Working Dog Bakery - Working Dog Art

	Karma (11" x 14") Completed: 4/2008 Karma was housemate and friend of Annie Bell. A beautiful calico, I really enjoyed drawing her eyes.

	Annie Bell (11" x 14") Completed: 2/2008 Annie-Bell was commissioned by her owner after she passed away. The pictures she gave me to work from showed her to be a sweet girl, and I hope I captured that here.

Bison (11" x 14")
Completed: 12/2006

I was commissioned to draw this portrait of Bison, a big lovable American Bulldog, as a Christmas gift. Bison was a rescue and was one of the nicest dogs I've ever met. It was hard to get a good picture of him until he settled on his personal couch with his plush gorilla. His owner said this portrait really captured his personality. Unfortunately, Bison passed away suddenly a just a few days after Christmas. I just hope his family can look at it and smile for him.

	Buck (8" x 10") Completed: 08/2006 A local woman commissioned this portrait of her parents' dog, Buck, who they believed was dying of cancer. She went to Ohio and took pictures of Buck for me, and I drew this portrait to honor him.

	Trixie (11" x 14") Completed: 07/2006 Trixie the Beagle was commissioned as a gift for the client's husband, who loves this dog dearly. She also commissioned a second background, including their house, which can be seen here.

	Sky (11" x 14") Completed: 06/2006 Sky the Springer Spaniel was commissioned as a gift for my aunt's sister.

	Beauregard (11" x 14") Completed: 02/2006 Beauregard is a big, sweet English Bulldog who is completely spoiled rotten by his mommy. As all dogs should be!

	Quiet (8" x 10") Completed: 07/2005 Just a simple study of a Black Labrador Retriever in a quiet moment.

	Hurricane Jack (16" x 20") Completed: 05/2005 Hurricane Jack, or Jaaaaaack! as his friends call him, is a pistol of a young Bernese Mountain Dog. I met his mother through an online discussion forum when he was just a little puppy. She commissioned me to do this portrait for her husband's birthday. Her husband loves cherry trees, so Jack is situated in a quiet garden among several of them.

	Abby (11" x 14") Completed: 04/2005 Abby is a young Golden Retriever that was commissioned as a gift from mother to daughter. She is a very sweet, happy-go-lucky girl, and her mom wanted that to be portrayed in the portrait.

	Casey (20" x 14") Completed: 12/2004 Casey is a really sweet little Lab/Beagle mix that her mom commissioned as a Christmas present for her husband. Casey loves the beach and the water, so she is shown at her favorite place waiting for someone to play fetch with her.

Maddy (30" x 48")
Completed: 09/2004

Maddy, a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, was a commisioned protrait measuring 30"x48", my largest yet. The owner had another Swissie whose portrait hung in her foyer, and she wanted a matching portrait of Maddy. The pose in the photo she gave me nearly matched the other portrait, and she asked that it be set in her backyard. I used a photo of the original portrait to match the colors and positioning, and recreated the background from another photo. The owner was very happy and decided to give her husband his Christmas present early.

Mystery (6" x 10")
Completed: 09/2004

Mystery was a little 3 month old kitten someone adopted from a local shelter. I have access to photos of shelter animals because I help put them on television during our pet adoption segments. Some of the best and most unique pets come from shelters, and Mystery was no exception. Her expression in the original photo was what grabbed me. I generally am not a cat person, but I could have made an exception for this one.

	Rosie (8" x 10") Completed: 08/2004 This Bassett Hound portrait was done for a woman who worked at our vet's office. Her beloved Rosie suddenly and unexpectedly died of cancer right before she commissioned this piece. It turned out very well, and she says the eyes especially captured Rosie's spirit.

	Patience (5 1/2" x 10") Completed: 07/2004 A quick study of an Australian Shepherd puppy. I love drawing eyes, and these had such an intelligent look to them.

	Golden Years (8" x 10") Completed: 07/2004 The simplicity of color and the expression on this dog's face caught me immediately. Just a soft, sweet portrait study.

	Ladybug (8" x 10") Completed: 06/2004 Ladybug is my first foray into non-Berner portraits. I wanted to do a dog that was very different in appearance from a Berner, so I chose a big drooly bulldog. All big, drooly dogs need a friend, so Ladybug has found her namesake.

Talley, Sera and Audie (8" x 10")
Completed: 05/2004

I did these for my mom's 50th birthday. I just got the idea in my head to create pieces that seemed like windows, and to have each animal on the dog's heads represent their individual personalities. Talley has a lovebird because she is a sweet, loving girl. Sera has the frog because she's just a bundle of energy, jumping and climbing all the time. Audie has a butterfly because she is such a sweet and delicate little thing.

Sera's frog will probably eat the butterfly someday.

Talley and Sera (16" x 20")
Completed: 11/2003

This was my first portrait, created for my mom for Christmas. We had been talking about finding an artist to commission a portrait of our girls for some time. I suddenly realized one day that, with a little work, I could do a portrait myself. It is printed on 16"x20" canvas and hangs in our living room. Talley is looking out of the picture at her mommy, and Sera is distracted by the faeries.