can be just as worthy when you don’t have any canvases to hand. Wood has traditionally be used as a support for oils and indeed, is one of the earliest forms of support for painting. (more…)

For a great many artists, including those who specialise in pet portraits, stretching their own canvas not only saves money on commercially prepared canvases, but also provides them with a better quality result. Generally, commercially prepared canvases tend to be quite light weight with just the minimal number of primer layers needed. When we prepare our own canvases we select the quality of canvas, stretcher bars and primer that suits our painting style, so creating something that will work perfectly with our finished painting and greater chance of surviving in good order. (more…)

Pet portraits in oil can be varnished to create a protective layer that protects the picture from the atmosphere, it also produces a uniform finish, whether gloss or matt. Given time a varnish will itself be attacked, collecting dust and dirt, sometimes cracking and finally discolouring. Therefore, any varnish has to be easily removed and replaced by a fresh layer. (more…)

A crucial part of any painting, whether a pet portrait or abstract picture, is the relationship in colour and tone. Tone is the amount of light and shade in the picture, it exists independently of colour and can be calculated on a scale which goes from white through greys to black. The sensation of colour is created by the eye’s response to light of certain wavelengths; pure colour exists only as light, and as far as painters are concerned, all colours are also modified by tonal value. (more…)

Whether we paint pet portraits, family portraits, landscapes, or house portraits, we all like to believe our pictures will endure the test of time. Using a high quality linen, that is properly prepared with several layers of gesso on both sides and stretched over kiln-dried hardwood stretchers, they can last for centuries . However, with the best will in the world, it doesn’t matter how well you prepare a canvas, it will always be vulnerable to damage through accidental pressure on the canvas causing dents or even rips in the surface. (more…)

The oils used by pet portrait artists and others are called drying oils. These are vegetable based oils that, when combine with oxygen, produce a solid film which is resistant to the atmosphere and many solvents. Oils dry very slowly and although the paint film is touch dry within a few days, it in fact takes a few years for the paint to become fully dry. (more…)

When starting a painting artists, including pet portrait painters, will employ an array of different techniques to achieve various visual effects on the canvas. These techniques have been known to artists since the Renaissance and have terms that identify them. Underneath is a brief list that mentions these terms and the principles upon which they’re based. (more…)

The Impressionists set out to depict the every day scenes of French Life in a way that would revolutionise the art world pet portraits however, were not considered by Impressionist painter, probably thought of as not particularly note worthy.

Despite the Impressionists reluctance to spend time on pet art, there is one artist that did venture into this arena.

Manet, the grand statesman of French Impressionists and creator of such ground breaking paintings such as “Olympia” and “Le Dejeuner sur l’herbe”, made many sketches and water colours of his family cat Zizi. (more…)