Hi there,

I thought it was about time to update this Blog & get back into gear with sharing some of my portraits with you.

This is a portrait of a lovely little king Charles that i was asked to do as a present for someone. The photograph that I had to work from was great, really clear and close up which so often makes a huge difference when producing a true likeness. One of the things that I find particularily importrant with the photographs is that you can see the eyes clearly and also the structure around the eyes as this often gives away the character of the animal.

You can see more of my work on Pet Portraits at www.Hazelspetportraits.com where there are a selection of Dog portraits, Cat portraits, Horse portraits and also Wildlife portraits in the gallery section.

Hi There,

been having a break after the madness of Christmas. Just managed to get everything finished in the nick of time. I have a few commissions on the go at the moment which I will post later, but I thought I would share with you one of my wildlife paintings that I have just completed.

I have just finished a painting of a leopard, which was created using pastel and pastel pencils on velour paper. It is a joy to do something different and there isn't the pressure of doing pet portraits, as it doesn't matter if the painting doesn't look like the original photograph, you are free to change things around as you please.

I hope you like.

Portrait of Two Black cats

Hi there,

today I am working on a portrait of two little black cats for a christmas gift.

Black animals are always pretty difficult to get right, you have to really work with the highlights in the fur.

Here I have blocked in some blue areas to give some colour to the painting and then gone into the lights and darks and blocked them in.

You have to be careful not to make black cats and dogs look too cartoon like, the more detail you can add to the picture the better.

Next I will really go into the detail on the fur and concentrate on the different tones. Then I will tackle the eyes, making sure that I get lots of detail in these and make them really stand out from the black.

Hopefully I will finish this tonight or tomorrow.

I am also working on a portrait of a horse, one with four dogs and a tabby cat, all for christmas, Phew!! I have quite a list of portraits to be done for christmas, so must get my skates on.

To find out about me and my portraits visit www.Hazelmiddlemas.com

Pet portraits, Dog Portraits, Cat portraits, Horse Portraits, Animal Portraits in Pastel.

Pet Portraits by Pastel Artist Hazel Middlemas

Finished Portrait of Bramble the Border terrier

This is the final finished portrait of bramble. I worked into the portrait with more layer and the added the final whites and darkest darks, which brings the painting to life. Then i completed the eyes, paying particular attention to the expression in these. One of the most importrant things that you need to look at when doing animal portraits is the shape of the eyebrows as if you get this right you should be able to capture the character of the animal.

The Owner was delighted with the finished portrait "phew"

Order now for Christmas - I know it sounds early, but once the waiting list gets to a certain point I will have to stop taking orders. Gift Vouchers are always available.

visit the website for details

www.Hazelmiddlemas.com

Pet Portraits in Pastel by Animal artist Hazel Middlemas

Next Stage of Border Terrier Portrait

This is the next stage of the portrait I have been commissioned to do of Bramble the border terrier.

Here you will see that I have added a lot more layers to give a thick hair effect.

I have also added some brighter colours which will act as an undercoat. I will next go on to add more layers on top of this in a more natural colour. This gives the hair a real effect of depth.

I would normally have put the eyes in by now,as this really helps me see the personality of the dog and helps to make sure that you capture the pose.

However I got so carried away with doing the rest of the portrait (which is turning out well) I haven't put them in yet. They will be next.

The next post will be of the finished portrait.

http://www.hazelmiddlemas.com/

Contact me about ordering your own Pet Portrait or visit the website.

Makes a fantastic Christmas present- Gift vouchers available

Pet Portraits -Border terrier

Today I am staring off a portrait of a little border terrier called Bramble.

I have sketched in the outline and positioned all the features. At this stage I would also sketch in the direction of the hair and also very importrantly the position of the eyes.

I then look at the cool and warm areas and block these in loosely.

After I have done this I look at where the darkest and lightest areas are and start to layer these over the colours I have just blocked in.

With this type of work you have to work in many layers slowly building the work up (almost like using thin glazes in oil painting) this will give real depth to the work, portraying the thickness and texture of the hair.

To see more of my work visit my website www.hazelmiddlemas.com

Christmas orders now being taken, makes a fantastic gift.

Dog Portraits, Cat Portraits, Horse Portraits, Pet portraits, Animal Portraits.

Portrait of a Siamese cat

Finished Portrait of Siamese Cat.

As I mentioned last time, I was working on a portrait of a Siamese cat for a client (a champion no less- the cat not the client).

He was adament that he wanted her to look as if she has hissing at the viewer, so here we have it.

The owner was absolutely delighted with the finished result, just goes to show that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Actually I quite like the finished result and it was certainly different from doing the usual poses.

I have just started on a portrait of a Border Terrier, so I will post the different stages of this as I go along.

Pet Portraits in time for Christmas.

A pet portrait makes an ideal and unique gift for Christmas. Gift vouchers are also available, you can buy vouchers for the full amount of the portrait of for an amount towards the price. Orders are still being taken, but don't leave it too late!

Dog portraits, Cat Portraits, Horse Portraits etc by Hazel Middlemas

Visit the website www.Hazelmiddlemas.com