My last equine portrait lent itself to illustrating the steps that go into one of my portraits.  So I took the liberty of snapping some of the check points during the portrait process.  I hope you enjoy the making of one of my custom horse portraits!

Above:  blocking in dark tones with a variety of browns, reds, purples, and some black
Below: some close views of the scribbles of pastel

Above: Almost all the base color is laid onto the paper. This is before I did any blending.

Above: I began blending large areas of the face.  Still wasn't too concerned with detail. Just aimed to get the right colors and values where they needed to be.

Above: Once all the colors are applied to the paper and blended correctly, I start to apply hair texture over the base layer. 
Below: Close-ups of the hair strokes of color.
LOVE THOSE WARM TONES!

Below: I added a background that complimented the warmth of the horse's coat. 

The finished product:
"Sanuk" 16 x 20 pastel horse portrait on archival sanded 400 paper.
Original artwork by Jenna Wilke

A few weeks ago, while hanging my own flyers advertising my custom pet portraits around Connecticut, I spotted an event advertisement that caught my eye. This "Woofstock" event was to be the first of its kind in our local pet community, to be held on the Brandford green.
Being the person that I am, I fell in love with the name alone - it was so perfectly funny and fitting! I knew I wanted to be a part of the event, so I contacted the Ken Engelman (the chairman of the event) right away. 
Let's fast forward about 2 weeks to August 24th.  You couldn't ask for a more beautifully perfect day.  80 degrees without a cloud in the sky. I arrived at the Branford green at 10 am, to prepare for the 11 am start time. A few passersby took great interest in the activity and asked me what it was for as I was setting up my booth.   "Its a music festival...for dogs." I replied. It was a short, sweet, and fitting explanation.

Woofstock's goal was to raise awareness, funds, and supplies for the Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter in Branford. All attendees were asked to bring a small donation from a list of necessary pet supplies like dogs toys, cat litter, etc. As a thank you for their help, visitors got to spend the gorgeous day socializing all their furry four-leggged friends while enjoying some awesome live music from (I lost count of how many) local bands. The result was a day that I will never forget.

Setting up my booth was a bit of a headache. There was just enough breeze to knock over one of my newly framed portraits and shatter the glass - so I ultimately had to zip tie everything to the tent -A small price to pay to enjoy what the day had to offer. 
I brought all my drawing supplies so that I could work on a portrait of "Samson" a white German Shepherd with quite a reputation in my town!  
The drawing process brought lots of interested spectators and was a fabulous ice breaker. 

I was pleasantly surprised to have some visits from familiar faces, like my friend Courtney, and my fabulous parents. To them I owe great thanks for the food delivery and bathroom breaks. ;)
I also got a visit from a dog named "Diamond" who is Samson's (my portrait on the easel) lover.  Since Samson's portrait is a surprise gift, the dog's owner was in awe over the portrait. It was a great twist on the day. 

Oh yea, and my car became an attraction in itself. (To be expected.)

Lately I've had the urge to do something different with my art...and last night I found it! I'm proud to announce the Grand Opening of the Imagine Art Zazzle store!

Zazzle has always been a favorite resource of mine.  I found them years ago, and started printing custom calendars as Christmas gifts for family members. Since then, the company has grown tremendously, adding new items constantly. 

The great thing about Zazzle is that you can customize anything to be exactly how you like it - with pictures, logos, text, anything! I've always been 100% satisfied with their quality also.

The Imagine Art store has a wide variety of items, ranging from kitchen towels and throw pillows to mugs and iPhone cases. Everything is customizable, so you can add your own text if you like. Images vary from my paintings and drawings to photography. If there's something you'd like to see, let me know.

Click here to check out my Zazzle Store!

This is also available for custom pet portraits - I can make you a custom design with your pet portrait!

Custom painted mailboxes are the perfect way to let your home stand-out from the rest!
​Design concepts will be discussed on an individual basis to determine exactly what look you'd like the mailbox to have. Each mailbox is hand-painted to suit your needs: add text, textures, floral designs, wildlife, family pets, silhouettes, custom graphic designs, and more! Each mailbox is painted with weatherproof fade-resistant paint and sealed with a colorfast urethane to ensure vibrance and longevity. 

Custom mailboxes make a PERFECT for family and friends for any occasion. Custom mailboxes start at $220.
To commission your own custom painted mailbox, or for more details, please contact me!