From Blurry Photo to Memorial: Painting Lucy’s Portrait

**Originally posted May 2024**

This month, I have been hard at work on a pet painting for a family friend. Lucy was a German Shepherd Dog who passed away a few years ago, so I was more than happy to take on the memorial painting. This was a challenging project for me. Read on to find out why!

Here is the sweet girl herself!

This is an extremely challenging reference photo to copy, because not only is she far from the camera, but she is blurry, and the flash washed out a lot of detail. Additionally, her dad asked that I paint her on the largest canvas size I could. I haven't painted on a canvas larger than 18x20 since college, so I was excited to try something bigger. I bought a 26x32 canvas. Needless to say, it was a bit larger than I had imagined.

This was daunting, but I am always ready and willing to take on a challenge, and this certainly would be one! I knew that her dad had limited photos of her, so it made it an extra special challenge to capture her. I started the process by drawing out the different light and dark areas on her body and projecting that image onto the canvas to give me some guidance on where to start.

I primed the canvas with a light layer of tan and then worked on the background before jumping into painting Lucy herself. I then blocked in the lights and darks of her hair to make sure I didn't lose the little detail that I was able to see from the reference.

After completing the entire painting, I stepped away and came back to realize I wasn't happy with how her face turned out. Let’s just say this came to mind. So, I had to head back to the drawing board!

This is a great example of why a proper reference photo matters. The clearer the photo, the more accurately I can paint. If you would like to commission a pet portrait from me, I am more than willing to advise on what types of reference pictures are best to ensure an amazing result.

It's been quite a journey to do her justice, and I just put the finishing touches on her. 

**UPDATE**

Since the story was originally posted, I have posted an entire making-of video on my Instagram. Be sure to go check it out! 

I also had the absolute joy of presenting the painting to her dad. He LOVED it. I surprised him with it, so he was not expecting to see it that day, and it was such a moving experience to see him react. I am so overjoyed that he loved the painting, and I want to thank him again for trusting me with her, even though it was a very challenging project.