Design by Knight

Pet Portraits

I have begun to paint again after a long hiatus. I had forgotten how much I enjoy painting. Just recently I finished two pet portraits that really capture the spirit and personality of the animals.

One is an 8″ x 8″ acrylic on canvas of a little Yorkie named Maggie. I usually prefer larger dogs, but, Maggie’s personality has won me over. I painted this pet portrait as a Christmas gift for her owners and had such a fun time bringing out Maggie’s personality and spirit on the canvas.

The other pet portrait I completed is a head shot of Craig Longfellow. He is one of three Basset Hounds my sister and her husband own. Craig is the lover boy of the three. My favorite story of Craig is the time I had a bunch of girlfriends over to the house and we were all in the kitchen yakking it up and fixing cocktails. The three hound dogs were outside and it was nearing their dinner time so I filled their cups with dry dog food and opened the door to feed them their dinner. When I cracked the door open Craig came barreling in and came to a halt right in the middle between the woman in the kitchen and his dinner at the door. He glanced at the woman in the kitchen and back to his food at the door two or three times before he trotted over to the woman in the kitchen. Craig was born to love.

A portrait

A few months ago my daughter, Megan, asked me to paint something for her birthday. I thought she asked for a painting because she was moving into a new apartment in Hollywood, California and was looking to fill some wall space, but, she later confessed that she thought it would be less expensive for me to paint her a picture then buy her a present and she was being conscientious of my budget. I, too, thought it was a great idea and was also thinking it could possibly save me a little money. I love home made gifts.

I decided I wanted to paint a portrait of Megan. I found inspiration in a photograph I really liked taken of both my daughters together during a recent visit to Atlanta; they were both wearing sunglasses and looked beautiful.

It has been over a year since I have painted anything but the challenge lit up my creative nature. I cropped the photograph to include only Megan’s face with her shades and used Adobe Photoshop to enhance the image and added some red hues.

I just recently moved to Atlanta from the Tampa Bay area and all of my things have been in storage down there for almost a year now, including all my paints, paint brushes and art supplies, so, my first stop was to a Sam’s Flax Store to buy supplies. Wow, It had been awhile since I have visited an art store and the phrase “starving artist” really came to life. I was stunned by the raw cost of art.

After walking down every aisle like a kid in a candy store, wide eyed and drooling, and then comparing prices, I chose a 3′ x 3′ canvas. I was so excited by the idea of painting an over sized portrait of my daughter that the cost of getting the canvas all the way to California never entered my mind. I did, however, catch a sign at Sam Flax that started “If your idea is bigger than your car……”! I had to laugh. After seeing the cost of art supplies I decided it would be some what cheaper for me to make a road trip to Tampa to visit my storage unit and retrieve my paint, brushes and other supplies and left Sam Flax with just the canvas.

I finished the portrait in nearly three weeks (road trip included) and fell in love with painting all over again. I enjoyed seeing my daughter’s image come to life in the paints and I admit I had second thoughts about giving up the painting, especially when I found out what it would cost to get the painting all the way to Hollywood. So much for saving money!

The Portrait arrived safely in Hollywood (a few days after Megan’s birthday because I sent it regular ground mail) and now hangs on a wall in her dining area.

My oldest daughter, Sarah, is now asking when she can expect hers.

About Linda Knight

I am an artist and designer, formerly from Tampa and now living in Atlanta.  I create fabulous spaces.  My background in art along with my knowledge and experience in the construction industry is what sets me apart from most designers.  I have an eye that offers wonderful design, detail and livability. I can start at the beginning of a project and help do the plan or can tweak your existing architectural drawings to refine them with the detail you don’t even know you needed. After the space is built, I love the process of working collaboratively with you to integrate your furnishings with newly found items to come up with an amazing environment that is all yours.

Please contact me if you would like me to consult with you on your project.