WIP portrait of 3 basset hounds

[AnnaW]

Last week I started a portrait of 3 basset hounds. A father and his two sons of different ages. One son is approx 6 months and the other approx 2 months.

It is a commission and a very big project for me. I do not have much experience with pastelpencils yet but I feel confident enough to take this commission. However I only sell it if I am satisfied and if the potentional buyers are satisfied. That gives me the freedom I need. Otherwise I feel very stressed and I know that I cannot work that way. First I took many photos of the dogs, not easy to do:wink2:. And together with the owners of the dogs I decided which photos I would use for the portraits.

So I took a picture when 1/3 of the first head was finished and 2/3 still in working process. The second picture shows that 2/3 is almost finished and I started the third part. You also can see the ear of the other dog above the one I am working on. That will be the father. The 3 dogs have different colors, so every head has its own challenge and difficulties. A lot of work still have to be done before the first head is ready.

I use 3 different brands of pastel pencils, Giaconda, Pitt and I gave myself a Christmas present and bought Carbothellos. Those materials are sooooo expensive, but I love to work with those pencils.
I work on Canson Mi Teintes, the smooth side.
The 3 heads together measures 40x30 cm



http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/../Community/images/24-Dec-2010/118797-1ste_foto_21-12-2010klein.jpg

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/24-Dec-2010/118797-2e_foto_24-12-2010klein.jpg

[chuas2]

WOW Anna, wonderful portraits! I can't believe you haven't worked much with pastel pencil....:envy:

I'm sure the buyers will be thrilled to have these!
Chuas

[AnnaW]

Thanks very much for your compliments Chuas.
I learned so much from drawing portraits with graphite pencils and therefor I prefer to work with pastel pencils. I cannot work with soft pastels:lol:
I hope in future I will be able to work with soft pastels too.
I was pleasantly surprised myself about the result sofar:clap: I hope that I do not destroy it because I have to make two other heads too at the same paper. brrrrrr:envy:

[allydoodle]

Oh my, this is starting out beautifully. Hard to believe you've not worked with pastel pencils much, this looks like you've got them figured out already. I'm looking forward to watching your progress on this.

[Nansketch]

Great start on this -- the fur and fore-ear look great -- very basset like

[AnnaW]

Allydoodle and Nansketch, thanks very much for your comments and compliments:clap: It gives me really the confidents I need to go on.
Last night I worked hard and I think the head is almost there. I will let it rest and concentrate at the second black and white head of the father and perhaps later on I will bring some tiny alterations at the first head. But I find out that when I let my drawings and paintings rest for a while I can see them with fresh eyes. In real the head is so much better, there is more depth and liveliness, ah well, we all know that taking photos and scans do not give the real thing.

So here it is.................. my first bassethead finished. Wow, I even surprised myself. The last couple of years I studied hard. Bought many beautiful books about all kind of materials and techniques and also bought many DVD's. And I think that it pays out right now. I am so glad.:lol:
I have a very low income and I hope that I will get a couple of commissions per year. Not too much, only to be able to buy my materials to keep going.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/25-Dec-2010/118797-3e_foto_25-12-2010kleinernaam.jpg

[tjhi]

This is very well done, Anna. Looking forward to seeing the others come along.

Terry

[sketchZ1ol]

hello
the accuracy and the attention to detail is excellent :)
the colour/palette is well chosen for this graphic approach
- keeps things easy to control
since this is a commision, and with the colour, i can understand that you may be nervous
-but elated at the same time !
thx for showing us this wip and sharing your feelings :) :)
happy holiday
:} Ed

[fingy]

Your finished Bassett Hound is wonderful, well done !!

Have you tried Clarefonteine Pastelmat as a support ...do yourself a favour & give it a try as I wouldn't use anything else, it's great !!

Fingy.

[AnnaW]

hello
the accuracy and the attention to detail is excellent :)
the colour/palette is well chosen for this graphic approach
- keeps things easy to control
since this is a commision, and with the colour, i can understand that you may be nervous
-but elated at the same time !
thx for showing us this wip and sharing your feelings :) :)
happy holiday
:} Ed

Thanks Ed for your comments and compliments, they are so welcome:thumbsup:
Happy holiday for you too!! And a very creative 2011

[AnnaW]

Terri and Fingi, you also I want to thank for taking the time to give comments!

I haven't tried Clairfontaine yet. I bought some different kind of papers, like Clairfontaine and Colorfix a couple of weeks ago. But I could not get it in large sheets (only 3A) and I needed for this big project a far more bigger sheet. So therefor I had to choose Mi-Teintes. But I cannot wait to try out these other papers

But I am pleasantly surprised how much Mi-Teintes takes on pastel. I put a second sheet under the paper I am working on and I think that this makes a big different. And I can lift out some pastel if needed with kneeded eraser and add again several layers.

[Nansketch]

Anna, very nice subtle updates on this guy -- just love him. You are doing great -- I am still impressed by the fur.

I'll be happily watching along.

Nancy

[John Palmer Fine Art]

Very nice portrait Anna, I like the subtlety in your work. Will tune in for more. John

[Paula Ford]

WOW!!! Gorgeous work!

[AnnaW]

First layers on the father, building up the black ears. But of course the ears are not black but have a lot of colors and shine, like purple and blue.
Because the heads of the suns/puppies at the front have a lot of reds/orange in them the blues in the black of the father will take the head further back. And I hope to create that way contrast and depth.
A real adventure, I did not have any experience with this:D

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/27-Dec-2010/118797-4e_foto_27-12-2010klein.jpg

[allydoodle]

You are doing a beautiful job with this. Wonderful handling of the pencils.

I use Canson Mi-Teints paper often, and I have found that placing a cusion of that same paper underneath the one I am working on works very well. You said you put a second sheet underneath you're working on, and I would suggest placing a few more (I have had 10 or more at a time, you'd be surprised). The cushion you get really works well, and I have never ruined the ones underneath, they are just fine to work on for your next painting. It really makes a difference, and I thought I would mention it. Super job!

[Orchidacea]

magnificent detail!

[ArtsyPatrice]

Beautifully done! Lots of patience needed here - fun to watch this one come together...

[Tisiphone]

They are so huggable! I love their droopy faces!

[AnnaW]

Thanks again for all your comments, it is so lovely to share my progress:clap:
After many hours this is the next stage. In real the black ears are softer/smoother. I tried to alter it in Paint Shop, but this is the best I could get. Ah well, it is always a challenge to take a good photo and the finished red head is easier to photograph than this black and white head.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/28-Dec-2010/118797-5e_foto_27-12-2010klein.jpg

[AnnaW]

I took a break during the holidays but I am a little bit further with the second head. I decided to take off almost everything from the black ear. I was not satisfied about it. So I started again and it took many many hours to draw the ear again. It looks better now. And I started to work on the other parts of the head. Still a lot of work to do.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/12-Jan-2011/118797-6e_foto_12-1-2011kleinernaam.jpg

[RainySea]

this is coming out beautiful.

[Finvarra]

This is shaping up beautifully. I took a look at your website, your drawings and pastels are lovely.

Following this with interest.

Cheers
Lesley

[*Deirdre*]

Following your progress Anna...you're doing a great job with those pencils!:thumbsup:

[PETE K]

HI Anna, your work on this piece is comming along absolutely marvelous.

[KariTirrell]

These are gorgeous dogs! Excellent work.

[robertsloan2]

Excellent basset hounds! Thanks for sharing the WIP! It's always a challenge with more than one subject in a portrait, whether it's animal or human. I like your changes in papa hound.

[Merethe T]

Coming along beautifully, you're doing a fantastic job on this! Can't believe you haven't worked much with pastel pencils before, you're a natural....I look forward to your next update!

[cornwall]

Superb pastelling.

[bnoonan]

I think they are just the most love-able looking pet around and you have really captured them in this painting. I wonder if the others are going to let #3 come join them.
Barb

[AnnaW]

Wow, what a lovely compliments, thanks a lot for the effort to look at my dogheads and to give me some feeedback. It is much appreciated!!! :thumbsup:Wetcanvas is such a support when I am doing such great project. :clap:
It keeps me going for sure.

I finally finished the second head, the head of the father of the two puppies.
Of course in real .................. I find the portraits are better, sigh.
The black is not so blue in real, more subtle, but I think you can see all the colors I have used to create the "blacks".
When the 3 heads are finished I will of course make some last alternations like the white breast and shoulder of the middle head.

As you can see I started with the third head, the youngest puppy. His colors are different from his father and brother, so again a real challenge to get it right.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/19-Jan-2011/118797-7efoto19-1-2011kleinernaam.jpg

[*Marina*]

Looks great so far. You must have a lot of patience Ans doing this with pencils. Planning anything for the background?

[AnnaW]

Thanks Marina, at the moment I still have problems working with soft pastels and I am a bit familar with working with pencils.
Therefor I prefer pastelpencils right now.
But I have some Rembrandts from 30 years ago and I am using these sometimes a bit.

So I decided to give myself a reward for my hard work and and also a Birthday present and last week I ordered a box of 72 assorted Unisons.
These 3 bassethounds are a commission and the lady/owner choose the color of the paper, she loves a bit of purple, so I do not make a background.
And I am not so good with backgrounds.
I have still so much to learn;)
I visited your website, wow,:thumbsup: your paintings are really beautiful.

[*Marina*]

Thanks a lot Anna for the compliments. You will love the Unisons, great pastels.

[bnoonan]

One of the best parts of this is that the personality of the dogs shows through. By staring off in different directions, you get to enjoy them individually. You also have a sense of the reason for the long nose.... They seem to be sniffing while you paint.

LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS!!!

[AnnaW]

Finally the huge project of drawing 3 heads together is finished.

I do not think that I ever will take on such a project. It took me months:lol:

Next week the owners will see the finished portrait for the first time. I hope they will like it.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/28-Jan-2011/118797-totaalnaamklein.jpg

[Dcam]

Ohhhh, I really like these hounds.....such personality. You are doing a fabulous job. Love your sense of Line.
Derek

[KarenB]

I am certain the owners will love the protraits. I do! :-) I especially like the way you have overlapped the images so that the coloration on the dog's chests are a unifying element. Very, very nice.

[KariTirrell]

How could they not like it? Fabulous!

[KD Art]

This is wonderful! The owners are bound to be over the moon with it. I would be! Kat

[*Deirdre*]

Forgot to ask...is it OK if we put a copy of this in our WIP section?

[water girl]

I had missed the finished portrait. This is so beautifully done, I want to run my hands over those soft, silky coats. Fabulous!

[AnnaW]

Forgot to ask...is it OK if we put a copy of this in our WIP section?
Deidre, of course you can put a copy in the WIP section!:thumbsup::thumbsup: