Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: Labrador Retriever Painting in process

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Labrador Retriever Painting in process

I've been working on this painting for a number of days now - long days (not an hour here or there - more like 10 hours a day. My arm is sore and my eye hurts.... goes along with the territory)

The reference photo is an old photo that was taken on a very sunny morning. As a result one side of the dog's face is too shadowed and the other side is almost whited out. So, my quest is to balance the lighting while maintaining the wonderful effects the light has created with the shadows.

On the right side of the dog's face I've reduced the shadows and brought the eye more into view. On the left side of the dog's face (the right side of the painting) I've found the bone structure of the dog and brought in slight shadows. These shadows will give the dog's face depth and roundness instead of a flat light area.

I've also eliminated the collar. Some people prefer the collars be left on their dogs in my paintings. That is a personal choice - no wrong or right answer. In this particular painting the dog's owners wanted the collar off.

Will post more as the painting develops.

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Pastel Painting in Progress - French Bulldog

Here is a painting in progress. The pastel paintings are done very much in the same way an oil painting is done. I start with a base color. Usually I work with a precolored surface. With oil painting I would lay in a foundation color so the white canvas wouldn't show through. So this is the same basis. Since I am right handed I work from left to right unless it is a landscape or still life in which case the entire surface is worked uniformly. With pet portraits, so I don't damage an area that is completed, the surface is worked from left to right. While working an area of the subject I lay in mid tone values first - then work light to dark. With pastels an artist can "fill the tooth" of the surface so it is important not to over work any areas. Once the entire subject is painted I go back and reinforce the lightest lights and darkest darks. My greatest area of interest is the eyes. If the eyes aren't right the entire painting will look odd. If the painting is about a sleeping animal it is important to convey the comfort of the animal.

Oil Painting in Process

The following pictures show an Oil Painting in process. The first images show my beginning sketch. I use a common pencil, ruler and an eraser. Once the beginning sketch is satisfactory the sketch is secured with a layer of black oil paint. When the first layer is dried I apply a base color over the entire canvas. I love working on a burnt sienna foundation. There are paintings where I start just working directly on the white canvas and there is no base layer or foundation. It really depends on the painting. From the base foundation I start layering colors. It is a slow process due to drying time. This is where it really becomes fun. I should really make a recording of my husband saying, "You're done - stop messing with it!" Thanks for taking a peek. This painting is of a cat named Lynxy!