A Snapshot of My Pet Portraits

Pet Portraits by Me, Philadelphia Area Artist, Robin Zebley

Here's a little sampling of my pet portraits, I made a treasury of them on Etsy in my Vintage Shop to show my visitors the other side of my life!  It shows up in my profile.

It's not clickable, so if you'd like to see it "live", click ---> Pet Portraits!

It's funny how I look at these and remember little details about what I was doing and what time of the year, the client who commissioned it, and the animals themselves but never the names!  Except for my own Sarge who is 3rd, second row, I have no idea what these pets are named.  I do remember the little girl on the bottom because she is a niece of mine, isn't she a doll? 

So, gearing up for the busy Christmas Portrait season ahead, and looking back down memory lane at just a few of the precious faces I've been honored to capture in portrait.  Many of them were gifts, and I also remember the beautiful emails I've received from the recipients.  It's how I know for a fact that it's a most treasured gift and one they will love forever!  I am so honored to be a part of that exchange of love!  Robin

Capturing Personality - Golden Retriever Portrait

I was chatting with a prospective client today and one of the things I mentioned was that I NEED to know something about their dog when I am drawing or painting him/her. That's because while photos can capture color, fur patterns, etc., personality usually doesn't come through.

I've done a LOT of goldens, so many, that I only have a few samples on my site, otherwise it would be almost all goldens!

Some are ladylike and polite. Friendly and goofy. Friendly and curious. Shy and quiet. Mischievous. Relaxed. Observant and reactive.

This guy is more the confident, leader of the pack kind of guy. And he is lucky enough to have other dogs in the house with him!

When I know their personality, somehow, it translates onto the paper or canvas. I will study their faces and look for those clues. I honestly feel like I know them when I'm finished drawing or painting them!

I've met some of my subjects, and it's funny, but they are always affectionate to me, it's like they know that I know all about them! Crazy huh? But not if you love dogs, they have an uncanny sense of humans. It's funny to me to see distinctive little whorls of hair that I captured on paper or canvas in real life, along with those eyes, each one is unique and SO expressive!

I love doing commissions, but I hate to see them go to their new homes. I feel like I'm losing a friend who has been looking at me and communicating with me while I draw or paint them!


My pet portrait website is: http://robinzebley.com and if you've found this particular post and want to see my whole blog, just click on the banner at the top of the page. Interested in my next post? Just click "followers" at the right. Thanks for sharing a few minutes of your day with me. I'd love to hear your comments about dogs and how they communicate..

Who Needs an Election? Golden Retrievers Rule!

Aren't you sick of the daily polling for the elections? Now they have a half dozen polling companies, each with different numbers and all supposedly scientific.

Now, my polling for the most popular dog breed is totally unscientific! But I know that it's the Golden Retriever because I have done so many portraits of them. And their "owners" are so loyal to the breed. I know one woman who literally bought carpeting based on the shade of her Golden's fur! She clipped a lock and took it with her to the carpet store...and her house LOOKED so much cleaner!

But Golden owners agree they are worth the sacrifice. Now as far as drawing the golden, there's a couple of tricks I've learned from the dozens and dozens of Golden's I've been honored to paint in colored pencil.

First of all, there is no one shade of fur. I've painted fur that was almost white, it was so blonde, and then there's the redheads! And everything in between. And the shade really, really matters with the likeness. And they look very different as puppies.

Then, there's the length of fur. None of them have short fur, but some of them have LOOOOOONG strands! Also waviness..some are almost straight, some quite wavy.

And then there's that clump of fur near their ear that frames their faces...it's hard to see where that clump ends and the ear begins! So if you are a beginning artist, all the advice I can give you on goldens is to look, really look, carefully at all aspects. Unlike a dog like a pug, whose fur color, length, etc. aren't that different, each golden has a lot of variety and you have to study carefully to pull off a portrait that looks just like THAT Golden, not just "A" golden.

What they do have in common...every one that I've drawn...is pure love in their eyes that shines right through!

If you'd like to some of the other goldens I've drawn over the years, visit my pet portrait website! Just click on the boxer in a chair to the right to the right and near the top of this post. There's also goldens I've talked about here on my ARt and Animal blog, so click on the top of the blog where it says "ARt And Animals" and that will take you to the top!

Golden Retriever Rescue - the Story of Nolan

When I started out doing portraits, I needed some samples for my website and stumbled upon a fabulous photo of an older dog looking for a forever home in northern Texas. I wrote to the rescue for permission to draw him in colored pencil.

And here's what I drew. I loved Nolan for his smiling, cheerful face, despite the situation he found himself in.

From this portrait of Nolan, I have been honored to be commissioned to draw and paint a LOT of Golden Retrievers!!

Nolan was blessed, though...he DID find a forever home and lived his life happily with folks who loved him. He's since passed over the rainbow bridge, but he lives through art. Forever.

By the way, the rescue is in desperate straits to raise some money for rescue...here's their link. If you can find a way to donate a few dollars, I know it will go to great use! Here's their link: http://goldenretrievers.org/

Otto and his dad and I are going on vacation. I'll be bringing along my paints and woodcut tools and hope to have some artwork to show you when I get back! Meanwhile, if you'd like to see a selection of other golden retriever portraits, check out my pet portrait website: http://robinzebley.com . If you have a golden, or any other breed and you'd like a portrait of your special pal, email me and we can get started as soon as I get home!