Pet Portraits by Melanie

Traditional Hand Painted Pet Portraits by Pet Portrait Artist Melanie Phillips

Pet Portraits by Melanie Phillips - Work In Progress
Here you are able to see the paintings I am currently working on. All of my work in progress pages are commissions from clients, and I came up with the concept of a 'pet portrait work in progress' around xmas 2002 and my fellow artists were quite surprised at my idea, as some artists find it an intrusion on their work to show a piece of artwork before its complete. However, it has proved to be a very popular part of this site.

The process involves taking a snapshot of the artwork with a digital camera, on average two or three times a day. The photos are then uploaded onto these pages. This means I have a record of the way in which each piece of artwork developed, and most importantly it means that clients and prospective clients can get a real insight into how I create my artwork.

  
Pet Portrait Work In progress
Pet Portrait Work In progress
Pet Portrait Work In progress
Pet Portrait Work In progress
 

So I hope you enjoy the following pages, just use the picture navigation above to be guided through the sections, I have 4 pages in total, but im usually working on 5 or 6 pieces at any one time in varying drying stages and mediums. They all end up being on here at some stage. Visit my next page to find out more about the work in progress process....

Pet Portraits work in progress for Simon Adnams UK 4 dog portrait 20 x 16 oils on canvas
This is a large portrait that will proabbly take some time. With 4 dogs on the canvas I need to portray each personality, including the correct colours, fur texture and detail. The dogs are called Harry, Jack, Shadow and Bumble. Because the portrait is so large I have added more spaces below for the stages. I hope you all enjoy the progress.
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Stage 1 - this stage is always to draw out the portrait on the canvas and make sure everything is correct before adding colour.
Stage 2 - this is my favorite stage, blocking in the background. I normally go for muted shades that blend well with the dogs coat colours
Stage 3 - Starting to add tonal ranges to the dogs coat. This is the under painting.
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Stage 4 - Adding tonal ranges to the dogs coat.
Stage 5 - Each dog gets an undercoat to bock in the main colours
Stage 6 - these undercolours can be blended into the background at this stage
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Stage 7 - Once the main blocked in stage is dry I have been going over the colours to strengthen them adding in darker tones and lighter tones in the areas and shapes that need them. Once they are blended and soft i will next start to add detail.
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This is the detail of the portrait and the final scan. Once each piece is complete the final scan is placed in my showcase blog and the photographs I have taken during the process are placed on my work in progress blog, so they are always available for everyone to view.
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aa "...this will be the best present ever and one which I will never be able to match in the future.Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart, its wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! " Dawn I'Anson aa

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All images are Copyright© Melanie Phillips 1994. Reproduction of these images in any form is strictly prohibited.

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