How to paint a Maltese Dog Portrait in Oils with Suzanne Barrett Justis

How to Paint a Maltese Dog Portrait in Oils with Suzanne Barrett Justis
In this time lapsed painting tutorial video, I will take you from start to finish on Mikey, the Maltese dog portrait . I will start by going over the palette of colors I will be using in this white dog's portrait. Then I will start the oil painting by using a thin wash of paint using paint thinner and oil paint and then wipe off the shapes and form of the dog. I will slowly build up the paint starting with the darker cooler and finish with the lighter, warmer colors.
I am painting on a 9 x 12 gessoed masonite panel which is super smooth and offers the most amount of detail on its surface . I am using a variety of oil paint brands, Gamsol odorless paint thinner and linseed oil. I use Rosemary and Company brushes in the Eclipse and Ivory series in rounds and filberts and in a variety of sizes.
This was a posthumous portrait for a client I did work for over 30 Years ago when I was in college She was able to track me down by using my maiden now. It gives me a wonderful feeling knowing my client valued my work enough to try and find me after so much time
Most of the brushes I am using are Rosemary and Co Brushes. Here it the link to the their website www.rosemaryan...?u=5711a7
as well as links to the actual brushes I was using
The Domed Eclipse Filbert I was using can be found on this link....it's a wonderful little brush, great for both application and blending.
www.rosemaryan...
the pure red sable in the 81 series was used for blending . I wanted to give you the link to this brush in case you are interested in getting one for yourself
www.rosemaryan...
I also used several of the Eclipse long Filberts of various sizes, you can find them here
www.rosemaryan...
and Ivory long filberts, my " work horse brush" I love them.
www.rosemaryan...
If you have any questions about this video, please leave it in the comments section. Perhaps YOU have a pet you would like to commission me to paint and seen featured here on KZbin, then let me know, it may become my next video. If you find this video helpful, give me a thumbs up and subscribe to my channel. That would be awesome if you did!
If you would like to see more in depth, real time painting tutorials and so much more, please consider becoming one of my patrons on Patreon.
/ suzannebarrettjustis
contact me:
/ suetheartist
www.sbjfineart...
/ suzannebarrettjustis
/ sbjfineart

[@linettearnold519]

I can't imagine how thrilled for your client to see her beloved dog come to life!

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

Linette, she was very pleased. Making clients happy is the absolute best part of my job. Thanks so much for watching today and I hope you consider subscribing to my channel!!

[@wayneyoung4911]

So beautiful little one. I’m learning to paint my little white boy thank you very much for teaching us.

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

Thanks so much Wayne. I hope this video helps. Good luck with your painting …..let me know how how your painting turns out.

[@roneydeoliveirayoneda8933]

❤ Nice 👍 Thanks 🙏

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

Thanks. And thank you so much for watching!!

[@coviedogs]

Beautiful

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

Awe. Thanks so much Coviedogs.

[@astridtermaat3854]

So beautiful again Suzanne! Great job on the shadow colors, undertone. With white dogs I always struggle ☺️

[@roneydeoliveirayoneda8933]

Very nice 👍😍😍😍🙏 Thank you 🙏

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

Thank YOU! Hope you found this of use. Happy painting

[@bonniemosesart]

Lol your hair looks great!

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

Ha ha. Mine or the dogs? Thanks Bonnie

[@bonniemosesart]

@@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist HAHA, yours silly. You said you didn't fix it that morning. I wish mine looked that good doing nothing. :)

[@osanetebatista]

Adorei ! Eu Tb pinto . Bjs

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

Thanks so much

[@sheliacruz3502]

Great job, he's very much alive . Thank you for sharing your talents and wisdom with us.

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

thanks for watching Shelia and thanks for your wonderful comments and support. I hope you found the video helpful.

[@chuckangell]

You have so much confidence in your painting! When I paint I try to get as close to what I envision off the bat, but you fearlessly add layer after layer until perfection! Great video Suzanne, and congratulations on another stunningly gorgeous work of art! You are a true joy to watch.

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

Wow. Really. Thanks so much I don’t always get it right RIGHT out of the gate. I am often tweaking here and there....the “confidence” comes from lots of painting and the joy it brings. Thanks so much for always being so supportive of both my Instagram and KZbin. You are so great.

[@dukefox4807]

Sorry to be offtopic but does someone know a tool to get back into an Instagram account?? I was stupid lost the account password. I appreciate any tricks you can give me.

[@aryantadeo9698]

@Duke Fox instablaster =)

[@dukefox4807]

@Aryan Tadeo Thanks so much for your reply. I found the site on google and im in the hacking process now. I see it takes a while so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.

[@dukefox4807]

@Aryan Tadeo It did the trick and I now got access to my account again. Im so happy:D Thank you so much, you saved my ass!

[@kathyrosati8668]

Loved it. Thank you for sharing

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

Thank you so much Kathy. Glad you enjoyed it and thanks so much for watching.

[@PMSArtwork]

Beautiful work and video! Thanks! 👍😍

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

Thank You!!!!! I hope you enjoyed the video. I am so glad you stopped by. I see you are an artist too!!!

[@ЕленаЛушкина-ы3ж]

О благодарю!!!! У вас золотые ручки!!!))) Надеюсь теперь и я нарисую своего маленького Вестика!!!!!

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

Well thank you. I’m glad you feel you can now go forth and paint your own precious pup. Happy painting

[@markclark9331]

Suzanne, awesome Maltese video, I really enjoyed it. It was fascinating how you build up the facial features and at the same time not losing the thickness of the hair. BTW i think you had a good hair day looked very natural and as always you nailed it.🤗🤗

[@herminiaabadmalolosvlogs7903]

Wow I love it ,so natural nice

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

Thank you so much Herminia. Thanks for watching ❣️

[@cremissionartstudio7145]

Beautiful work with oil colors! This is realistic!!

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

Thank you so much. I try to do the best rendition that my clients will love 💕

[@teavucak]

❤️

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@RachelleByersArt]

Beautiful piece!

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

Thanks Rachelle. He was a beautiful dog. Thanks so much for watching. 🙏🏻💕

[@abelirbastianadelimatrautm5027]

Lindo trabalho gosto de pinturas de animais cachorros gatos a estrela em fim tudo parabéns

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

Thank you so much. I like painting animals ! So glad you liked it.

[@imagninative9999]

so sorry Suzanne I am so far behind watching my you tube, been with family for Thanksgiving. Such a beautiful piece :)

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

ha ha ha...no worries, Nina....you are doing EXACTLY what you should be doing...enjoying family. thanks so much for your continued support. As artists, this is our busy time of the year, yes? so keep on doing what you do...thanks for stopping by here on my youtube channel....I will catch you too. be blessed, girly.

[@dogriver751]

Its looks lifelike...In fact I swear I saw it moving at around 37:16 ;)..

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

Ha ha ha. Thanks so much Dog River. Thanks for checking in.

[@paulsemenoff1386]

Hi Suzanne. You really brought Mikey back to life! As usual, learned a lot: the angle adjustments using the brush, not letting the fur dictate the form.... Can you please repeat what the substrate is?

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

Hi Paul. I hope you had a healthy mad happy Thanksgiving. Thanks so much. I really enjoyed painting Mikey. I used a gessoed panel. It allows for the most detail in my opinion. The first half of this portrait is on Patreon. Did you see it ???

[@paulsemenoff1386]

@@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist We had a very nice (small) Thanksgiving...hope yours was good too! Haven’t seen the Patreon yet...been a bit out of the loop doing work stuff and still working on the portrait/collage of dad...should be done this weekend!

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

@@paulsemenoff1386 I can’t wait to see your dad’s portrait piece. You were off to a an amazing start. Show me some progress pics when you can. 💕

[@teresinharomano526]

😘👍👏👏👏

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

Thanks so much. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@chriswhitehouse8982]

Very nice work. One question for you. When you are feathering the white fur out on the top of the head, how do you keep from it mixing with the blue background color?

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

Thanks so much. When feathering in fur into the background there is a certain amount of blending that I DO want to happen as it creates that soft edge that helps put the subject into the painting and not ON the painting. Then, the more pronounced hairs are layer in over it with a lighter hand ( not outing along of pressure on brush). Does that make Sense, Chris ?

[@chriswhitehouse8982]

@@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist Got it, will try to use a lighter touch when I want to feather but not mix with the background color. Thanks so much!

[@sheliacruz3502]

May I ask if you varnish your paintings. If so what do you prefer and how many coats. Thank you.

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

Hi Shelia....yes, I do varnish. I like using one thin coat of Gamvar...made by Gamblin. I like the gloss. I somethimes uses Satin finish too. Some of my art galleries that represent me prefer the matt or satin finish because of how they have to hang the works in the gallery. There is too much glare off the Gloss. I hope that helps.

[@chriswhitehouse8982]

@@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist Related question to this one. How long do you need to wait for the painting to dry before you varnish, and how long do you need to wait after you varnish before you can pack and ship the painting? Does that ever cause any issues with clients?

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

@@chriswhitehouse8982 aaaaahhhh. It all depends. With the Gamvar varnish that I like yo use, I can apply as soon as the painting is dried to the touch. It’s best to wait as long as you can as an oil painting takes YEARS to dry. After varnishing I like To wait at least a week to 10 Days before I ship. A lot of my clients are local so they can come to my studio and pick their pieces up the next day after I varnish. I had a problem with with a piece that was shipped to Washington State once with fluff from packing peanuts sticking to the varnish. It had to be shipped back, stripped and revarnished. The packing company was responsible for that one and covered the cost…but what a headache

[@luxter4375]

What brand of paints do you use?

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

Hi Luxter. I use several brands ...Windsor Newton, Michael Harding, Richesons Oils, and Gamblin are the ones I use the most. Do you have a brand you like the best ??

[@donnamcneil4267]

Sorry but we have a Maltese dog and the nose on your painting is too long and its crooked!

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

Thank you Donna for watching. I am sure your Maltese looks much closer to the AKC standard and that’s wonderful. In the case of this Dog, Mikey, he DID have a longer muzzle. If you look at the photo reference, you can see that. In any case, my client was VERY satisfied with her portrait of Mikey. Thanks for watching

[@trovearts9509]

I was really hoping for some hair advice. But I SUPPOSE the painting was fine too. Would be so fun to come paint with you! Well... you and Julia would be painting. I'd be drawing some weird lines or making some strange clay thing in the corner. But still. Hope you are well. Great painting and wonderful tips as usual!

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

Hey Aaron!!!! Ha ha. Sure. I can give you some hair advice ...like don’t try something new on days you have to video got KZbin!!!!! ha ha ha a ha. I would love to create art with you guys. I’m sure it would be one creative, fun event!!! We really should you know !!

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

Oh...and thanks again for stopping by and always being so supportive 🎨❤️👍🏼

[@teresinharomano526]

😘👍👏👏👏

[@SuzanneBarrettJustisArtist]

🙏🏻❤️🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻❤️