I was fortunate enough to have a young lady call me for a short notice commission early this week. I figured since I was nearly done the challenge and in need of a couple more "subjects", I could very likely finish her request...and I did! These two cute doggie paintings are a gift and I am actually fairly happy with them. I could spend more time on them, but I think they'll do the trick.
"Cooper - Day 28" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas 6X6 in. SOLD
"Bear - Day 29" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas 6X6 in. SOLD
The photo I had to work from was a quick snapshot from a smart phone. And it was at a strange angle. Doing commissions can be tricky because most of the time people would like something, but its hard to determine what it is they REALLY want. This one was fairly easy, portraits of the dogs. The only thing I felt as a suggestion was to do two small ones of them, rather than put them on a single canvas. I think it works. Here's a cropped version of the original photo and next are a couple shots of the works in progress! Enjoy!
Aren't they attentive and cute?!
I always start (most of the time) by getting the "drawing" done and blocking in the dark shapes.
This stage is just getting proportions and colour nailed down.
Excellent paintings, Sheila. Painting black dogs, or cats, is a real challenge. It's great adding the purple too, I usually stick with a variety of blues and blacks, but the purple really works well. I'll try purple next time I try to paint our black little cocker spaniel, named Charli.
Sheila
1/30/2014 05:13:23 am
Yes I've used purple before and I like the colour harmonies that come with it. If I tend to use the more neutral blacks with a mix of alizarin and sap green etc I tend to want to do things too photorealistic and I just get stressed wtih making it look perfect. I want a more whimsical look...so I use different colours!