Fiona Ludbrook is the Client Services Director of Pets and Plants Ballarat who I met on Friday 19th August, 2016. Fiona greeted me with warmth and hospitality and the subjects for my next animal portrait, Mack and Elsa awaited my arrival. Mack , a gorgeous and very handsome whippet and Elsa the loveliest cat, were the very best models as I photographed them both for over  3 hours. I am looking forward to undertaking a double portrait of Mack and Elsa. Thank you Fiona for your hospitality and the lovely lunch was superb! Please visit Pets and Plants blog for excellent and interesting information about all things animals, especially dogs and cats. Also if you are near Ballarat I highly recommend Fiona’s dog sitting services in your home or stays with Fiona and Mack and Elsa in their home. I will be making regular posts  once I start Mack’s and Elsa’s portrait with progress photos as I go.

When I undertake  any portrait drawing I go through many different stages. I begin with a simple drawn outline and work towards a fully realised portrait and along the way I use  an enormous variety of different pencils and equipment to enable me to make the drawing highly realistic and in keeping with the unique and individual animal.

The finished portrait of Jacob an enjoyable undertaking to capture Jacob’s kind, gentle, loving and loyal spirit in oil paint

I completed the drawn portrait first so I could refer to it when completing the painted portrait. I referred to the drawing for the accurate portrayal of William Park Orlando L’s features and also the correct tonal placement, the lights and darks. I always create a detailed drawing first to use in this way when I am painting major portraits .

Edna Louise Shaw

Portrait information : dimensions: 76cm by 60cm, medium: Oil on Stretched Canvas

My portrait of Edna Louise Shaw is permanently exhibited at the James Cook University Library in Townsville, Queensland. The portrait is in honour of Edna Louise Shaw who has generously donated a significant collection of books in honour of her father John Vernon Shaw . This valuable collection numbering over 5000 books is titled the Shaw Family Collection.

I have been  honoured that Edna Louise Shaw had endorsed me to paint her portrait. I have endeavoured to express her generous, honourable and virtuosic spirit and profound wisdom and strength of character

I am so happy to announce that after 85 working/painting hours William Park Orlando L.’s portrait is finally finished!

Kinga giving his thoughts about his portrait that I was commissioned to paint. His portrait is an oil painting on stretched professional archival canvas on wooden stretcher frame and measures 81cm x 108 cm