Well ... It Seemed Like a Good Idea in Theory ...

looking cute ...

glazed with permanent rose ... still all right ...

glazed with indanthrone ... not bad ...

WHAT possessed me to try this, I don't know! I wanted to get more violet in the background, and also imply the look of confetti - a party atmosphere. I got very heavy-handed with the violet. And now I have to start this again. Chalk this one up to "live and learn"!!!

Started scrumbling with some dark browns and blacks for the background on Drake.

Finished scrumbling ...

... and then glazed with black. I am not thrilled with the effect the glazing created, and may have to do some lifting and scrumbling to get that rough look again.  Another start???
Well, I buggered one painting, and it is close with the second one, too. The problem with these two was that I didn't have a clear idea of what I wanted in the background, especially with Miss P. Drake isn't too bad, and may be salvageable, but I have to start the Westie again, with a much clearer mental image of what I want for a background.

Thank you so much for dropping by!

Well ... I'm Past the EEK Stage, and into the "What the ???" Stage - Dog Portraits in Progress

Here, I added a w/w wash of cobalt blue over the dried quin. rose and burnt orange.

Then, I spent this morning finishing her eyes, and doing some soft glazing on the furry shadows.

Here she is - in a close-up.

With Drake, I started a scrumbly background with aureolin towards the top and quin. burnt orange below. 

I am continuing with the scrumbles, using two shades of brown made of quin. burnt orange, quin. violet and indanthrone.

A decent morning's work for me. I hope to get more done this afternoon, after playing with Bruno and the dogs.

Thank you for dropping by!

Lake Tahoe Blue | The Lake Tahoe Blue announce the signing of Julian Davis | Pointstreak Sites

Lake Tahoe Blue | The Lake Tahoe Blue announce the signing of Julian Davis | Pointstreak Sites



I am a very proud aunt! My nephew is back playing hockey.

The "EEK!!!" Stage of a Painting ...

You've all heard, and probably gone through, the "ugly" stage with a painting. The "eek" stage is the one before that! This is definitely the "eek" stage here ... two little brown blobs with a larger pink blob below. 

She looks more like a dog - eyes darkened, and the first wash of a background color. 

... and Drake looked quite strange at this point.

I quickly added some shadows, and more detail around eyes, nose and mouth.

He looks almost handsome. Right now, I am doing thin glazes almost everywhere on the painting. The colors I am using are quin. rose, cobalt blue, quin.violet, quin. burnt orange and indanthrone. The painting is moving well, and maybe ... just maybe ... I'll finish this week. I am thinking of doing a soft, sfumato background, lighter on top, darker below.

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! 

JOY ... Miss P. Is Looking Pretty Darn GOOD!

I thought I'd post these in reverse order, only because I want this photo at the beginning.
Here, I've removed the masking, and finished off the scarf - adding touches of black detail, and softening the whites in the shadow area with some pink/orange mix.
I have also darkened the black of her lips, and started doing some detail work with her facial hair. 

After several washes of the pink/orange mixture, the scarf looks all right.  I've darkened her nose a bit more, and added some of a purply color around her eyes where the skin color shows through the hair.

I painted the scarf with permanent rose and quin. burnt orange, and the "lines" of the shadows in the scarf with indanthrone. I shadowed the tongue with a mix of my favorite "animal" colors.

I needed to put some darks down right away, to see how dark to paint the shadows in her coat.
The tongue is pink and orange, as are the lighter spots around her lips. The black is burnt orange, violet and indanthrone.

And this is the first Miss P. I started ... still needing a bit more work with her hair.

This is it for now. It's teeming rain, so I got a good four hours of solid painting done this morning, and hopefully this afternoon I am able to finish at least one of the Westie portraits. My next projects will be a horse by the name of Voodoo [and he suits the name!] and a friend's dog, called Drake. Looking forward to both of them!

Thank you for dropping by! And have a wonderful and safe holiday!!! 

I Haven't Been This HAPPY Working/Playing with a Painting in Months!!!

I have started my second try at Miss P. I painted the background doing a w/w wash with permanent rose and quin. burnt orange, and then scrumbled with those colors and cobalt blue. Then I did another rough application with a violet made of indanthrone and pink. 

... quick bit of shadowing ...

... and now she is starting to look like the adorable dog she is!

I love expressing emotions in animals' faces. I painted this one, called "The Laughing Labrador",  several years ago for a good friend.

I love the expression she has here - another face full of happiness! Just began last night, with two washes of phthalo blue for the background, and am working on her face this morning. I have no idea what color to paint her scarf - I need it bright and sunny, but not overwhelming. Any ideas???

I really haven't been this excited and pleased with painting in months. But working on these two portraits is such a joy!Thank you so much for dropping by!