If you have a Birthday or any special occasion, there would be no substitute for the surprise and pleasure than receiving a beautiful portrait of your pet. When commissioning a custom portrait of your pet, be sure to leave plenty of time before any occasion so the painting will be ready for that special date.

All pets have their own personality and their own special look. Like the faces of people, the faces of pets have their own characteristics that make each pet an individual. It is important for the artist to spend time with you and your pet as to capture the essence of your cherished pet.

Many pet portraits that are commissioned are Memorial pet portraits. These are very special paintings since you mainly have to discuss with the owner the personality and the special details of the beloved pet. As well as, research the breed and have some guide pictures that will help you create an original pet portrait. 

After I finish a pet portrait, my clients usually request a Giclee print of the original pastel painting to put in their office or another room in their home.  The Giclee print is usually smaller than the original and can be given as gifts or made as beautiful note cards for special letters to your friends. A Giclee print is the finest reproduction process that is a close match to the original, and they are very affordable.

Take a look at the Pet Portrait gallery, look at the art and read the Further Detail pages for the back stories of each pastel painting.

Having a pet is a wonderful way to learn all about love.

Written by L.A. Cline, Master Pastel Artist
L.A. Cline, Master Pastel Artist for over 30 years is a professional artist that has been commissioned to create custom pastel paintings of various subject matter from pet portraits, corporate portraits, family portraits, landscape paintings, nature paintings, wildlife paintings, entertainment and sports portrait paintings and so much more.

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After finishing a Memorial Pastel pet portrait Portrait Painting of my clients’ beloved Blue Point Himalayan cat entitled, “Mr. Madison Blue”, I decided to continue with animal portrait theme as my first Masterpiece painting for the New Year 2013.

I created the new pencil sketch above of two Grevy Zebras shows a beautiful connection between Mother and her offspring. The Mother decided to lie down to rest on a hot summer’s day and her little offspring is approaching either for a loving nudge or perhaps reminding Mom it’s time to eat.  This is a natural endearing exchange; a beautiful moment to capture in a fine art rendering.

Drawing the different striped patterns of each zebra was very complicated, especially because of one zebra being in front of the other.  Every zebra has their own pattern and it is their signature of recognition.   The Grevy Zebras are an endangered species – the largest of the African Zebra’s being nearly seven feet tall, with the Males weighing almost 1,000 pounds.  The foals are browner in color and turn black as they become a year old.  As I studied these beautiful creatures for my artist rendering I noticed that the Grevy Zebras have unique characteristics such as: large heads; long necks; big rounded ears; and smaller, more delicate striped patterns, with more distinction between the black stripes.  Their stripes end to expose their bellies – where there are no markings.  Lastly, there is a stripe that runs from their head mane all the way to down their tails. They now are considered to live in the northern areas of Kenya and in a few southern regions of Ethiopia.

One interesting fact I found is that the Grevy Zebra was named in honor of Jules Grevy, who received this species as a gift.  He was the President of the Third Republic regime of France in 1882. As you may not know… the more research the artist does, the better one can achieve the creative readiness, mood and motivation, not to mention the insight needed to successfully capture and paint every aspect of what will be called a “Masterpiece”.

Now that I have done most of my research and finished this pencil sketch to-scale, I have the information I need to start the painting.

It’s always exciting starting a new painting. I have yet to name the painting, so if you have some ideas I would love to hear them.

Check back as the painting progresses and to  all a Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Master Pastel Artist: L.A. Cline

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Now that my clients have approved Madison’s face I have continued to block in the rest of his magnificent body and tail. My clients remarked that “he looks exactly the way he looked after he was groomed”. I found this to be a remarkable comment since I never met Madison and wanted to create this portrait as a perfect memory of their beloved pet.

Color was a key element in this pet portrait. My clients wanted the colors of Madison to reflect his natural yet soft color palette with the sense of the fullness of his fur and the slight highlights and medium deep tones against the untouched background.

For the next four to five days I will be spraying the Pastel painting with a workable fixative which does not change any of the colorations and leaves the piece with the pastel chalk in place. I have marked the borders and the piece is ready for framing.

My clients also ordered the Fine Art Note Cards with the image of the pet portrait painting of Madison. The samples for the card are on there way and a brief description of the painting will appear on the back of the each card. Each card is a Fine Art Giclee (reproduction) of Madison, made from 80 lb. Acid Free Recycled Paper with a deckled edge on both the card and envelope. Many of my clients order cards of their pet portraits for their personal correspondence.
Clients Statement; “We commissioned the talented Portrait Artist L.A. Cline to paint a Pastel Portrait of our beloved Blue Point Himalayan, Madison. He was the most beautiful piece of moving sculpture and we are thrilled with the way the Artist captured his handsome looks perfectly. We will miss him, but he will live on in our hearts forever.

I was very honored to have this opportunity to create the portrait of Madison and thrilled that my clients felt I captured his looks and entire appearance.

Looking forward to your comments and stay tuned for another work in progress.
These cards are also available in prints of my Nature Collection in the Fine Art Store on-line. Great Gifts!! Go Shopping!!

L.A. Cline

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Since then my client found a few more pictures and we have had more conversations about her beloved pet.  The eyes were the most difficult since you could hardly see his eyes in the pictures because of the flash camera that completely whiten his eyes. There were a few baby pictures that I could see some expression.  It also seems that Madison had a lot of expressions so I had to image and measure the size of his pupils in the baby picture and fit them within the mature face I am now painting.

My client and  I spoke about the expression she wanted and it seems I gave Madison the expression she wanted to see.  She wanted his eyes to be looking at you but but also feel that he is looking beyond you.

I am very happy to tell you that my client really loved Madison’s eyes and I am so happy I took the time to really research, measure to carefully create this all important part of this painting.  The detial of the eyes truly are the soul of the painting

Now I am blocking in his lower face, main, front paw and sketching out the rest of his body.  You can see now the face has become more three dimensional and I am looking forward to layering the fur for the rest of Madison’s body for the full effect.

Well, I have to get back to work now since my client is going to make Christmas Cards using Madison’s Painting as the image on the card.

Check back in about a week!!!!!!

Looking forward any comments you might have!!!

L.A. Cline

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As you can see looking through my portfolio I have created many different types of Masterpiece Works of Art that I have ben commissioned to do. I just finished a Self Portrait that I am so proud of and enjoy seeing every day. Some commissions are Corporate others are Family, Pet and yet others can be a particular Landscape. There are many different things that are dear to each person and that is why I create paintings. I want to enrich the lives of the people I touch.

Right now I am creating a Memorial of an exquisite Blue Point Himalayan Cat. “Madison” as he was called was a most beloved family pet that my client and dear friend misses endlessly. Since I never met “Madison” I asked for any and all pictures. We talked about “Madison” his temperament, attitude, his habits essentially his personality.

This detail of the painting is the beginning of blocking in colors for Madison’s face.  As the blocking of colors expands to include Madison’s whole body the layers of pastel will eventually become a beautiful realistic portrait.

Talking is a very big part of a commission. Watching my client express her inner most feelings really helps me to feel the closeness she feels to her beloved pet. Pictures help but talking really takes me to a level where I feel I will be able to capture my client’s feelings about her beloved pet. Then the research begins. I actually research the breed. Find out its particular characteristics that take me closer to this most treasured pet.

In addition I usually ask for favorite toys, fur, anything that would help me to create this very personal painting. I was very lucky that my client actually had some fur for me for color and texture.

I have created a pencil sketch to scale of “Madison” and with the approval of my client I am about to start the painting.

I find taking the extra time to actually draw a sketch or blueprint of the painting eases my client’s mind of what to expect. This sketch is very detailed and I am always open to critiques. I know that whomever or whatever I am creating my client knows the subject the best. The little touches that my clients bring to the piece are breathtaking. They are very small touches that bring the piece alive and completely personal.

Even as the painting goes through different stages to completion I like to keep in touch with my clients with visuals either meeting in my studio or my email. So by the end of the piece my client is completely familiar with their commission and cannot wait to have the original Pastel Painting framed and delivered.

The wonderful piece I have the opportunity to create now will take about 8 to 10 weeks to complete. After I finish painting the piece there is much more to do. I spray and retouch the piece for about a week. Then I have the piece scanned and the image printed so it matches the actual painting. This is done by very talented people I have worked with for many years. Once I approve the scan then the piece is ready for framing. Custom framing is another area I supervise once the frame has been chosen. The whole environment of the paintings is an Acid-Free for supreme preservation.

So if you are thinking of commissioning a Masterpiece Work Of Ark I would appreciate it if you would contact me.

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