Otto commission

Meet Otto. He is the dog of one of the senior volunteers of the Strays of Abu Dhabi. He lives in the UK and was a stray dog himself until he was taken in. He proved quite a challenging pooch, but now has settled down to become a real old softie! This is pastel on canson 10x12 inches and is already sold. The money from the sale of this painting will be donated in full to the Strays of Abu Dhabi. www.straysofabudhabi.com

5" Two feet

Okay, I finished this but unfortunately not in time to get into the CAG show! Oh well, next time!

If you want to see the show though just follow the link www.canineartguild.com
There is an opportunity to vote for your favourite painting and many of the paintings are for sale! :)

This is something I started with the intention of entering it into the CAG (Canine Art Guild) online show to celebrate their 5th anniversary. However, the deadline was today, and I didn't finish. Here is what we have so far... two puppy feet WIP (Work In Progress).

New Series - My life in your hands #1

Have worked a bit more on this today - still a lot to do though. The hands are going to be a challenge - one that I'm up to, but not really looking forward to it. This is when the paintings starts to get down to the fiddly details which I don't particularly enjoy. However, it takes patience and concentration, and it is meant to be therapeutic so I can't really complain.

I am starting a new series while I am waiting for my next commissions. The series is called "My life in your hands". It is meant to depict the faces of some of the SAD dogs as they are either taken out on trial or adopted and in some cases the SAD dogs in the situations that we find them. Some of the dogs are totally happy to go with the new people - others show are more cautious. It is a question of personality and how much trust the dogs have in humankind. In some cases the dogs show a face of fear, but resignation as they can do nothing about their situation, they are totally dependant on us but they have no way of knowing if what the future holds for them is something good or something terrible - we have their lives in our hands and that is what I want to show.

This is oil on canvas and a little bigger than I usually do for the one-a-weeks, but I needed the space. It has been a while since i have done human subjects.

When finished this will be for sale at 1000dhs unframed and the proceeds will go to the Strays of Abu Dhabi http://www.straysofabudhabi.com/

Pugs Done!

Am happy to say that I have now finished the pug commission. I am even happier to say that the lady who commissioned it loves the painting - phew!

The proceeds from this painting (660 dhs) will go to support the Strays of Abu Dhabi

- a non profit organisation that helps re-habilitate and re-home stray and abandoned animals in Abu Dhabi.http://www.straysofabudhabi.com

Pugs commission

Have largely finished the boy dog - Teddy although there are some minor alterations to make. Tomorrow will try to finish the girl dog - Lucy and then just do the touch ups on both dogs and finish the background.

Worked a bit more on this today. Progress is slow as I don't have much time, but it is making progress so I can't complain!

Have started a Pug commission which I got through the Strays of Abu Dhabi, so the proceeds for this painting will go to the Strays of Abu Dhabi. These are two adorable little Pugs, each has a unique look and a personality to go with it - so this will be a challenging commission to capture their characters. On your left is Teddy, a vigourously active little guys who is very sweet and friendly, but never stops for a minute. On your right is Lucy, an older more sadate character who just wants cuddles and a quiet life.

This painting is already sold. I will be working on it this week and will try to finish it by next week.

View over Mussafah industrial estate

Have worked a bit more on this today. Mostly I was just getting the placement of the first two dogs. I will put two more in. It seems SAD often is called to help litters that have been abandoned. Building sites, waste ground, and outside the veterinary clinic or kennels are the most popular places for people to abandon litters of puppies.

Okay, this is a little different but along the same theme as the last painting. This is a view I see everyday - two or three times a day. I see it in the morning when I go riding, I see it in the evening when I pick up the kids. This is very much an impressionist painting since it is done from memory rather than a reference (plein air or photo). So it is not accurate by any means, but it gives the feel of the view. In the foreground will be some dogs sniffing around trying to find food - bones left by workmen or fish guts from some of the guys who fish on the bank. It is the sort of place where stray dogs might be found.

For some reason (probably shine from the paint) the colours are not true and it is a little out of focus, but for the moment you get the idea.

For the moment I have just been working on the background and when it is a little drier I will put in the dogs. It is oil on canvas board 8" x 10".

Lost in the desert

This is just about finished now. The muzzle of the dog is not quite right, but I don't think I have time to fix it at the moment, I may come back to this. For the main part though, if you look at the picture as a whole, I think it gives a good feel of a dog abandoned in the desert. It might be titled 'Will you come back for me' since it has the altertness and happiness of a dog that just thinks it has been left for a while by its owner, before the reality kicks in that no-one is coming for him.

It is a sad state of affairs that people do this kind of thing.

This is oil on canvasboard 8" x 10"

It will be for sale in support of the Strays of Abu Dhabi at 660dhs (120 Euros)

Girlie update

This has stalled somewhat as life has been busy. It doesn't help that Girlie has off-centre markings which I think ads to her attractiveness, but am finding it difficult to get the placing right on the image. Am quite happy with the left side of her face, but have to work on the right side and her nose. Once I have got all that sorted out I will get on to the paws and ears and finally the bed - but that is the easy part!

Girle - Work in Progress!

This is very much work in progress, but I had to show you what I had done so far. I don't want to miss a week, even if it means showing you things that are not finished - it can seem a bit of a mess at times, but this will take shape over the next few days. I first put in the major shapes and base colours and then I go back and work on the details.

This is my dog Girlie, who was a SAD dog who I felt was very special, but it took us months to pluck up the courage to take on a dog in Abu Dhabi. I felt it wasn't the right place to have a dog, but I am glad I have her. She has improved the quality of my life here, even if she can be challenging and frustrating at times.

When finished this will be up for sale at 150dhs (30 Euros) unframed. It is pastel on watercolour paper (roughly A4 size). All proceeds from the sale of this painting will go to support the Strays of Abu Dhabi www.straysofabudhabi.com

The look!

This has been done because this otherwise unremarkable dog has quite a look about him. It is penetrating and slightly unsettling, but despite this, he is a perfect gentleman.

This is acyrilic on canvasboard 8" x 10" and when it is finally finished (not long to go) it will be another up for sale at 660 dhs (120 Euros) to help support the Strays of Abu Dhabi