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 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 Portrait - Birthday Gift

This is the sketch of Dudley a cute little dog that I am doing a commission of as a birthday gift for his owner. I have applied masking fluid to the areas I want to keep light or white when I do the background. This will be a monochromatic portrait but again I will use a few colors as needed to add depth while still maintaining a monochromatic feel.

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 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 of Nikki - Sketch

This is the sketch of Nikki a sweet dog that recently passed away. This pet portrait is being commissioned as a Christmas Gift for her 'grandmother'. The portrait will be monochromatic, painted on 11 x 14" Arches watercolor paper.

Watercolor Dog Memorial Portrait of Kelly-Belle

Well adding the panelling to the house definitely finishes the background off. The daisies have been painted in lightly and a few touch ups to shadows and the yellow flowers were made...I think Kelly's portrait is complete!

As always I will leave it for a bit and stare at it from all angles to see if anything stands out to me. My eye is always drawn to Kelly's face instantly even with all of the flowers and foliage which is exactly what I was hoping for in the final painting!

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.

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 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.

Dog Portrait Commission Murphy Touched Up

Just a quick post as I touched up Murphy's portrait just a little. I pulled out a few more highlights and extended the grass as it was looking a little odd to me.

The paper flattened out nicely but took 2 days so it is off to the post office for Murphy today to go all the way to Scotland!

Dog Portrait Commission Murphy Completed

I think Murphy's portrait is complete! I will leave her for a bit and come back for another look just to be sure. The paper has buckled a little in a few spots so once I am sure she is done I will 'flatten' out the paper again so that it is totally smooth.

Once the paper is bone dry, I will pull out some grass blades around her feet just to settle her a bit more. I may taper the corners of the grass a bit as they look a little rounded at the edges but I will stare at it for a few hours and then decide :)

Dog Portrait Commission Munsterlander 3

This photo seems to have come out a bit darker than it really is. The overall fur midtones have been established so now I just need to re-establish the darks, add a bit more dimension to the lights, darken her eyes and give her some grass to stand on.

Last but not least, I will pull out some highlights and Murphy will be ready for her close up :)

Dog Portrait Commission Munsterlander 2

Murphy's portrait is really starting to take shape now as most of the darks have been added. The eyes look a little funny still as the 'color' has not been added to her iris's which should set them in nicely. Her right cheek needs a bit more shading as does the tip of her nose.

Once I have a few more glazes of watercolor painted on I will do the finishing touches to the darks and add more texture to the fur on the face & ears.

Dog Portrait Commission Munsterlander 1

I have started adding some of the darks and have added several layers of fur already to create a fuller effect once completed.

I have only added one overall wash of watercolor at this point just to take away the starkness of the paper and will add several washes as the painting progresses to soften the edges and blend areas together more smoothly.

Dog Portrait Commission Munsterlander Underpainting

This is a photo of the under painting of Murphy a, ahem, female Munsterlander dog, sorry Murphy. Her face looks a little comical right now but once the layers are built up she will look more natural.

She is fun to paint though as her hair is just so wispy and her patterns on her legs are going to really add punch to the portrait I think!

Dog Portrait Commission Munsterlander

This is a reference photos of a portrait that I will be starting on Monday of a Munsterlander dog named Murphy. The reference photo is very small but it is a surprise gift and it is the best one available and the pose and expression on Murphy's face are so sweet.

I will be working from several reference photos to get more details but the general pose and tonal values from this photo will be used to ensure that Murphy's character is captured.

The portrait will be 18 x 24 in monochromatic watercolor which will give a very nostalgic feel that I think is very fitting for a hunting dog.

Yorkie Dog Portrait in Acrylic

This is a painting I did recently of a yorkie dog. It is not a commission so it was just for fun. The expression was so funny I had to paint it. I have always loved dogs and used to have a boxer for many years but I am getting a soft spot for the smaller dogs the more that I draw and paint them!