Bubba is a four-year-old Blue Merle Mini Australian Shepherd, commissioned by the same family whose beloved dogs I’ve had the pleasure of painting before. His portrait joins Mila’s, creating a pair that celebrates two very different personalities and two remarkably beautiful coats.
Bubba’s blue-merle coloring gave me so much to work with as a painter. Charcoal, silvery gray and soft cream move across his face in an almost abstract pattern, interrupted by touches of warm copper around his eyes and cheeks. I wanted to capture that complexity without painting every strand of fur, allowing loose, confident brushstrokes and unexpected shifts of color to do the work instead.
A warm, quiet background sets off the cooler tones of his coat and brings the focus back to what mattered most to me—Bubba’s soulful brown eyes and that wonderfully gentle, observant expression.
Artwork Details
Artist: Kara Manza
Medium: Acrylic on gesso board
Subject: Blue Merle Mini Australian Shepherd
Original custom pet portrait
Painted from a reference photograph