Kristina and Pongo
 

Oil on linen, 24" x 18".

Detail
 

It was so much fun to paint the shadows in this portrait. In the detail, you can, hopefully, see red-violets, blue-violets, and yellow-greens.

Wow. Very nice, Chris. All colors are in harmony. The composition works well too. Excellent work.

Chris,

What a wonderful painting. Thank you for posting the close up to show us the the violets and greens. It is amazing to see how well these colors work in the shadows. I also like the loose way you handled the horse's body. Was this a commission?

Thank you both, so very much.

Yes, this is the second portait I have done for this family, great people to work with. I've done several horses in pastel in the past years, but none in oil. Linda Brandon loaned me An Atlas of Animal Anatomy for Artists, and once I could see what was under Pongo's funny cowlicks it was a cinch.

I of course had to rein up, Chris, if only to see what a "Pongo" was.

Super composition. This large animal could have dwarfed the girl and overwhelmed the piece. I like the sense of the inverted pyramid and the way the physical contact between the girl and horse conveys the nature of the relationship between them. The girl is portrayed with a confident presence that I've seen so often in young adults who have become comfortable with horses. Nice touch using blue in the shadow side of the horse's white head (and elsewhere), not unlike the color you might use for shadows on snow.

Thank you, Steven.

People are sometimes cavalier about saying, "How about a painting of xxxx and his horse?" because they really underestimate how huge a horse's head is, and how large a canvas would have to be to accomodate much more that Kristina and Pongo, and still maintain a focal point.

The front-on horse solves some of that but creates an automatic silhouette problem. Losing shapes and edges, or placing foreground foliage are the only ways I have found to deal with it.

Focus of the portrait
 

Chris, the first thing that caught my attention was the figure of Christina. The only "warm" tones in this portrait are in her skin, making her stand out and be the focal point. What would you have done if Pongo had been deep red?

Again your use of color in the shadows of her face amaze me. Thanks for the up close view, I always learn so much from your work!


Jean

Hey, Chris. I'm happy to report that this and your other paintings arrived safely in San Francisco. I was at the gallery and helped to unpack it, actually. Your originals are beautiful. Will you come to the reception on the 22nd?

Thank you, and yes I am planning to attend! For those who wonder what this is about, this portrait is one of three of my portraits that will hang in the San Francisco Portrait Arts Society competition this month.

Look forward to meeting you all.