Using the airbrushing technique to paint your favorite pet

Painting process

I use an aluminum based canvas for all of my airbrushed portraits, this canvas works wonderfully with either the water based or oil medium that I use to paint the portrait.

I always start on a black or white background, this allows me to build up depth by using layers of paint on top of the dark or light surface, working from dark to light or light to dark, depending on the background color. Once I have finished the painting of your pet, I will go back and change the background to the color or scene that you desire.

As I work from dark to light, or, light to dark, building up layers, I study your reference photo’s as I go, I start to build up the textures around the shadows and contours of your pet’s body. 

The way I work with the airbrush is the same way I work with a paint brush, building up layers of brush strokes, colors and highlights until it resembles your pet’s fur.  The same process goes for the animals features, I very carefully take the time to put every detail into the eyes, ears and nose of your pets face.

The last part of the painting process is to clear coat the finished portrait, this builds up a barrier on the surface of the painting and helps protect it from scratches.

You do not need to frame your portrait under glass, to clean the surface you can dust it off with a swiffer duster or something soft.

 As the artist, I hold the copyright of each painting that I complete, in some cases I may use an image to create prints, cards, etc.  I may also use the image on my website along with other various ways of advertising.

What is an airbrush

I use an airbrush to create my beautiful paintings.  Some would say an airbrush is basically a smaller but much more advanced version of a can of spray paint. However it is much more complex.  The airbrush is a small tool that somewhat looks like a pen, it has many tiny pieces inside that allows the artist to control the amount of paint and air that passes through it. The paint is fed through the device by air pressure from a small cup that holds the paint.  The airbrush is connected to a compressor, having the correct amount of air flow and paint flowing through the airbrush is very important.  I have been using an airbrush for almost ten years.  My experience and understanding with using this tool has groan stronger over time giving me the ability to create beautiful paintings.