This is a small (5″ x 7″) painted sketch of Cricket.  She is an old, wise and sweet neighbor of ours.  I took this photo in the parking lot the other day when the sun was setting but still high enough to get a glow on her fur.  I enjoy how easy it is to shift the setting for a painting.  I knew her fur would glow against this green gold grassy like background and add to her happy expression of playing outside.

(Original photo)

Sometimes, clients have old, fuzzy or faded photos of their pets and ask me to make a portrait.  It helps if I have several photos and have met the pet, but that cannot always happen, if for example, an animal friend has died.  This is a great example of a not so good image made into a nice painted sketch.