Dillon - Irish Setter

This is Dillon.   I met him last spring when he was still a pup.    He had so much character.   It was going to be fun to paint him!

For his portrait, we wanted him to be a little bit older and look more mature.    His owner wanted a unique portrait and she had taken a number of candid photos of him which she emailed to me over the course of several months.

In looking at her photos, several jumped out.    There was one where he was lounging in a chair and his lip was tucked up.   It was an adorable shot.    Behind the chair was a table and a lamp.   She loved that photo - it was mutual!

For the painting, I wanted some more dark values in the scene and wanted a feeling of depth in the painting.   To achieve this, a window was painted behind the chair in place of the table and lamp.    From another photo I used foliage from his actual yard to be visible through the view in the window.   This allowed the painting to be even more personal to Dillon's family.

Lastly, I changed the chair a bit.    The view of the chair in the painting was a bit unclear and could look a bit flat.   I knew it was a chair, but with so little of the chair showing it was a bit vague.   Changing the chair a bit allowed me to clearly show in the painting that Dillon was laying on that particular type of furniture.    Dillon is a finished champion now.    It is hard to believe when I met him he was a rollicking pup in the Sweepstakes classes.    Thank you to Dillon's owners for having me paint him - he is beautiful inside and out.     Dawn Secord Fine Art