Dogs are the subject the studio returns to most consistently, across photography, watercolour, and amigurumi. The photography archive on dog subjects goes back well over a decade. The watercolour portrait commissions have included dozens of individual dogs, most photographed outdoors in their own places. This page pulls together the different strands of that work.
The dog photography is mostly my own dog and the dogs of friends and family, photographed outdoors in their own places. A particular bench in a particular garden. A path that a particular dog has walked every day for years. The kitchen door where they wait. These are not studio portraits — they're photographs of dogs being themselves in the places they belong, which tends to produce better pictures than any formal setting.
The most-requested print from the dog collection is Alfie on his bench — a whippet on a wooden garden seat, morning light, a specific summer that the owner wanted to keep. The edition of 25 is approaching its limit. Other prints from the dog archive include working dogs and companion dogs in landscapes, garden dogs, and a pair of spaniels that came out of a longer commission project.
Prints are archival giclée on Hahnemühle Photo Rag paper, in editions of 25, signed. A4, A3, and A2 sizes available for most subjects. Framing can be arranged as an add-on. See the gallery for an overview of the photography catalogue, or the prices page for current print pricing.
Dog portrait commissions are the busiest part of the watercolour side of the studio, particularly in the autumn when people are ordering for Christmas. The studio has painted everything from small terriers to large working breeds: greyhounds and lurchers (where the form is almost sculptural), labradors, spaniels in several varieties, a pair of border collies that required very careful attention to the black-and-white markings, and more whippets than most studios see in a decade.
Each portrait is painted on Arches 300gsm cold-pressed paper. For reference photographs, outdoor shots in natural daylight are much more useful than indoor photos — artificial light flattens the coat and changes the true colour. Three to five photographs taken in different lights and from different angles gives the best result.
A sketch is shared for approval before the final painting starts. One round of minor adjustments (background tone, colour balance) is included. The painting ships flat in a stiffened mailer. Sizes run from A5 to A3; pricing from £75 for a small single-subject portrait. See the prices page for the full rate card, and the commissions page for the process in detail.
If you need a Christmas portrait, October is the right time to enquire. Commission slots for that period fill up.
The studio makes amigurumi dogs occasionally, most often as commission work. The challenge with dogs in amigurumi is capturing enough of a specific breed's character in a small round form — a greyhound needs a longer snout proportion, a spaniel needs ears that drape differently from a labrador, a terrier needs a particular energy in the set of the figure. These are solvable problems with careful construction, but they're more work than a generic figure.
Most amigurumi dog commissions come from people who want a figure to resemble their own dog, which adds another layer: the colour matching, the specific markings, the little detail that makes it unmistakably that dog rather than any dog. If that's what you're after, photograph the dog from several angles in good light and send those with your enquiry.
For technique, the amigurumi guide is a solid starting point for anyone who wants to try making their own. For commissions, see commissions or email [email protected]. Related: cats in art for the equivalent page covering cat work.