A Border Collie Portrait- A memorial portrait of Reggie.

Learn about a special Christmas commission, a portrait of the lovely Reggie, a Border Collie who is sadly no longer with us.

In August of 2025 I was contacted by Reggie's owner, requesting if I could create a portrait of him in oil paint for his wife's Christmas gift.

Together we discussed the requirements of what was wanted from the portrait. Reggie's owner wanted a portrait that featured his "money slot" where his fur colours gave the appearance of a slot like on piggy bank! It is only discussing with owners about the characteristics of their pets, "what makes them, them" that we can then work out what photo will make the best portrait. I can give my thoughts on photos, but it is the owners that have to let me know which is most representative of their pet, their looks, and character, all of which comes across in the final pet portrait.

From this we decided on a photo of Reggie, on a day out in Looe, Cornwall. A place he very much enjoyed visiting, running on the beach and enjoying steak dinners at the pub(!). With a photo such as this, that has an important sense of place, it was key to include the background of the photo.

Reggie's owner wanted a name plaque on the piece too, so I made sure we selected a frame which could accomodate a gold plaque, with his name and also one of his nicknames. I think all dogs end up with more than one name, my dog Monty is Montague when he is naughty, and also is called Sausage (!). I'm not sure how he ended up with that name. I really like how both the framing and plaque turned out and is something I will offer again in the future.

His portrait was completed and safely posted out in time for Christmas, his owner sent me some lovely photos of the present opening, which I will admit brought a tear to my eye. It is such an honour to be able to create a memorial portrait that will remind his owners of their happy times spent together.

If you would like to commission your own Border Collie Portrait- do get in touch via email and we can discuss your requirements together.

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