A lovely part of my work as an animal portrait painter is when a client gets in touch regarding a memorial portrait. It’s such an honour to be asked to produce an artwork of an owner’s much missed pet and this latest portrait is of a beautiful Border Collie called Jack, whose eyes just melted my heart.
I’m pleased to say that Jack’s owner and family were very happy with his portrait and hopefully it will bring a bit of comfort to them.
Well it’s turning into a fairly busy year, exhibition-wise. There are a lot of available art exhibitions to submit work to, very tempting, but I’m trying to build my stocks up in between commissions, so I’ve limited myself to the following events…so far.
The Ludlow Art Society and Association of Animal Artists exhibitions are on at the moment, Ludlow actually closes today and I’m delighted to write that ‘Barb’ sold at that one, yay! The Rose Paterson gallery at Weston Park near Shifnal, UK is the setting for the AAA exhibition and it makes for a grand day out, as the grounds are gorgeous, the work on show is amazing and the café does a great flat white!
In a month or so, my donated 5” x 7” ‘postcard’ will be displayed in Vancouver, alongside many others, in the annual Twitter Art Exhibition – monies raised will benefit the Urban Native Youth Association – so if you’re in that Canadian neighbourhood, don’t miss it.
Then later in the year, I’ll be taking part in H-Arts which is the Herefordshire arts festival here in the UK and I’ll be exhibiting alongside a collective of local artists in our village church… very exciting!
Here are some of my submissions to the various exhibitions.
Exhibitionitis – is that a thing, is there a cure?!
I think this young Border Collie has become something of a muse – I have painted this lovely face several times, because of the expression and those wonderful orange eyes. The reference photo came out nice and sharp and the colours were bright – always a bonus.
‘Good Lass’ was painted with a neutral pale brown/dark sand colour to complement her eyes and it was also a good background for a black and white coat.
Hot off the easel and straight into my Artfinder store!
This year’s Twitter Art Exhibition is taking place 3-15 April in Myrtle Beach, California in aid of Horry County Disabilities and Special Needs. I’ve taken part in TAE for the last few years as I think it’s a great way of raising money for the chosen charities. Artists connect with others via Twitter, the charity raises funds and the buyers at the art exhibition buy very affordable mini artworks – it’s a win win situation!
If you live near Myrtle Beach, why not check it out?
Here’s my donation to this year’s exhibition – ‘Leo’ acrylic on card.
Leo – acrylic
This was a recent commission for a client in Germany who contacted me via a friend. They had recently had to say goodbye to their beautiful golden retriever and I was honoured to be asked to create a portrait of her with one of her favourite toys. Hopefully the painting will give a little comfort to the family at a very sad time. RIP Tessa.
I’ve been having a sort out in the studio. This is always dangerous to my bank account, as I clear out brushes that need replacing, dried up tubes of paint that need replacing and creased paper or damaged canvases…that need replacing!
It didn’t stop there, I started looking at paintings that I haven’t got round to framing and decided that one or two, or three would look more presentable if they were. This is always a tricky decision for artists. Should you leave them frameless so that the buyer can choose a suitable frame according to their tastes or interiors. Or do you bite the bullet and invest in a frame to give the artwork a finished feel and ‘ready to hang’ option?
Well, after biting the bullet, here are some before and afters to let you see the difference.
‘King’ is my latest acrylic painting and I think I must be going through a zoo phase. Following on from chimps at Edinburgh Zoo, I recently took a lot of reference photos of animals at the Loro Parque Zoo in Tenerife, during a holiday on the island.
The result is this portrait of a slightly sad looking but still strong animal who seems to be telling us that wherever he is placed, he will always be a King of the jungle.
‘King’ acrylic on canvas
I love painting animal portraits especially when the models have gorgeous eyes, Toby was no exception – beautiful peepers! 🐶❤️
Just completed this commission of a Highland Cow and having used a mix of reds and blacks she resulted in a chocolatey look to her hair so I’ve temporarily christened her Coco. Bit of varnish, attach the loops and cord and off she goes to her new home 🐮🎨
https://www.facebook.com/RosieMarks.Artist/posts/668481753307978
Trying a different pose and background colour…quite pleased with the result.
Rosie Mark Artwork 