Michelle Wrighton Fine Art and Photography

The original oil painting ‘Angel in Blue’ is one of my favourite traditional oil paintings on canvas that I have done.  Unlike many artists who will re-visit a painting they have created in the past and paint it again in a larger size or different medium, I very rarely, if ever do this…possibly because the traditional art mediums that I use (charcoal, graphite, color pencils, acrylic and oil paints) and the detailed style that I paint in take so many hours to create that I just have never had the desire to become that familiar with the image again!

However digital painting is proving to be so much fun and so liberating, LOL somedays I just think my artistic muse must be on speed;)  Or maybe something else a bit funny if the contemporary digital modifications that I have made to a photo of my American Staffordshire Terrier oil painting ‘Angel in Blue’ is any indication;)  While I still prefer the traditional oil painting version (and I am not sure if this version will appear anywhere else but in this blog post), my creative spirit is having so much fun that I feel somewhat compelled to share some of my experiments!  This is not a simple photo manipulation using one click filters or adjustments in photoshop, I have added all the new colours  to the photo and re-painted and blended them in this very funky version of Angel.  Nice and bright, hey?

Funky Angel - Contemporary American Staffordshire Terrier Painting

This is one of the first digital oil paintings that I did, sketching and painting the dog using using Photoshop CS4 oil brushes and blending with the smudge tool.  Initially I was happy with it, then after I did a few more digital paintings I relegated this one to the back burner as it lost its appeal.  I recently dragged it out from my work in progress folders and finished it off – all it needed was a closer crop and a touch more contrast:)

Chelsea - Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Pet portrait Painting

Cards, laminated, matted and framed prints of Chelsea can be purchased from my Redbubble shop:   

Digital Painting of a gorgeous chocolate Labrador at the beach.

Chocolate Labrador Beach Painting Pet Portrait

This pet portrait is an acrylic painting of Moe, a gorgeous little pug that seems to be saying “Go ahead, Make my Day”, or maybe just “This IS my happy face!” Gotta love those pups with squished wrinkly faces!

8″x10″ gallery wrapped canvas

"This *IS* my Happy Face"

cards and prints featuring this artwork can be purchased at

Pug Breed Profile

Pug dog were originally developed in China over a thousand years ago. When they were taken to Europe by the Dutch East India Company, they became a favorite breed of royalty and the aristocracy.

Pugs are a small Toy breed, with an ideal weight range of 6.3-8.1kg (14-18lbs). They have square compact bodies, wrinkled skin and tightly curled tails.

Pugs are intelligent dogs that are even tempered with a happy and lively disposition that makes them very suitable as family pets. They have short smooth coats, but are heavy shedders for their size, so regular brushing is required, as well as cleaning of the wrinkles in their face to prevent infections developing.

Pugs are an indoor breed. They are relatively inactive indoors which makes them suitable for apartment living, as long as they receive regular exercise to avoid becoming overweight. They are quite playful, however due to their short noses, Pugs can have difficulties breathing so strenuous exercise, especially in hot weather, should be avoided. They can also be prone to skin and eye problems.

If a Pug sounds like the breed for you and your family, please contact a reputable breeder in your area, or better still, a Pug Rescue group such as the following:

Pug Rescue Victoria

Pug Rescue Inc

Pug Rescue Sydney

Perth Pug Rescue

Pug Rescue.com United States

Pug Welfare-Rescue United Kingdom

Two new dog breed portraits have now been added to the Dogs gallery, a Shiba Inu and another Shar-Pei (I just can’t resist wrinkles!). Both of these are color pencil/acrylic on drafting film.

Suki - Shiba Inu Pet Portrait

Aspen - Shar-Pei Painting

Buy Art prints and cards featuring this artwork from

This is my latest painting of a gorgeous rescue Greyhound “Teddy”.  Rendering his fur realistically was a bit of a challenge.  I will probably leave this for a few days then make some minor adjustments before varnishing it.

This one is acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas.

Michelle

This is one of the commissions I have just finished – definitely one of the hardest I have done due to the lack of detail in the original reference photo (shown below). Unfortunately this beautiful dog recently passed away and so no additional photos could be taken. Considering the lack of detail that was in the photo I am really pleased how this one turned out. What do you think?

Michelle

http://www.pencilportraits.com.au