This was one of four covers I did for a Waterloo Magazine in 1984. On the four covers, I used the same characters for the four seasons, an idea borrowed from Norman Rockwell. This, of course, was the October edition. You remember the winter edition with the characters playing checkers in front of a wood stove?

This commission came to me through the daughter of the subject of this painting. This gentleman would travel to different outdoor shows where he would demonstrate the workings of a blacksmith. He would take the blower you can see by the forge to the particular show and use it to fan the coals to a high temperature to work metal. The daughter said I captured his blacksmith shop to perfection.

In 2001 a gentleman asked me to paint his Sheltie who had just past away. All I had to work from was the photo in the picture. I couldn’t see the colour of his eyes which I needed to give him life. A friend of mine who had a retail store across from our gallery would bring his Sheltie to work with him everyday.  So I went over and checked out Cooper’s eyes and used that information to complete the painting. Cooper had almost the identical markings as Toby, so he was a great help filling in more detail than I could get from the photo. The client was very pleased with the results. I’ve done quite a few pet portraits over the years and each one can be challenging, especially if the photos aren’t particularly clear. So it often takes much research checking out the breed (eg: colouring and size).

In 1992, Mr. Pillar senior of Pillars Sausages commissioned this painting of the  Pillar family business in the old country, taken from an old photo he had. This was the original butcher shop and stables. I think the young boy in the middle in this painting may have been the same gentleman. I really enjoy portraying family histories like this!