Please email me if you have any questions.

DOTTIESCHAFFER@GMAIL.COM

*To see samples of my work please scroll down*

Steps taken for a watercolor portrait:

A few words....

A good thing to keep in mind is that my portraits take time. Depending on any mixture of variables (size, time of year, number of subjects and my waiting list) a piece can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 months. Please scroll down to view samples. (if you click on the samples you can view them larger)

Thanks, Dottie

A few examples:

Belew 11" by 14"
Part of the personal collection of J and M Roundtree of Charleston, SC
(graphite and graphite powder on Arches 500 series cold press illustration board)


Taylor RIP, 8" by 10"
Part of the personal collection of A and C Jupin of Atlanta, GA
(graphite and graphite powder on Arches 500 series cold press illustration board)

Miss Frannie, 8" by 10"
Part of the personal collection of P and W Gall of Myrtle Beach, SC
(graphite and graphite powder on Arches 500 series cold press illustration board)
*Congratulations to P. and W. Gall of Myrtle Beach! They won the grand prize from the furbaby raffle, 2008! We raised over $500. for this very noteworthy cause!!
http://www.shihtzuandfurbabyrescue.com/

Beau , 8" x 10"
Part of the personal collection of B. Grace of Charleston, SC
(graphite pencils, graphite dust and watercolor on Strathmore illustration board)

Pheobe , 10" x 12"
Commissioned by H. Keen of Charleston, SC.
(graphite pencils and graphite dust on Strathmore illustration board)

Miss Bits, 8" x 10"
Part of the personal collection of D. Stanski of Kiawah island, SC
(graphite pencils and graphite dust on Strathmore illustration board)

Levi, 11" x 14"
Part of the personal collection of L. McElhaney of Charleston, SC
(graphite pencils and graphite dust on Strathmore illustration board)

Gator RIP, 12" x 22"
Part of the personal collection of Stono River Kennels of John's Island, SC
(graphite pencils and graphite dust on Strathmore illustration board)

Riley RIP, 10" x 12"
Commissioned by K. Hall of Charleston SC
(graphite and watercolor on Arches watercolor paper)

Bud, 8" x 10"
Commissioned by M. Branan of James island, SC
(graphite on Strathmore cold press illustration board)

Sarah, 10" x 12"
Part of the personal collection of A. and J. Faulkner of Goose Creek, SC
(graphite on Strathmore cold press illustration board)

Kya, 8" x 10"
Part of the personal collection of J. and J. Collier of Goosecreek SC
(graphite and graphite dust on Arches hot press paper)
Bill, 8" by 10"
Part of the personal collection of R. and S. Jenkins of James Island, SC
(graphite and graphite powder on Arches 500 series cold press illustration board)

*Congratulations to R. and S. Jenkins of James island! They won the grand prize from the furbaby raffle 2007! We raised over $500. for this very noteworthy cause!!

http://www.shihtzuandfurbabyrescue.com/
Ashley on the Beach, RIP, 15" x 17"
Part of the personal collection of E. and K. Evans of Charleston SC
(graphite and watercolor on Arches hot press paper)

"After our four legged child Ashley died I decided to have a portrait done of her as a gift to my wife. I knew I wanted a local artist and so I began my search here in Charleston. I was surprised to find a good many artists in the area who specialized in pet portraits. I examined the work of many artists, in many different mediums, and while most of it was good, I thought "this could be any dog", and at the price many of the artists asked, well, that wasn't good enough. I was, however, struck by the detail in the work of Dottie Schaffer. In everyone of the Dottie's portraits, I knew, this isn't any dog, this is someone's beloved dog. So, I decided to ask Dottie to produce a portrait of Ashley. True to form, Dottie produced the most wonderful portrait of Ashley, not just any black lab, Ashley. Dottie's true artist talent came out not only in the detail on Ashley, but in the background scenery and the overall sense of peace and happiness she was able to convey through the portrait. Those last qualities are what most moved my wife and are what made this portrait so meaningful to us."

--Edward Evans 11/17/07

Paige and Scout, 10"x 12"
Part of the personal collection of S. and K. Collier of Asheville, NC
(graphite on illustration board)

Sampson, 12" x 9"
graphite on illustration board
(donated for the Furry Affair SPCA 2007 silent auction and
Part of the personal collection of J. Knowles of Charlotte, NC)

Margaret and Sully, 10" x 12"
graphite on illustration board
(Part of the personal collection on M. Smith of Mount Pleasant, SC)


Hugo, 15" x 19"
graphite and watercolor on illustration board
(Part of the personal collection of M & P. Warnock of Mount Pleasant, SC)

"We exchanged gifts with one another the Friday before Christmas since we had to travel, and when I gave it to him he just stared at it for about 5 minutes straight without saying anything. He loved it!! He then went and
got the actual picture off of my e-mail and compared it and was amazed at how well of a job was done on the detail. You really did a fabulous job, and already I have a friend who wants you to maybe do her horse and her dog.
Everyone who has seen it so far has asked about you and where I found you."

--P. Wornock 1/17/07

Miss Magnolia Rose, 10" x 12"
graphite and watercolor on illustration board
(Part of the personal collection of B. Grace of West Ashley, SC)

Your work is so gifted.
My Maggie is your most beautiful model by far, of course I am just a little partial.

-- B. Grace 01/28/07

Graham, 10" by 12"
graphite on Strathmore illustration board
(Part of the personal collection of G. York, of Montreat NC)

"How I love my Graham, & how I Cherish these portraits of her. They are absolutely HER."

-- G. York 02/06/07

Fiona and Spanky, 8" x 10"
pen and ink on denril
(donated to the JASPCA's Furry Affair silent auction, August '06)


The wedding, 10" x 10"
watercolor on 500 series Strathmore illustration board, framed and matted
--the colors are more vivid in person.
(for sale $400. not including shipping and handling)

Ryan's baptism, 15" x17"
graphite on illustration board
(Part of the personal collection of M. and L. Schaffer of Charleston, SC)


Emily and Miles, 15" x 17"
watercolor on watercolor paper
(Part of the personal collection of E. Newhouse of Oakland, CA)


Paul's veggies, 6" x 10"
watercolor and grphite on watercolor paper
(Part of the personal collection of P. Newhouse of Corvalis, OR)

(While I know this painting is neither of pets or of people, it is something I did this past summer that I quite like--I paint various botanicals, veggies and fruit when the time and the inspiration find me. This was a birthday gift to my brother, Paul.)

AddMe - Search Engine Optimization