Pet Portraits by Kellie Straw

I was thrilled when I was contacted to paint a Saint Bernard.  There are many breeds I haven’t painted yet, but the Saint Bernard was a breed I hoped to paint sooner than later.  So many colors, all on one animal!

I love the expression from Bernadette in her portrait… perhaps her Mom just walked into the room, and for a moment, Bernadette paused her nap to see if she had a plate of food to share.

A Portrait of Muffin

I really enjoyed painting this painting of Muffin. . . the calico cat from Canada.  Muffin’s guardian had some really good pictures of her favorite four legged friends and sent them my way so I could use them as references for paintings for my marketing campaign.

Thanks Dale, I really appreciate you sharing the photos of your gorgeous animals, they made some beautiful paintings for Straw Dog Art!

"Mr. Big Mouth" by Straw Dog Art

Rufus, a black and white English Bulldog, is a lad I met at Balboa Park a couple of Saturdays ago.  He gave me a biggest grin for the camera; his portrait is an eye catcher from far away or up close!

Dog Portrait Beatrice Storms the Beach

Beatrice the Basset was wind struck when she arrived at the beach and saw all the open sand that she had to explore.  Wind in her long ear sails, she was one happy Basset at the beach. . . can’t you see her smile?

Straw Dog Art, Too Bright For Lucy

Here is little Lucy, (painting titled “Too Bright For Lucy”) who, standing in the bright sun, was caught with a look on her face that told us she needed her sunglasses before leaving the house, but hey, little dogs like Lucy have very bright lives!!

Straw Dog Art The Ball Girl

I hope you enjoy my latest painting, a portrait of Leah, The Ball Girl.  Her owner shared with me that Leah came to her by happenstance . . . 4 years later they are the very best of friends.  Leah loves her red ball; it is her security blanket.  I painted her portrait in honor of Pit Bulls in Canada and the United States that have been banned from domestic life because of breed legislation laws.  Leah has been grandfathered in but her owner may not have another Pit Bull after Leah.

Max Against the Wind

Here’s Max! Some of you may know Max, he’s Alison Turner’s dog. Alison entered a picture of Max in one of my contest and got the most votes for cutest Halloween costume.  I gave Alison the option of having Max painted in his birthday suit at the beach or in his fisherman’s outfit and she picked birthday suit at the beach. So, here is Max, against the wind and sticking his tongue out at the very idea it could blow him over.

Max has probably been to the beach more times than I have and has visited just about every state in this country. He is an avid camper, blogger and model. You can catch him in photos here on Alison’s facebook page.

Hey, can I have a bite?

I went to the Farmer’s Market in Little Italy today and came across this little cutie begging for a bite to eat from her Dad.  She was such an animated little girl. She left his side to walk over to me, not to say hi, but to see if by chance my camera had any food hanging from it.  Once she got a whiff of the non food objects aimed at her, she went back to her human and begged for a bite of his lunch with all her might…I am a sucker and would have given her my whole sandwich had I been in his shoes.

This painting was done looser than I typically paint portraits. My sketch was covered pretty much by the under painting early on. It was only towards the end of the painting that I noticed her legs were too short! No fair, she was already pretty low to the ground.

Monet Monkey

Took a trip to the art store here in San Diego today after a yummy lunch.  I ran across some small wood panels and decided to get a couple of them.  When I say small, I mean small for what I usually paint on (5″ square).  I got out all my small brushes for the project in mind and allowed myself 20 minutes to complete the painting; so no sketching, just blocking in shapes.  Born from the time was “Monet Monkey”, a portrait of my dear friend’s miniature poodle, Kirby.

The Hot Dog Vendor - 10"x8" acrylic on canvas board

Photo of the little Subaru hot dog truck

I know this painting might look a tad strange coming from Straw Dog Art;  a miniature van that has been converted to a hot dog stand? It’s an everyday occurrence at a Vespa gathering.  Though this one was not Italian made, Subaru made this one, it is the same size and style as the Vespa Ape. An Ape is a 3 wheel, two-stroke, 2 seater vehicle that are used for deliveries in countries where they are sold.   When I was at the San Diego scooter store’s opening house party a couple of weeks ago, I saw this little vehicle in action and shot a couple pictures of it from which to paint.  I also enjoyed sketching it a few times.  So, it is not a dog, but there was a dog at the event.  And it is not my typical realism style, but I am branching out and teaching myself new ways to paint.  I’m sure it will affect my paintings in a wonderful way in the future. I hope you enjoy my latest painting and please feel free to comment.