It’s a mixed wet & sunny Thanksgiving here in the Pacific Northwest. Winter is here, though, not the GOT ice-wall type, rather, mostly very wet and colder. I wish everyone a great day with friends and family.

When I started working for Michaels Arts & Crafts as a Grumbacher/Chartpak painting instructor, our projects were divided up into four themes – Landscape, Seascape, Still Life and Floral. These I assume are the most popular subjects for their students. I would liken it to an “gateway subject” – which would “trick” you into learning how to paint the different techniques in the excercise.

It got me thinking, where did I fit in? What type of subject was my “gateway” subject? Well, for me, it’s animals. I am always going back to animals. Dogs in particular. That’s what more or less set me on a path of pet portraiture.

I love creating pet portraits. My hope is to capture a beautiful likeness of their pet. I work pretty much exclusively from photographs. Often the pet has passed, so this is especially touching.

She-Ra’s Good Day is a recent commission from a regular client. Not his dog, but he knew her well. I actually ended up combining two images to create the final painting. She appears to be soaking up the sun, taking a break on her walk on a lovely fall day. SheRa is a pittie, so of course, I had a lot of emotions come back from losing our Pete in March. However, this was, in a way, giving thanks for the gift he was to us, and that SheRa was to her family.

A happy holiday season to all – may you be merry and compassionate. And of course, support the arts.

Warmly, Dana