Watercolor Dog Memorial Portrait - Update 11

The flowers and leaves are being built up slowly painting with thin layers. I am focusing just on the purples flowers at the top and the leaves right now alternating between them to allow the paint to dry.

The yellow flowers will need more depth added as well but I want to wait until the rest of the leaves and the purple flowers are finished to judge how much they need to be toned down as the purple will make the yellow pop even more.

Watercolor Dog Memorial Portrait - Update 10

Kelly's portrait is very close to completed so I have moved on to the foliage and flowers and will come back to make any minor adjustments. Once the background is completed I will better be able to judge if areas need to be touched up or softened.

The yellow flowers have been set in with several layers of cadium yellow and a few layers of new gamboge. The purple flowers are being built up with thin layers of perylene maroon and french ultramarine.

Watercolor Dog Memorial Portrait - Update 9

Many more layers of sepia, payne's gray and burnt umber have been added throughout to further build up the fur texture. Her face has been evened out more but still requires a bit more work to soften edges and define her fur patterns. The deck has been darkened and will continue to be darkened with layers of payne's gray. Burnt sienna and cobalt blue will be added in areas for depth and warm. Things are starting to shape up!

Watercolor Dog Memorial Portrait - Update 8

More layers of light and dark fur have been painted througout. The woodgrain has been lightly suggested and the layer of paint has been painted both with payne's gray. A few more layers will be added to darken the step underneath and create more texture.

Watercolor Dog Memorial Portrait - Update 7

The details on her face and head are being slowly defined and built up in thin layers of sepia, payne's gray and a mix of yellow ochre & burnt sienna. A darker mix of payne's gray has been used on her nose and eyes and will continue to be built up. Still a ways to go!

Watercolor Dog Memorial Portrait - Update 6

This update shows much more of the fur defined and softened in areas. The shadows on her face have been blocked in and will continue to be developed and softened in areas ... right now her face looks a little jig-saw-puzzlish, that will get better.

The photo was taken at night with flash so it looks a little more golden than on the original. A wash of yellow ochre and burnt sienna is to blame but it pulls things together and softens areas to help create the wispy effect of her fur while mainting the shape with the underpainting.

Watercolor Dog Memorial Portrait - Update 5

More wisps of fur are being added slowly in thin layers to add depth and ensure a rich glow. If the layers are added heavily I find that things can start to look flat and the colors are not as luminous.

Her nose has been blocked in and will continue to be built up. I love the blueish tint on the underside of her nose, I think it will add a very nice cool depth once the layers are built up on top. I used a mixture of Burnt Umber and French Ultramarine for this black. I also used a mix of Perylene Maroon and Winsor Green for a secondary black used in the pads of her feet which gives more of a reddish tone and is not as deep. I do not like the pre-made blacks as they also tend to be flat and lack the luminosity of a mixed black.

Watercolor Dog Memorial Portrait - Update 4

Kelly is finally starting to show her colors :) Many layers of sepia, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, payne's gray, winsor green & perylene maroon have been painted throughout to add depth and texture.

I have established the darks on the pads of her feet to better judge the white values and will continue to build up areas throughout as I tend to skip from one area to the next to allow the paint to dry and to give my eyes a fresh view.

All of the masking fluid has been removed and the jury is still out on whether it is helpful or not. I usually just paint negatively around shapes to preserve my whites and lighter colors and while I like the way the masking fluid behaves in the fur and larger areas, I don't think it was helpful in the foliage area.

Watercolor Dog Memorial Portrait - Update 3

Some of the masking fluid has come off and now the 'connecting' areas need to be softened and worked in toghether. I have added a bit more detail to her fur and painted in a few more flowers.

The layers will need to dry thoroughly before more detail is added and then more of the masking fluid can also be removed.

Watercolor Dog Memorial Portrait - Update 2

Many more layers of foliage have been added and many, many more layers of masking fluid so it still looks a little odd. The fluid will be coming off soon on the foilage and a few details painted in once the darks are dry.

I have added the masking fluid to her fur to retain the white wisps of fur and once the background has been worked on a bit more I will start adding the darks and mid tones to her fur. The colors look very washed out in the photo due to the lighting so hopefully the next photo will be better as it will be in natural light.

Watercolor Dog Memorial Portrait - Update 1

Things look a little funny right now as there are still spots of masking fluid glowing a yellowish ting but I thought I would post an update anyway.

I do not usually use masking fluid but thought it would add nice depth to the foilage once the painting is complete. The areas where the masking fluid has been removed will be painted in, some areas as flowers and some as vines and foilage. The area on the left will be wisps of fur that will also be touched up using both negative and positive painting to shape the fur. Leaves will also be painted in loosely overtop of the wash to give the suggestion of foilage and add depth.

I have started the underpainting of Kelly's fur using sepia in different dilutions to give structure to the fur. This golden retriever's fur is quite light in some areas and very rich in others so I think there will be a nice contrast in the fur once the glazes are added over the underpaintings. I will be away from the studio for a week, gasp, so this will likely be the last update until I return, I am getting separation anxiety already!!!

Watercolor Dog Memorial Portrait - Sketch

The sketch has been transferred to the watercolor paper and has been adjusted in photoshop so the lines can be seen better online. The flowers & leaves will be done very loosely for a glowing effect whereas the deck and Kelly's portrait will have stronger details to ensure that they come forward and that Kelly stays the focal point of the painting. A few of the flower petals and leaves will have more detail just to lead the eye and add interest.

Watercolor Dog Memorial Portrait

This is a reference photo for my current commission which is a memorial portrait for Kelly, a much loved Golden Retriever who recently passed away. The portrait will be 22 x 28" painted in watercolor and will be a surprise gift for her people from a friend. I have started on the sketch and am looking forward to painting her surrounded by all the flowers.

Birthday Portrait Commission Completed

Ok, drum roll please, the portrait is complete! I made a few more tweaks to both of their mouths and darkened the son's skin. I also softened his mouth a little and furrowed his brow a bit more.

Birthday Portrait Commission of Kids Update

I made a few more tweaks to the daughters right eye and mouth and a few tweaks to the son

so I thought I would post a quick update.

Birthday Portrait Commission - Daughter Update 4

Well I think I have gotten the resemblance but I will wait until the graphite settles and have another peek :)

Birthday Portrait Commission - Daughter Update 3

She is looking better but still more to do. Several areas were slightly off and there are still more adjustments to do but she is starting to get a resemblance. Some of the tweaks are still rough so spots look a little odd right now but they will even out :)