Painting Dog Portraits in Acrylics ― Creating Paintings With Character and Life

A detailed guide to painting realistic dog portraits in acrylics.

This book by best-selling author and animal portrait artist Dave White is the definitive guide to painting portraits of dogs in acrylics. His passion for animals is evident throughout the book, offering basic advice for beginners and explaining more advanced techniques suitable for experienced artists who wish to capture the spirit and character of dogs in their portraits.

The book begins with detailed guidance on composition, deciding on the size of your painting, the background colour, and so on. There is also advice on using reference material, comparing painting from life with painting from photographs, and a detailed section on essential techniques. Here you will learn about creating an outline, underpainting, how to paint realistic hair and whiskers, how to get shine on a nose and a glint in an eye, and whether to show ears up or down or the tongues in or out. This section will be followed by three step-by-step projects, including a short-haired dog, a long-haired dog and a group portrait, and the book ends with a short section providing practical advice on setting up and running your own pet portrait business.

After 30 years of being in finance, Dave White discovered he could paint, and recognising that we all have creative gifts inside us, bursting to get out, he embarked on a new road of painting people's animals and teaching students how to do it. He exhibits annually at Crufts Dog Show and the New Forest Show, and has done numerous commissions all over the world. Living in the New Forest in England allows an up-close encounter with a variety of animals, including horses and dogs.