Christmas Commissions 2016

Portraits That Have Kept Me Busy This Season

Time to unveil the Christmas commissions! Now that all the Christmas gifts have been opened, it’s safe for me to post the portraits of all the fur babies that have kept me busy for the past four or five months. Some of them have been really tough for me to keep under wraps. So, without further ado…

Bob

Bob

I started off with Bob. And even though he wasn’t really for Christmas, he definitely got the ball rolling. Poor Bob met an untimely end when we was attacked by another dog. Although the wound wasn’t severe, his human thinks the trauma may have been too much for the old boy and that the senior dog may have succumbed to an infection. Bob’s portrait memorializes his good-natured, sweet personality. Rest in peace, Bob!

Harry

Harry

I believe the next portrait was of Harry. I loved this one because of Harry’s expression. I offered to open up his squinty eye, but his human declined saying that this was a typical expression for him while he waited for his human daddy. So the squinty eye stayed and his humans loved it. Unfortunately, a few months later, Harry passed. I’m honored and privileged to have had the chance to create his portrait while he was among his loving family. Rest in peace, Harry!

Zula and Triton

Zula & Triton

The next one was a double portrait. This 11”x14” piece was of two gorgeous German Shepherds, Zula on the left and Triton on the right. Zula’s full of energy and if I’m not mistaken, very protective. Triton on the other hand, is a senior dog and dealing with a degenerative disease, which is slowly robbing him of the use of his back legs. He has good days and bad days, and thankfully this Christmas was a good day for him. On his good days, he still loves going for a hike with Zula and his humans.

Malakai

Malakai

Then it was on to this little Pomsky, Malakai. For those of you who’ve never heard of the breed, they’re half Pomeranian, half Husky. They’re small, closer to Pom size, but with Husky facial markings and in Malakai’s case, the striking blue eyes. This one was a challenge for me. First of all, 16”x20” is one of the largest commissions I’ve done of a single animal. Secondly, we had to decide whether to do the entire portrait black and white or to do only his eyes in color. It required two test samples. I created two little cut out eyes and did one in black and white and the other using a variety of blue colored pencils. As you can see, the human who commissioned this gift, decided on blue eyes.

Fluffy

Fluffy

The last commission of the year is Fluffy. It was intended to be for Christmas, but the family’s plans changed and pushed my delivery date back a bit. He should be done by the end of the week.

While I still have a couple commissions in the works, they are on hold until the humans get some suitable photos to me. In the meantime, it’s back to my personal projects and online classes. Thanks to everyone who allowed me the privilege of working on their beloved fur babies. Happy holidays to you all! Be safe and stay warm, wherever you are.

If you are interested in commissioning an animal portrait, go to mnaitodesigns.com to check out options or contact me at mnaitodesigns@gmail.com .