Pets & Wildlife Come to Life in Portraits by Artist Deb Crine

Artist Debra Crine is exhibiting sixteen amazingly realistic portraits of domestic pets and assorted wildlife this month in the Marco Island Center for the Arts La Petite Galerie. This is her first exhibit of portraits done in colored pencils and pastels. 

Art always has been an important part of Deb’s life. She is largely self-taught, and her style is described as realistic. She is an animal lover and enjoys creating pet and wildlife portraits. Deb fosters for the Naples Humane Society, and two of her own four dogs came from fostering them. 

Wildlife is also her passion. A portrait of a handsome Florida panther, done in pastels, is one of her oldest pieces. Florida panthers are endangered, in the wild numbering only 120-230 adults and subadults. 

Deb participates in a closed group of artists and photographers, and sometimes uses their amazing photographs with permission and credit. The photographers are thrilled to see their photos brought to life in colored pencil or pastels.  

Her portraits in the current exhibit include a grey wolf, a white wolf, a leopard and a barn owl. There also are two cats and two dogs. Some of the portraits are commissioned pieces. Deb recently participated in a Naples Humane Society fundraiser, helping to raise funds for the shelter. She was asked to do portraits of dogs, some of them rescue dogs. She has two more portraits to finish. She commented that the event was a lot of fun and very good practice for her. 

Deb is always searching for new ways to improve her artistic abilities. She is very passionate about her work and wants people to feel emotionally connected to the piece she is creating. 

She started as a quilter. Her textile work has been exhibited in both national and international shows and received numerous awards, but she always wanted to combine painting and quilting to create one–of–a–kind pieces. One day, she came across a master silk painter who was painting on silk with dye. Deb made several pieces that went on to be exhibited in national and international shows. 

Shortly thereafter, she saw a piece that featured pastels and fell in love with that medium. She got into pastel drawing just to take a break and to improve her drawing skills. When the pandemic hit, she says she went into a funk and was looking to fill her time. 

For something new, Deb tried colored pencils and immediately knew this was a good way for her to slow down. Colored pencils require many hours to finish a small piece, sometimes 25 to 40 hours of drawing and layering using different types of pencils. When not working on her art, Deb is lending a voice to rescue animals with no voices, helping to raise both funds and awareness. 

Those interested in a commissioned portrait of their pets in either colored pencil or pastels can go to Deb Crine’s website www.debcrine.com for examples of her work and her commission pricing. She can be emailed at dcrine@gmail.com. 

Calling All Artists 

It is time to sign up and get ready to bring your creativity to the Marco Island Center for the Arts for this holiday season. The Festival of Trees is now open to applicants, and you can download the submission form at www.marcoislandart.org/festival-of-trees.