Welcome to my site. I am not a professional artist, but I have been painting for over 40 years. I began as a house painter in 1982, and when I needed Christmas gifts for my sisters, I took photos of their two dogs and did my first oil portraits using an assortment of old paints and brushes given to me by my next door neighbor, who was an artist. I didn’t have any idea of what I was doing, so I made detailed sketches on the canvases and filled them in much like paint-by-number kits. The paintings came out okay, but what impressed me the most was how much I enjoyed the slow, methodical process of applying each layer of paint in an effort to capture the essence of the dogs. It was very relaxing, and rewarding, and I kept it up in my spare time, eventually learning to paint with watercolors and acrylics, as well. Today, I try to pick out interesting subjects like wildlife, landscapes, flowers, etc., just to keep busy and maintain my amateur status. I have taken commissions on rare occasions just for the pleasure of watching each painting unfold, and for that reason, I am able to offer pet portraits at reasonable prices, usually less than $200.

Email:: skipvanlenten@gmail.com.

I added a Photos page recently. Taking photos is something I have been doing for as long as I have been painting. Something about capturing the world I see has always fascinated me, so my collection here includes a lot of personal photos as well as landscape scenes, flowers, and animals. I hope you enjoy them if you take a look, and let me know what you think.