TUCO - A PORTRAIT'S PROGRESS

Tuco - 14 x 11.5 in.
I'd like to try mounting the paper on a cradled frame, and varnishing it. But I'll wait to see what Tuco's owner thinks.

Graphite drawing

I masked some of his face where I anticipated screaming along with some bright red paint.

Mask removed, and I started some wet-in-wet washes.

Some wet on dry was done where the shadows and colours were deepest.

More w/w

Here, I was starting to get some expression on his face, and adding some some of the softer, lighter colours.

I was almost done with the face. I added his collar, and some shadows around it. In the final stage, at the top of the post, I added more soft shadow to suggest his neck and chest. Somehow, he looked like a floating head without it.

The colours I used were scarlet lake for the red slash; for the darker hues, I used mixtures of quin. burnt orange, quin. violet and indanthrone; for the softer shadows I worked with combinations of quin. pink, aureolin and cobalt blue.

If you have any questions, or would like to enquire about commissioning a portrait, please feel free to write me at studioatthefarm7@gmail.com

Thank you so much for dropping by!

Two Doggish Drawings to Start the New Year

Meet Drake. He belongs to a friend [and fellow hygienist] living in Calgary.  Betty is probably one of the most genuinely kind and sweet people I know. She's retired from being a dental hygienist, and lives with one of her sons and his family in Calgary. As the parents both work, Betty is primarily in charge of Drake. From what I've heard, he is a young, high-energy, mostly Malamute rescue dog from up north. And Betty asked me to do a portrait of him.
Above is my line drawing. I almost always use a grid for the initial drawing, and then move to more shading and detail in the next one.

This was done from Betty's favorite photo of Drake. He has an intense look to his eyes, and a happy-go-lucky grin.

My client downloaded more photos of her Westie, and I found this pose to be irresistible, so here we go again ...

I wish you all a wonderful, healthy and creative New Year!!!

Thank you so much for dropping by!