Watercolor Dog Portrait of Dudley Completed

Only a few minor tweaks were needed to complete Dudley's portrait. I just added a few more wisps here & there and added a bit more texture to his now. I think he turned out rather nicely so if my client is happy I will package him up and ship him, sigh, getting separation anxiety again. He is a cutie and even with all that fur he was fun to paint!

Watercolor Dog Portrait of Dudley - Update 4

Spent most of today working on Dudley and I think he is nearly complete. Many layers have been added thinly to build up the depth and the darks have been darkened and glazed over many times to give a rich glow.

Just a few minor tweaks here and there but I have to let things dry a bit to ensure the lines are crisp as it is just a few small details that are needed.

Watercolor Dog Portrait of Dudley - Update 3

The directionality of pretty much all of the fur has been painted in so it is now a matter of building up the layers using cool and warm variations of brown to create shape a depth. Varying the amount of pigment and water gives a huge range of tonal values as does adding small amount of blue or red pigment to the browns used.

Watercolor Dog Portrait of Dudley - Update 2

Dudley is starting to take shape slowly but surely. The darks still look a little funny in areas but as the layers get built up it adds to the depth and blends in more naturally. By the next update most of the underpainting should be completed so the shape of his head will be more natural looking and things will just keep getting furrier :)

Watercolor Dog Portrait of Dudley - Update 1

The couch and background have been painted on and left to dry. Layers of his fur were then built up slowly blocking in the darks and lights. The collar has been blocked in and layers of brown will go over it to soften it more. He looks a little funny right now but will take shape soon enough.

The masking fluid is still on in areas but will come off soon. The lighting was not great for this photo so the coloring is a little off in areas, next update should be more accurate in color as it is 'supposed' to be sunny the rest of the week.

Watercolor Dog Memorial Portrait of Nikki Completed

The portrait of Nikki is completed. I painted a few highlights around her face and muzzle and then warmed up a few areas to balance things out. I think her portrait turned out quite nicely and is going to look very nice framed.

Watercolor Dog Memorial Portrait of Nikki - Update 4

The portrait is really starting to come alone. The sparkle is starting to really show in her eye and her fur is getting much fuller. Still more detail to add in her muzzle and I will likely add a few more highlights just to add a bit more depth and fullness. The darker blanket helped ground the portrait more and it has a nice texture to it.

Watercolor Dog Memorial Portrait of Nikki - Update 3

Different shades have been painted to the portrait to add more depth and shape. Nikki is a very dark dog with lighter patches of fur so the darks need to be quite dark to get the resemblance.


Once the darks are fully established I will then glaze over them so they read more as brown than black to maintain the monochromatic portrait feel. She is really starting to take shape now :) The blanket needs to be darkened so I will do a bit more detail to her muzzle and will then save the whites with masking fluid and paint in the blanket again.

Watercolor Dog Memorial Portrait of Nikki - Update 2

More of the layers of fur have been built up by painting many more thin detailed layers of color. I could probably have added more of the darker colors in washes and then added the more detailed layers over top but I just find adding the thin detailed layers, although time consuming, gives such a richer level of depth and texture. Nikki's portrait is starting to take shape!

Watercolor Dog Memorial Portrait of Nikki - Update

The darks have been mapped out and some of the texture has been painted in. The layers will be built up slowly to add depth and texture to her fur.

Although this is a monochromatic portrait, several colors are used to give a push and pull effect and achieve the darks without a chalky or flat appearance.

Watercolor Dog Memorial Portrait - Update 14

Just a few finishing touches to be made to the daisies and the yellow flowers and then I think Kelly's portrait is complete!

I have done several tweaks over the past couple of days that are very subtle and are hard to see online but I have softened areas and darkened some of the flower centers and shadows. The deck has been darkened as well and more of the wood grain defined. A few more tweaks need to be made to the shadows and then I may add the panel lines from the house in the background to anchor everything down but will wait to see on the final shadows.

Watercolor Dog Memorial Portrait - Update 13

More of the detail has been added to the flowers along with some shadows and some extra leaves to fill out the area above Kelly a bit more.

The shadows are a little hard to see in the photo but they have been painted in with a bluish gray in some areas and pinkish gray in others show the reflected color of the flowers.

I will wait until daylight to add in the final details to the flowers. The deck has another layer painted onto it and will be darkened a bit further.

Watercolor Dog Memorial Portrait - Update 12

More of the flowers and leaves have been painted in both at the top and the bottom right corner. The shadow will be added at the top to better judge whether or not a few more leaves need to be added at the top.

Another small leaf or vine needs to be added near Kelly's head which I will paint next as well. Sometimes things don't pop out until you take a step back from the painting for a bit. Then I will finish painting in the leaves at the bottom right and add a few of the blue flowers on the right hand side very loosely. A few more washes will be added to the porch step and last but not least, the yellow flowers will be touched up to add a bit more depth and shape.