NINA [AKA - THE WEINER] - DOG PORTRAIT IN WATERCOLOUR - STEP BY STEP

Drawing of Miss Nina, my niece's dog

Spots on nose and eyes masked. First washes of yellow ochre and quin. burnt orange applied, some wet in wet, some wet on dry.

Collar painted in mix of phthalo. and cobalt blue. Starting eyes with usual w/w applications of quin. burnt orange, quin. violet and indanthrone. 

Because she has such a shaggy coat, I decided to not paint her w/w, but rather by applying individual thin strokes of colour.

Tongue painted with quin. pink, and shaded in pink, quin. burnt orange and indanthrone. Continue to build up her coat with more thin applications of paint. 

... and more applications ...
Starting to look like Nina.

Here she is - finished. 

Photo I took of the Weiner when she was last out for a visit a few weeks ago.

My niece has had Nina for a year. She got her from a friend whose dog had pups, so they have been together from the beginning, and have formed a lovely relationship. As you can probably see from the photo, Nina is an exuberant dog, and has a beautiful nature. She is the only dog that Bruno [my horse] will tolerate. I think Nina feels Bruno is just a very big dog, and he appreciates it that she is quiet, and does not try to chase him. My dog, on the other hand, will try to stalk him like a border collie and nip at his feet. In her own weird way, I think my dog is trying to protect me. Anyway, that is the story of the portrait - I painted it as a gift for my niece's birthday.

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CATCHING UP WITH THE TRES AMIGOS

Drawing of three chicks, with all sorts of scribbled notes [sometimes even phone numbers and appointments!]

Start with w/w application of aureolin, then dry feathering with black [quin. burnt orange, quin. violet and indanthrone]

More feathering ...

Beaks and feet with quin. sienna, and sienna mixed with violet for shadows

NOW we're getting somewhere! Then, lastly, a "ground" of burnt orange and violet

TRES AMIGOS
19 x 28 cm. framable
$149.00 Cdn

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THE BABE

Here's one of the baby barn swallows on his first day of flying lessons, taking a breather on the floor.  I took this while lying on my belly about 10 feet from him.

Drawing and notes on composition and format.

Getting some local color in the feathers - quin. burnt orange, phthalo blue and indanthrone.

This image belongs before the one above, but blogger wouldn't let me re-arrange them.  I started with the eyes and some of the darker feathers.

More feathering, and a thin grey wash to start the background, so I have an idea of how dark to go with the swallow.

Still more work on feathers, and some hay bits around his feet.

Almost done ...

THE BABE
14 x 11 in./ 36 x 28 cm. framable
$275.00 US

I love having swallows in the barn ... hearing them chatter away, watching their antics. Dad arrives first in late April, checking to see if the nest is still available. Then Mom comes along a day or two later, and the two of them discus the nest, and re-decorate. The nestlings appear a few weeks later, and stay in the nest for two weeks till the parents start encouraging them to fly. Then they all stay in the nest and nearby rafters for a few weeks. And quite often there is a second batch of babies.
I suppose I could paint something more topical and angst-y, but my heart would not be in it. The world could be a hard, cruel and demanding place, and I do see it and feel it [and have nightmares about it], but I just cannot create art based on discordant harshness.

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