What you need to know about your pastel painting:

1. My paintings are created using soft (chalk) pastels.  They are applied to a high quality archival sanded paper. 

2. While the sanded paper helps to hold onto the small pigment particles that make up your painting, some may be loose due to the amount of layering that is involved in one of my paintings. Because of this, anything that touches the surface of the painting can create friction, and can therefore pick up some of those pigments off the paper.

In order to prevent damage, the surface of the painting must never be touched. 

It should also remain away from moisture of any kind. 

I create a custom shipper for each and every portrait to ensure that the painting does not get damaged on its way to you!  When you receive your portrait, you will notice that it is shipped in a sort-of sandwich-like package.  There is an outer layer of stiff cardboard to protect the package from getting punctured. Inside of that, there are two layers of white foam core board.  These boards prevent the package from getting bent, and protect the portrait from the weight of having anything stacked on top of it. In the center of the shipping ‘sandwich’ there are tiny strips of board framing the portrait.  These great a gap between the foam core board and the surface of your portrait, so that the two do not touch. Lastly, taped on top of your portrait is a sheet of clear glassine paper.  This paper keeps the powder pigments where they need to be on the portrait as it gets bumped around.  This sheet prevents any friction, should the outer layers of the package give in during shipping.

How to unpack your painting:

Use a razor or scissor blade to slice through the center of the packing tape around the edge of your package. Cut carefully, all the way around, to separate the top and bottom halves of the package. Be careful not to pierce the packaging beyond the tape - there is a very small gap between the packing tape and the edge of your portrait.(Note: there is one piece of masking tape holding the inner package together on each of the 4 sides of the package. )

Once the packing tape is cut, pull the two halves of the shipper apart. (If it doesn’t want to open right away, be sure that those small strips of masking tape were cut as well.) Inside you will find your painting mounted to the inside of one half of the package, covered by a sheet of clear paper to protect it. (see diagram below)

Carefully remove the sheet of glassine by removing the strips of masking tape that hold it in place.  There should be 2-3 of these. You should be left with your painting, taped by the 4 corners of the piece of foam core board.

Avoiding touching the surface of the painting, carefully peel off the tape that holds your painting in place. There is typically a small edge around your painting where there is no pastel - it is safe to pick up your painting in these areas.

I would strongly recommend to keep your packing materials, as the surface will need to be protected until it is framed.

How to frame/display your painting:

I highly recommend working with a professional framer to help to properly preserve and display your portrait. Framers will be able to recommend frames and mats the compliment the painting, as well as the right materials to help preserve it.

The painting should be displayed in a frame with a mat and glass. The glass is necessary to simply protect the surface.  The mat is necessary, not just for display, but also to create a gap between the surface of your painting and the glass in the frame.  Remember that nothing should touch the surface of the painting!

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

I find myself saying the same thing to most of my clients.  
"The better the photo is, the better your portrait will be."
I cannot stress this statement enough. Pet portraits from Imagine Art are mirror images of your photo.  While I wish I could, I cannot envision what your pet looks like in the detail necessary for a portrait. Therefore, it is very important that you provide a photo that follows these guidelines:

1.  Your photo must be one that uses either A. natural light or B. was taken in a photography studio.  
Natural light means that the photo was either taken outside in the sunlight, or it was taken indoors next to a window where the sunlight came in. If you have access to a friend with a photography studio, or studio lamps, that is also acceptable. 

2. The photo must show details such as hair texture, and eye color.  This means the photo must be:

• Close enough to see these details clearly
  
• Clear, and large. Clear meaning that there is no blur due to camera shake, and large, meaning a large file size.  A photo taken with a flip phone is too small of a file.  If you have a newer model smartphone, sometimes those images are okay.

A good rule of thumb is that if I cannot see that tiny white catch light in their eyes, the photo was taken too far away. Typically, I recommend photos that are from the chest  - up. This ensures that it is close enough to see all of these fine details. Without these sharp focus details, I cannot create a portrait that is as stunning as it could be.

3. The photo must not have been taken with a Flash. No exceptions.

To be explain what all of this means, take a look at these images.

This image was taken outside in natural sunlight, which is good. It was also taken very close to the dog's face, which is also good.  However, the image overall is blurry, and therefore is not the best for a portrait.

This photo was taken outside, which was great.  It had potentially great scene in the background as well.  However, there was not enough daylight here, and therefore the automatic flash went off.  Flash gives false detail and flattens the texture.  It also dulls the colors and makes for an overall unappealing portrait.

Indoor lighting has many downfalls. While this photo doesn't use a flash, the indoor light was very warm, and therefore distorted the colors of the hair.  Also, low light will render a blurry image.  This photo is also grainy - due to the low resolution of a camera phone.

To help you better understand what an appropriate reference photo might look like, here are some examples.

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in my second pet portrait giveaway contest! I received HUNDREDS of photos of all your fantastic adorable pets. It was VERY difficult to choose the winners. (REALLY!)

This photo is undeniably adorable, but beyond that, this photo stood out to me for a number of reasons.  The photo is clear, bright, and close!  I can see the texture in Paisley's hair, and the light in her eyes!  She has tons of emotion, and this photo will yield and AMAZING portrait.  Congratulations Jennifer!

This photo is an amazing work of art.   The colors and textures are vivid and bright.  I LOVE this dog's markings, the expression on his face, and the excitement he portrays. The background and setting only add to the portrait, as he seems to almost camouflage himself into the scenery.  I rarely even consider the scenery as part of a portrait, but this photo offers something I cannot pass up.  Congratulations Samantha!

To be eligible to win, you must own the photo.  YOU must have photographed your pet yourself, OR you must have the rights/ownership of the photo from the photographer.

All winning photos become property of Imagine Art and may be used and replicated for use in the Imagine Art portfolio, website, and advertisements. 

DISCLAIMER: Facebook is in no way associated with this contest.

Sometimes a pet portrait can serve as more than a way to show that you cherish your pet. Perhaps a portrait can serve as a memorial for a pet who has passed away.  Or sometimes, a portrait can help to preserve a very sweet memory of your pet.   Or sometimes, it can serve as all of the above - as my most recent pet portrait commission. 

A few weeks ago I got a call from a woman interested in a pet portrait.  I answered a gamut of questions for her before she came around to explain to me her unique situation. Donna expressed concern for my ability to complete the portrait. But, she also said it was very important for her to have an image of her Sheltie to remember her by. 
The problem was that she had only one photo of her beloved Sheltie, who had passed away a few years prior (hence why she wanted a portrait done). And it was a photo - not a digital file (remember those? LOL). I reassured her - explaining that while its nice to have several pictures to choose from, only one photo is really necessary to complete a portrait. 
But that wasn't all of it.  "Its tiny," she explained. 4 x 4 inches to be exact. Of all my experience in pet portraiture, I've never been asked to work from such a tiny reference photo. But still, I was confident that the size would not be a concern, and that I would try my best to get the appropriate amount of detail.
But wait, there's more! Donna went on even further with her concerns.  "Well," she said, "Its...stuck."  I waited for her to stumble over the rest of the explanation. (I was a tad confused). The photo was literally STUCK in its frame. After being in a frame for so many years, possibly being moved from room to room, home to home, had adhered to the glass in the frame. Furthermore, moisture had entered the frame, which caused stains on the photo, in addition to some color fading due to sunlight exposure.

But still, I was fairly confident I could complete the commission.  We met a few weeks later for me to pick up the photo allegedly damaged. And this is what I got:

In the picture above, you can see how desaturated the colors are, as well as the lack of detail in the fur (because the photo was taken dusk).  Around the edges you can see the yellowing on the photo (due to age) and the border of moisture that adhered the photo to the glass.

I'm not going to lie - this portrait was challenging, to say the least. As an artist, I've been faced with many difficult tasks that require a lot of experimentation and problem solving - and sometimes you have to really think outside of the box to get a job done. Artists have to constantly be on top of their game - with not only the creativity to be original, but the ingenuity to create new ways to jump hurdles (or at least go around them.)

While working on this portrait, I hd to constantly remind myself of the color difference - that the photo's hues were distorted and faded. In addition, I had to compensate for the overall darkness, especially in the Sheltie's face and hair. Lastly, I had to look through the stains to try and see the detail in the background and foreground. Oh, and glass = glare, and glare makes a portrait VERY difficult! =P

And so, after a challenging battle with the infamous "impossible portrait"...

Alas, Donna's fondest memory of her Sheltie at the beach is not preserved in colored pencil! =]

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.)

I've been asked many times "Do you mind if I just sit and watch you work?" - often after my spectator has been watching for a few moments. "Sure" I respond.
Since my audience enjoys the horse portrait process, I decided to start filming my portraits, in progress.  My YouTube channel has tons of "Speed Drawing" videos.  These are recordings of portraits, from start to finish that were sped up and edited to be about a minute long.  Thank God for my amazing fiancé, Adam who does spectacular work with video editing!

This is a portrait I did recently of a beautiful Oldenburg mare named "Rohsina".  Enjoy!

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!