This was my first pet portrait done from a photograph, commissioned by a friend for his parent’s dog Sheba. I had previously only done one pet portrait before in the late 90’s, based on a painting my mother had done of her cat Magic in the 1970’s.

The first challenge with this piece was figuring out how to properly represent the image on a smaller and simpler scale (8x10”) than the larger and much more complex Saint Christopher portrait that I had just completed, and still be able to capture the essence of the subject.

While executing this particular piece I often found myself chuckling because the subject was so adorable, as well as the fact that only a few months prior I had been an erotic photographer. I never would have thought I would soon be making a stained glass portrait of a cute little fluffy dog for someone’s parents, or that I would find a small niche in the art world making pet portraits.