Christman Pet Portraits
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Christman Pet Portraits

How Portraits are Created
Below you will find much information and a lot of pictures to help you see how pet portraits and wildlife paintings are created.
You can also get tips on taking photos of your pet and get lots of ideas of the possibilities you have by commissioning me to do your pet's portrait.  I hope you enjoy and feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Portrait of Shelby the Labrador Retriever

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Alex - Himalayan Cat Portrait

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Niki - Yorkie Mix Dog Portrait

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Little Guy - Black Bear Cub Pastel Painting

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Tips on Photographing your Pet

Basset photo reference for portrait
Outdoor light coming from the side makes for the best
 reference photos. Have one person hold dog by collar to keep them stationary while you take the picture.
 Get down at the dog's level rather than looking down at them. Use treats, toys, favorite words, etc. to get the attitude you want. With today's digital photography you can keep trying til you get what you want.
Basset Hound Pastel Portrait
Zoe - Basset Hound Portrait

maltese dog pet portrait
Maltese Portrait

maltese photo reference for portrait
Another option for smaller dogs or cats is to hold the pet in your arms while another person does the photography. This works well for nervous animals or ones that just won't hold still.

labrador retriever reference photo for portrait
Another option if your dog enjoys going for car rides is to let them sit in your car or truck and photograph them looking out. This is often a good way to get an alert and happy look.
labrador retriever pet portrait painting
Boone - Labrador Retriever Portrait

west highland white pet portrait
Ty and Taz Two Subject Portrait
dog reference photo for portrait
west highland white terrier reference photo for pet portrait
If you would like more than one pet in the portrait, take them one at a time to the same place and photograph them separately. This way the lighting will be the same on both pets.

One of a Kind Portraits
Add Scenery, Multiple Pets

morgan horse portrait
Ike - "I Like it Hot" Morgan Horse Portrait
reference photo for portrait
Reference photo for Ike Portrait
reference for horse portrait painting
Body Reference for Ike Portrait
reference for horse painting
Head Shot Reference for Ike Portrait
Above you can see some of the possibilities of commissioning an artist to paint your animal's portrait. Ike was winter clipped when I took the photos to use for this painting. I used two of the photos to compose his head and body, put him in a summer coat and eliminated the halter. The client wanted a Northwoods lake background, so I chose this photo of a local lake to use in the painting.

pet portrait painting of a malamute dog
Lucky - Portrait of a Malamute Mix
Lucky was my first internet commission from a Canadian couple that had recently lost him. We had many email discussions choosing just the right photos to capture Lucky's personality and color. They had always loved walking in the winter with him at a favorite spot but had no photos of him there. It happened to be winter when they placed the order and I had them go take some photos of that favorite place to use in the painting. Lucky had a great story with him and he obviously had a terrific life with his people and it was a joy working with them.

pet portrait bichon frises, shih tzus and standard poodle
Family Pets - Past and Present
This client wanted a large portrait to display above their hearth with all of the dogs their family had over the years. This was a challenge since several of the dogs had already passed away and the available photos were very poor.

Pet Portrait Painting of chocolate labrador retriever
Nell - Painting of a Chocolate Labrador Retriever
chocolate lab reference
Reference photo used in Painting Nell
reference photo for painting swimming lab
Reference Photo for Painting Nell
The portrait above was commissioned by my client as a surprise gift for her husband.
 She couldn't decide between the two poses so I did them both.

pet portrait painting of labrador retriever and brittany spaniel
Buddies - Portrait of Yellow Lab and Brittany Spaniel
reference photo for brittany spaniel pet portrait
Reference Photo for Buddies
reference photo for labrador retriever painting
Reference Photo for Buddies
This painting was composed to use in my booth at art shows. Each reference photo was of a previous client's dog separated by several years. I put them both in the same painting and then added a background to round out the portrait.

Pet portrait painting of labradoodle
Rudy - Painting of a Labradoodle
reference photo for labradoodle
Reference Photo for Rudy
Rudy ended up being the subject of two portraits.
I was commissioned to do a sporting type painting as a gift
for my client's husband, but then they decided the daughter
that was heading off to college needed a portrait
of Rudy for her dorm room and this was her 
favorite photo of Rudy.
She wanted to have an outdoor setting

Portrait of golden retrieverCattail Scene added to Golden Retriever Portrait





You can select any kind of background for your
pet portrait.
Both this Golden Retriever and the Yellow Lab below
had a cattail swamp scene added from reference that I found from a google search for "cattail swamp"

Pet portrait painting of labrador retriever
Cattail Scene added to Portrait of Labrador Retriever

Painting of thoroughbred horse
Velvet - Painting of Thoroughbred Horse
This was one of the more challenging portraits I've done. Velvet was a retired thoroughbred and this portrait was commissioned as a surprise gift by a client that lived all the way across the country. These photos were secretly lifted from a Photo Bucket post to use to create this painting. Not only was Velvet in a scruffy winter coat, the photos were definitely "less than stellar". The surprise was worth the difficulty.

Thank you for visiting the Christman Pet Portrait and Wildlife Art Website.
All artwork Copyright Cynthia Christman and may not be copied or reproduced without Written Permission.
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  • Home
  • GALLERIES
    • DOGS
    • CATS
    • HORSES
    • WILDLIFE
    • INK ILLUSTRATION
  • About
    • Portrait Creation
    • About the Artist
  • Pricing
  • Contact
  • Store