A gorgeous blonde! WIP

Shelley P · #1 01-06-2007, 07:37 AM

Haven't posted anything in ages, so I thought I'd make my first painting of 2007 a WIP. This is my friend's golden puppy (not the kinda blonde you were expecting, huh?). She was holding onto him (just barely) near a big bright window for this photo.

I started the background with a graded colour of dark blue in the upper right corner, fading to a light blue in the lower corner. I did this with a firm sponge roller so the paint could go on wet-on-wet to get a smooth even blend. The mdf (medium density fibre) surface is quite smooth, but needs a light sanding after the first coat of paint (which lifts the fibres slightly). This is my preferred method - to start with a smooth surface and paint thin, with little or no build up of paint as I work. OK, so now I'm ready to add the line drawing and start painting, starting with white highlights on the left. For some reason the background looks grey in these early stages. It's actually a fairly bright blue as you will see at the end. 10" x 10"

I'm using a short-haired brush and thinned paint to start. My plan is to lay out the painting lightly and then build up the layers.

I'm beginning to move onto more golden colours now.

Can't wait any longer. Gotta get those eyes and nose in there!

Now he's starting to shape up and come to life.

Nose Details.

And the eyes. I used soft edges on the pupils to get that 'dewy' look in his eyes.

The finale. This photo was taken after the varnish was applied. I think it really makes the colours much more vivid.

Shelley

**idylbrush** · #2 01-06-2007, 08:02 AM

This is incredible. Very nicely done and a WIP as well.

Bravo!

Shoebox · #3 01-06-2007, 08:57 AM

Spot on, absolutely gorgeous. I love the progression and I don't know if it was the way you took the picture or if that was some super varnish, but the colours really livened up afterwards. He's such an adorable little thing, you captured him beautifully.

purplepansey · #4 01-06-2007, 09:16 AM

What a great WIP and the finish is super!

LisaArt · #5 01-06-2007, 10:35 AM

WOW..GREAT wip and fantastic painting result. Really loved how you worked. the first stages almost looked like an xray! Thanks so much for sharing. That is one beautiful puppy and painting

kdkbrown · #6 01-06-2007, 10:46 AM

Shelly,

What an adorable puppy! Awe... Shelly your work is exceptional!

Shelley P · #7 01-06-2007, 10:58 AM

Thanks so much and I'm glad you like the WIP. He is a beautiful dog and his name is Shane. I just sent the owner the image too (she didn't know I was painting him). Here's what she just wrote back about him ...

"It is too bad Shane can't appreciate the painting! I think I can see a hint of mischief in that smile of his and true to form he put that into practice two days before Christmas. Decided that a glove would make a tasty snack and when it didn't appear at either end then surgery had to be peformed. Sounded like it was pretty routine for the vet as pets consume all kinds of goodies! However, he made great progress and we were all able to enjoy our Christmas."

Poor little guy (actually he's big now). Glad he's on the mend.

Shelley

Marge Wms · #8 01-06-2007, 11:06 AM

Shelley, That is AMAZING!!!!! Now you are what I call an ARTIST.. Gigi

Shelley P · #9 01-06-2007, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shoebox

Spot on, absolutely gorgeous. I love the progression and I don't know if it was the way you took the picture or if that was some super varnish, but the colours really livened up afterwards. He's such an adorable little thing, you captured him beautifully.

Thanks very much!

Cameras are wonderful tools, but they do have limitations. They like to average things out and find a balance. Dark and light, warm and cool and so on. When you take a picture which doesn't have both warm and cool (as in the first images) it doesn't quite know what to do, so it goes kinda grey. Once you introduce warm colours (as in the final images)... ah, now it has a reference for creating the cool tones and the colours are more true.

So here's a tip for photographing your work - if you have a predominently blue image, set it against something warm (red, orange, gold) and your colours will be better! Same goes for the reverse - set a warm painting against a cool backdrop to get the colours more accurate. I wish I'd remembered this, when I was taking the step-by-step images. Sorry. I guess I was too wrapped up in the painting!

As I mentioned before, the varnish really helps too. Because I work so thin, the paint is somewhat chalky looking until the varnish goes on. Then it really comes alive, especially the black. Only trouble is that it gets trickly to photograph then, because it is a bit shiny so you have to watch out for glare.

Shelley

Ex_Fisherman · #10 01-06-2007, 11:37 AM

This is so amazing. Very nice work on the fur.

dreamz · #11 01-06-2007, 01:02 PM

absolutely stunning!.

idcrisis55 · #12 01-06-2007, 01:11 PM

Beautiful, beautiful WIP and finish! Thanks too for the tip on photographing, that was a real bonus.

Hope you post lots more WIP's and paintings

**chammi kaiser** · #13 01-06-2007, 04:46 PM

I am totally besotted with this little creature. A wonderful painting that has touched my heart. Specially like the way you have painted the eye and the fur. Wonderful. CHAMMI

Jabberwockie · #14 01-06-2007, 05:27 PM

WOW!

Excellent work. I am in awe that this is acrylic. Your friend must be so happy.

Roger Evans · #15 01-06-2007, 05:54 PM

Wonderful. Really beautiful work and perfect technique. He looks all soft and cuddly.

I have a technical question about your post. I count something like 14 photos in your post but I was under the impression that we can only post, like, 5 at a time or something. Also, your photos seem much larger than anything I've been able to post in the past. What's your secret?

Roger

Salute to our Partners