My first portrait painting of a person and a dog together

 

                                My First Try at Painting a Person With a Dog

 

This is my first try at painting a person with his dog.  A good friend had asked me if I could paint a portrait of her son and his dog for a Christmas present.  He had just lost his wife and the dog has been his constant companion since.  

 

My friend emailed the picture she wanted me to paint.  As I had never met her son or the dog, I knew this was going to be a challenge since I have never painted a portrait of a person.  But it was worth a try and she seemed very pleased with it, as did her son.