Black Lab Portraits

This section of the web site features oil, acrylic and graphite drawings of Black Labrador Retrievers. You may wonder why there’s one section for Black Labs and another for retrievers, when both are retrievers. It’s just that there are so many of these Black Labs running around and they are still I believe, the most popular breed of dog.

Many of the subjects here come from field trials and hunt tests. The popularity of the Black Labrador for competition and hunting means they became a prominent subject and I had a wealth of subjects when I traveled to Thomasville, GA, where many of these dogs were trained in the winter months. The plantation I stayed on when there, always had at least four or five Labs roaming around the dinner table at night and then retrieving bumpers, quail or ducks during the day. They became easily accessible subjects and of course, each one has a personality that is fun to capture.

It’s not always an easy thing to paint a black dog. Try taking reference photos of one against a bright background. But the black coat you see isn’t just black. There are a bunch of colors you have to employ depending upon the whole atmosphere and background you put the subject into.  I rarely ever use black paint to make the blacks in a painting, though I do like neutral tine from time-to-time. Usually I will mix ultramarine blue with either burnt umber or raw umber depending on how warm or cold I want to get. 

For several years, I sponsored the National Retriever Championships and the National Amateur Retriever Championships by donating a painting of the winning dog to the handler or owner. Some of these paintings were later underwritten by the Iams Company. Some of these paintings also show the handler.

The other Labs here range from accomplished hunt test dogs and hunters to pets – and all were beloved companions.