Recently my son and his wife had to put down their cat, Mew.  He was not old, he was sick.  The kind of cancer that emaciates-it was not easy to let go, but it was time.  I have so much empathy for them, it doesn't really matter how we lose a beloved pet,  or how long they live.  We never want to do it, they can't be replaced, and we are never really ready for it when it comes, but it does come.

I have talked to people in the past, seen many who have left good-by posts on Facebook as their beloved pets cross that rainbow bridge into animal heaven.  I always wonder, do they already have a portrait to remember them by?

When I was talking to my son about it, he made a comment that I found interesting.  It had to do with this painting I did of Mew back in 2017, when he was in his prime.

16 x 20  "Mew"

Mew liked to hang out in the garden on the swing, it was one of 'his' places.  So, I took a picture of his Majesty one time when he was on it, (sort of falling through the back lol ) and did this painting for the kids for Christmas.  They of course loved it, and were surprised.  

They have enjoyed this painting for the past 5 years, and now when they look at it they are reminded of him as he was at that time of his life.

He said he was glad I did the painting back then, and that they already had it.  The best reason to have a pet portrait done, which will remain a family heirloom for a long long time.

While I am also commissioned to do custom pet portraits once they are gone, remember, you will only have the photos that you took when they were here.  A painting is always better than just a photo, and I can't think of a family pet that does not deserve a custom pet portrait.

Below is Figaro, beloved cat of one of my client's friends.  The gift that she gave her friend on her birthday this year was the painting I did of Figaro, from the only photo that she had:

8 x 10 "Figaro"

I think any time is appropriate to memorialize a beloved pet with a custom pet portrait.  The best time is now while you are thinking about it, get those photos!  You can use them now or later, but at least you will have one when you want it.

I  first was contacted, and my client looked through my work and found what he liked, whether it was subject, basic composition,  feeling, and talked with me about it.  He liked Hereford Bulls in particular.  The first study I did he liked, but he had bought a painting from me previously and it turned out to be too similar.  This is the first 6x12 study:

He mentioned that he wanted the animal to be facing the right, which would be where the front door was in his home where he wanted to hang it.  He also said he wanted it to be approximately 30x60.  I did another study, a great image that I took in Prescott, Arizona on a beautiful ranch.  This study was also 6x12.  As long as I am using my own images I don't mind doing studies until exactly the right one is found, they just become available studies that anyone can have.

This was the next study I did for him:

He really liked it so I did finish it up more:

At this point it was time to order the canvas, he decided he wanted it to be 36x60, this I though was great, it would allow me to make the mountains in the background taller behind the Bulls.

Once the canvas came I prepared it like I usually do, with extra coats of gesso which is a white acrylic painting ground, and got it started.

First I sketched it on the canvas in charcoal, using an image he sent me of his local mountain view and my Bulls.  After thought he decided this looked good proportionately, and I proceeded with painting it.

Almost there! This picture was not of it finished, but the next picture of it hanging in his house is of course finished, and where these Bulls now live:

It looks terrific in this beautiful home,don't you think?  

I'm thankful Andy for the opportunity to work with you on this project, it was great to correspond and chat during the process, and end up with something I am proud of, and you as well.  

Nope, not cows!  These are portraits of various pets I've done over past few years.  Do you have a great photo of your pet?  Christmas is coming and it's never too early to think about surprising someone special with a portrait of their pet.

I can do oil or charcoal, even pencil in any size.  

This is Lucy, an oil on board, one of my favorite custom dog paintings.  Lucy shows such a great personality, and I loved her eyes!

This drawing is of course of a white Greyhound.  There is a Greyhound Rescue organization in Dehesa, I drive by it once in a while and one of my collectors volunteers there.  I have a lot of examples,samples of my drawings just ask if you would like to see them.

This is Banju, another custom oil painting this time obviously a cat.  

My specialty is working from your photos if doing a painting or drawing of your beloved four legged kid.  If you are thinking about gifting this idea it makes a fantastic one of a kind birthday, anniversary or holiday gift, and shows you thought ahead of time.

If you would like to see more examples of custom paintings, be sure to check out this page on my website .

Every year I get a request for a custom paintings.  When it comes to reference material often it is not a cow and it is from client reference, either they took a cool picture on a trip, or in their own yard doesn't matter, as long as they love the photo, a painting in oil will always be better!

I can do a custom painting any size, from 5x5 or 6x6 inches 

Cardinal in the Snow 6x6 commissioned custom painting from client photo reference.

Bison in the Tetons 24x42   commissioned custom painting from Client photo reference.

...on up to 72x84 inches, with every size in between.  I can have a canvas made in any size that fits your space.  Both of these original reference photos were emailed to me by the client.  If you do not have a great photo that you want painted in oil we can talk about subject and I can do the work it takes to get one.  I'm also pretty good with a camera!

So you would like a painting done, but don't know how to go about it?  I have been contacted by a number of people over the years who want a custom painting but are apologetic because they are not aware of the process.  There is nothing mysterious or even special about it, at least not with me.  I just need to hear from you, and I'll walk you through the process like I have many before you, all have been ecstatic with their resulting painting!

Some that I have done have been cows, of course, it's what I am known for.

This was a large custom painting I did in 2016 from a small study that I believe was already sold, but there is still an image of it on my website.  That is how a number of 'custom' paintings happen.  Someone sees a sold painting, often a small study, and likes it, but wants to get one larger.  This happens often.

Some are not cows:

This is my friend Lynn Endicott, the framer/owner of Silver Creek Fine Art and Framing, holding up a custom painting I did of a girl with her horse and dog.  This was done with two separate client photos which were emailed to me.  My expertise is actually working from photos, as a fine artist I do happen to focus on cows as a subject, but really, if you can see, you can paint any subject well.  I loved how my client chose to frame this one.  The framing really brought out the subjects.  Do you have photos you think would make a great painting?  You can email me [email protected] anytime and I will take a look!  Or, comb through my trove of painted works, sold and archives.  If a composition touches your heart let me know and we can talk about doing it larger or different while having the same qualities that you love.

A few years back I was the featured artist at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association Trade Show, it was a great experience.  This is the painting I did for that event,  at which I signed prints of it as a keepsake to attendees. First I did a study that showed the basic idea, and we talked about changes.   They really wanted the tall cactus to show it was Arizona, so although I put them into the main painting, I changed the study eventually and it is shown below.

Black and white cows in Arizona, commissioned by NCBA

This is the study I had done now that it has been changed some:

11x14 study "Black Baldy Chorus Line"   is available on my website

I had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people in the beef industry, plus did a couple of other custom works, I'll share those in my next post, stay tuned!

I was contacted by Shawn about a Jersey calf painting that was already sold.  I frequently do small studies so clients can see what they might like for a larger more detailed painting, and this was one of those.

6x6 "Jersey Calf in Summer"

I had done the larger painting as a commission for clients in Arizona.  The new owners came to my studio to pick up their painting, which you can see pleased them.  :)  I actually remembered to take a picture of them together with the piece.

In addition to showing the difference between a study and a larger more detailed painting, this gives you a view into how I do custom work.  The recent contact loved the Jerseys and his wife grew up on a Jersey farm in Upstate New York, so they wanted something similar.  The next step was to go through my Jersey Calf reference photos to find a likely subject.  I will do as many studies as it takes to find the perfect cow or calf composition, as long as I am using photos that I took, and the client doesn't have to pay for them as they just become inventory.

As luck would have it, the first one I did was a winner, they loved it!

Curious Jersey Calf    6x6 study in oil

Onward to the larger piece.  It is of interest to know that this painting is for a former 'Dairy Princess' whose job on the farm was to feed the dairy calves up until she left for college.  This is a person who really knows Jerseys, so I am very pleased that I was able to create something that will bring back joyful fond memories every time she views her painting. 

Curious Jersey Calf  30x30 oil on canvas by Denise Rich

Upon arrival I received this message from them:

We received the painting late last evening. It is stunningly beautiful. Former Dairy Princess  is over the moon ecstatic. Thank you so much. It is now the focal point of our home.

Thank you for letting me create this painting for you!

If you look through my artwork and find something you love that is sold, you can commission a similar painting, and choose the size.  This is one that I recently finished, and in fact they also chose the background color, red.  I do love a red background with black and white animals.

This painting is 36x36, and you can see other similar calf paintings I have done if you look through my website.  This painting, done in my studio in El Cajon (San Diego County) California, was shipped to the new owners in Oklahoma, who love it!  They said :

I am a fan of large paintings as perhaps you know, so it really got my attention that Sotheby's is auctioning off what an article at Huffington Post calls "possibly the worlds largest cat painting".   At six feet tall and eight and a half feet wide, it's size is in range with my own work, just 18 inches wider than the largest I've done so far.  

And it's awesome!  Apparently it was commissioned by the owner of the cats and titled "My Wife's Lovers" by the woman's husband.  Love his sense of humor!  The short video below gives some interesting facts about this epic piece, and notes that the artist sketched the cats for three years before starting the painting, and that no two have the same expression, so he was successful at capturing them as individuals, which I can relate to and with this many different subjects in one painting is something I greatly admire about the piece.  

The size of this painting lead the head of the 19th century European Paintings Drawings and Sculpture department, Polly Sartori to mention how anyone who comes to see any of the works in the upcoming auction, which go on view Friday, won't be able to avoid the piece, which will be displayed as a centerpiece.  

And that is one of the main reasons I love painting large, I love it when someone sees them in person, large paintings command attention and really make a special statement in any room, including in the midst of other fabulous works of art at Sotheby's.  

If you find yourself interested in seeing any of my large cow paintings in person, please visit me in my studio which is open to the public at 130 E. Main Street in El Cajon, California (San Diego County).  Appointments are suggested.

Currently in the studio is this four foot by six foot original oil painting of Angus Calves, among a few others.

Angus Group original oil painting by Denise Rich   48"x72"

Perhaps someday Sotheby's will be auctioning off a huge cow painting!

Last year I had two gentlemen that commissioned paintings for their wives.  The first one commissioned a Black Angus bull named Grand Daddy, owned by his wife's family.  This was from my client's photograph.  He sent me several to choose from, and I did two studies to decide if he wanted a portrait or a full body painting, and the full body was the winning choice.

A magnificent animal !  This was an anniversary present, very well thought out and planned a year in advance.  I love the personal

touch with this gift, as the family farm is now represented in their city home.  After my client presented his wife with her new painting of Grand Daddy he wrote to tell me :

"She loves the painting and was blown away. Thanks so much for making our 20th anniversary great."  In fact I am grateful I was trusted with this very important project, but it was certainly his thoughtfulness, far in advance of the actual celebration, that made their 20th anniversary great, congratulations and many more!

The second painting commissioned by a thoughtful husband to give his wife was a retirement gift, also planned out a year in advance. This was a Hereford, but it didn't start out that way, I'll save that story for another day.  :)   

Consider commissioning a beloved or favorite animal as a meaningful gift for a special occasion, you really can't go wrong and not only will it be enjoyed for years to come but it will be handed down for generations to enjoy, complete with the story behind it.

Several months ago I did a custom painting for a client in Norway of his Highland cows.  The internet is wonderful

for this, as my client Olav was able to send me his photo through email, and I was able to send him updates as well.

Usually I ship the paintings stretched, but to save the very high costs of shipping to Norway I removed it and shipped

it rolled in a tube, if I recall correctly the shipping ended up costing around $60.  Olav had it stretched and framed on his end, and I'm

so thrilled to see it in a photo he sent me recently hanging in his cabin.  Thank you Olav!  It looks great!

Painting large format, a new commissioned piece.

What did the coyote say to the Buffalo?
Please post your best guess in the comments section!

This amazing wildlife snow scene was not created from a set of photos in photoshop, it's from a single reference photograph, and was painted exactly as seen.  Thanks to Jim and Gail for having me paint this unique slice of nature, quite a fun and welcome departure from my favorite cow faces, including the opportunity to break out the number 1 round sable brushes for the detail on the coyote!

If you can think of a caption for the piece, do leave a comment.

Meet Akkie, Azizi and Aussie!  Three dogs from the land down under.  Their people commissioned me to
immortalize them in oil, and what fun it was to study these faces closely while working on their painting.
This is painted on portrait smooth canvas, which I chose because of the fine detail necessary to render their
glorious locks of hair.  The reference was taken outdoors on grass, but what they really wanted was a painting of the dogs at the beach where they visit and play.  Although it proved difficult to get the reference photo at the actual beach, I used my artistic license and put them on the beach anyway.  I loved this project, many thanks to
Bob and Sheryl for entrusting me with this commission!

The other night I dreamed of finding tiny Holstein cows, and when I say tiny I don't mean like the Jack in the Box commercial for mini sirloin burgers,  with mini cowboys "herding cows the size of Schnauzers but they're cattle".  I mean tiny cows... like insects.  In fact I wouldn't call it a herd of tiny Holsteins, it was more like a hive, I could scoop ten or twenty up with one hand.  Teeny, tiny perfectly anatomically correct black and white cows swarming around!

Wondering at first if I was losing it, cows were now taking over my dreams, and not just any cows but bizarrely small ones until it occurred to me what I had been doing right before I went to sleep.  I have a commission to do a painting of cows on the beach, and my client has a very specific thing in mind.  Working on this involves carefully studying my hundreds of photos of Holsteins in search of the perfect cow composition to fit her vision, hundreds of tiny thumbnail images of black and white cows parading past my eyes.....legions of itty bitty bug sized bovine etched in my brain.  Makes perfect sense to me.

These are the first two studies for cows on the beach.  The cows are the only consideration here as I don't want to put time in working out the beach scene until I have the cows that fit my clients vision.  I do like both of these compositions however and suspect that I will eventually do large paintings of them sometime in the future.

"Cows On The Beach" studies      both are 8"x10"

One of my collectors commissioned this painting as a gift for Christmas this year.  This is Cheeca, an older guy who has been loved by his family for many years.  I used two reference photos for the finished piece, one for the horse and the other for the background.  Commissions of family dogs, cats, horses or ....cows!... make wonderful, one of a kind, thoughtful gifts that last a lifetime and then pass on as family heirlooms.