Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: Boston Terrier Painting

Friday, June 17, 2011

Boston Terrier Painting

This is Sophie Rae and she lives in Atlanta. When her owner sent me the reference photo, I was so excited . Her face was very sweet and the pose in the photo was unique and really drew you into her eye.

A few changes were needed to be made when creating the portrait in comparison to the photo. (I always tell people I don't recreate your photo. Your photo is simply reference material to be used in creating the painting.)

Her left ear needed to be downplayed since the perspective in the photo was exaggerated. She had pulled her right lip up which affected the front of her mouth and a part of her left side of her mouth. In the painting there are more highlights in her eye than the photo shows. That is the fun part of painting - the artist makes the rules and creates what works. There are no limits other than our imagination.

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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!