ANNIE'S PORTRAIT - A CHRISTMAS GIFT

Miss Annie, ready for her Christmas debut.

Fairly detailed sketch for the client's approval

Annie as a puppy. My client sent me many photos from which to work. This was one of them, and I couldn't resist drawing her - such a happy face!

I had first masked Annie, to be able to have the freedom to paint several soft, wet-in-wet washes. When done and dried, I just masked a few spots that I didn't want black. I worked on an extra-large format so I'd be able to trim edges if the pigment did not take well at the perimeter.

Several glazes to achieve the depth of black of her body, with some lifting to regain highlights.

I carefully painted several hard- and soft-edged glazes on her face.

Almost done. To finish, I added some shadow to her collar and white chest ruff.

This is another portrait I did several years ago for my client.

...also for my friend

I wasn't sure how the first attempt would turn out so I prepped and started a second painting.  I had noticed the paper had some strange mottling at the edges, and was unsure how it would take a lot of w/w and multiple washes. I have since discovered that watercolour paper gets "old", and sometimes develops mold, which affects how it accepts pigment. I had a stockpile of Arches, but hadn't been doing much painting, so I suppose it was showing its age with some sheets.

Thank you all for dropping by! If you have any questions about commissioning a painting, or how I create the work, please write me a note.

 

It's Maggie's Turn in the Limelight - a Portrait in Progress

I finally caught a photo of Maggie NOT as a blur of black.

Started with some thin washes of local color - alizarin crimson in her ear, and an aureolin, pink and cobalt blue mix for the light spots.

It was at this point that I took a good look at the model herself. I was sitting at the computer, and she was on her hind legs with her front paws on my lap. I was going in the wrong direction with her coloring! She has much more black on her face. The reference photo, taken at sunset, had wrongly indicated that she had more of the gold color in her face and neck than she actually does. So ...

I found another photo - here she is with her best buddy, both of them with their favorite stuffed animals. And I kept going to Maggins as she rested, checking her coloring. I am sure she wondered what the heck I was doing.

With this wash, I started correcting her coloration.

... continuing to do more w/w washes.

I am this point now. I have her eye done, and I am working mostly with the dry brush technique to darken her coat. I picked up a cat's tongue brush last week [as I was picking up a few supplies for my class] - it works beautifully.

Thank you so much for dropping by!