Commissioned Portrait: Barney and Virgil
Barney and Virgil were best buddies; Barney was a full-breed dachshund and Virgil was a shelter rescue their human adopted after Barney softened her up for living with dogs. She found me on the internet in 2002, and wanted to commemorate these two, their friendship and how much she loved them in her life.
Though she’d made contact in email and we sent many messages back and forth, the first photos she sent were prints in an envelope as these predated the days of digital cameras. I looked them over and we discussed a scene. I scanned photos, created a few composites in Photoshop and emailed them to her, then we chose a pose and I began working.
To be honest, I wasn’t happy with the portrait from the beginning and kept trying to figure out some way to make it more lively. I’d gotten fairly well into it, really just the details to go, but I still felt something was missing.
I let her know some of what I felt about it and she obligingly took a few photos of the two with her new digital camera and emailed those to me. In that small group was the image below, and as soon as I saw it I stopped work on the original portrait, which I never do, and started immediately on the new portrait. Initially it was just to see if the new image would feel better. Immediately I knew it was the right image, it just felt right, and painting was a joy. I loved the two together, so natural, tucked against each other, relaxing. The portrait was done in no time, and she loved it.
I don’t think this was just because it was a better photo or a better composition. There was nothing wrong with the original one. I sincerely believe these two wanted this pose to be their portrait.
Below, a closeup of Barney’s face. The camera didn’t catch all the detail, but I was keeping it simple. I used a variety of reds and warm browns for his coat color.
Virgil had so many dog breeds in his face there was nothing to take for granted. I loved his rabbit ears and the tan areas.
During this portrait I made an important change in my work flow. I decided that in addition to the prints I’d taken on film, I was going to go looking for one of these newfangled digital cameras. I read about them and researched the brands. I first got a pretty cheap one at K-mart, took it back and went to Best Buy and got my very first Fuji Finepix A200 2MP digital camera. That little thing lasted me until 2007, and not only did I photograph all my portraits and artwork with it for those five years but I also wore it around my neck to go hiking and canoeing, and the camera and me landed in the water more than once, and we both recovered until the camera didn’t wake up again after that last dunking, and it recorded many cat photos in those five years.
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I offer gift certificates for portraits in any denomination beginning at $125.00, which is the basic cost of a portrait; the recipient is responsible for any amount the portrait costs over $125.00.
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All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, check my Etsy shop or Fine Art America profile to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.
I Love this painting, Bernadette.. they both seem to be there.. more so, definitely, even, than in the photo. Both faces are Spot on n Beautifully crafted. If these were my Lovelies, I’d be Absolutely Delighted with this painting.
Thanks, Annie! I know they truly wanted to be remembered this way.
Absolutely stunning! You have caught their essence! Love it!
Carolyn, it was all their doing, I know it!
AWESUM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TX, Tabies!