Mariam Graff Studio
Commission Dog Portraits

Phone: (309) 251.0635
E-Mail: mgraffstudio@yahoo.com


About the Artist

Whether she is painting a standard poodle being groomed into a glorious lion clip, or the national champion weight-pulling Pit Bull, Graff has an uncanny knack for portraying the uneasy eye, the delicate raising of a paw, the moment of desire, tension, or happy abandon that we see in all dogs.

Although born in Central Illinois, Graff was raised in Saudi Arabia where she attended Dhahran Academy International School. Her first dog was a desert-bred Saluki pup that had been abandoned by the pack. A midwestern girl by heart, she named her mideastern, four- legged friend "Spot", and so began her love for the dog. She won first prize as a first-grader in an art exhibition sponsored by the Saudi government for expatriates. The painting was tempera on paper, the subject, Spot and her newly smuggled Dachshund pup, Aristotle. Brian Wildsmith presented her award.

Mariam now resides in Central Illinois with her husband Denny, Standard Poodle, Kubrick, and Welsh Pembroke Corgi, Beebah. She has shown dog paintings in numerous exhibitions including the San Diego Art Institute's "Museum of the Living Artist" Annual Juried International Exhibition, the 17th and 18th Annual Art Show at the Dog Show, Wichita, Kansas, the Dishman Museum, Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas, and the 19th Annual Greater Midwest International, Central Missouri State University.

Graff has been commissioned to paint dogs of all kinds, from the 2001 National Champion Weight-Pulling Pit Bull "Judo", to "Danny and Foxy", the beloved pets of Hollywood actor Kirk Douglas.

Process

Graff paints in a realistic "Old Masters" style, capturing the light on the subject as well as the dog's likeness. It is very important to her that she meet and photograph the dog in person. Her paintings take anywhere from one to four months to complete - depending on the size and detail of her subject. Graff uses the highest quality materials and varnishes the painting one year after completion with a rich old world Mastic varnish.

There are two options for commission dog portraits:

9" x 11" head only
Up to 36" x 28" full portrait

All images, designs and information on this site are copyright of the artist and may not be reproduced or used in any form or any manner, or displayed in any way on any website without the express written consent of Mariam Graff.