White dogs are one of the most satisfying challenges I take on, and Koda and Narla were two of them at once. Both Samoyeds, all cloud-white fluff, painted together as a surprise for a husband's birthday.
The trick with white on white
The hard part with a white animal is making them appear at all, without flattening them into a blank shape. A white coat is not really white. It is cream and grey and the faintest blue in the shadows, with warm light catching the tips of the fur. I mix those colours carefully and build the coat up slowly, so the dogs lift off the paper instead of disappearing into it.
Two dogs in one portrait also means twice the personality to capture, and Samoyeds have plenty. I wanted both of them looking like themselves, side by side, the way their family knows them. Throughout, I sent progress photos so the giver could watch the pair appear, while we kept the surprise for the birthday itself. Sharing the journey with one person and saving the reveal for another is part of the fun of a gift commission.
~ “Blown away. Better than I could have imagined. The best gift I have ever received.” ~
A reaction like that is the whole reason I do this. A pet portrait makes a gift that lands the moment it is unwrapped, and keeps mattering long after. Thinking of surprising someone with a portrait of their dog? Tell me about them.
