This painting was recently completed. The upper image is the completed painting. The lower image is one of the reference photos used for the painting.
I recently finished this painting of Brown Pelican. The reference photos were taken on the Santa Barbara, California pier. We had our dog, Bailey, with us. That photo is bittersweet as we lost Bailey several years ago at almost age 13. He was such a great dog.
My husband and I were in Laguna Beach last month and we took some fun photos around the Montage Resort. This painting titled, "Laguna Beach Palms" is a result of that outing.
I've been painting some beach scenes with dogs and wanted some more beach / ocean reference material. In addition, I needed some beach scenes for some future landscape paintings.
This is Buzz, a yellow labrador retriever. He had been a dog in rescue and his foster parents found they couldn't part with him. We took Buzz to a dog beach in Southern California so I could take reference photos. There is so much energy and fun to this photo, Collectively, his owners and I thought this would be the perfect photo to use as reference for his portrait. There are a few changes that would need to be made. His painting would not have his collar on. There is a funny roll on his shoulder that I would not include in the painting and most importantly, his owner wanted to see more of his right rear leg. We were throwing a doggie floatation toy around on the beach which is what he is looking at.
The painting is well underway. Notice I've brought the right rear leg back so it is more visible in the painting compared to the photograph. The dog has been painted and I've added a tennis ball for fun. The dog's photo had the dog looking at a toy that had been tossed into the surf. As a dog owner, one of the favorite toys of my dogs is a tennis ball. The addition of the ball would answer the viewer's question - what is the dog looking at. A tennis ball floats and is commonly used as a toy for dogs playing in the water. In the past, when painting in pastel, I worked from left to right. Lately I've changed that direction. I like to get my subject finished before the background is started. Using a colored surface as my under-painting, this method is bringing me more in line with my oil paintings. 
The base coat for the water has been painted. Next, I've started adding a wave to lead the viewer's eye directly to the dog. To get a straight horizon line I mark it off with a piece of acid free artist's tape. The tape will be removed to put the sky. The edge of the horizon will be softened between the water and the water. This will be accomplished by using a harder brand of pastels and glazing across the surface of the painting.
The painting of Buzz is coming along. The water is almost finished. I'll add some highlights and darks/lights on the entire painting once all the different areas are finished. That is my favorite part - standing back and seeing where the final changes are needed. At this point I return to my really hard pastels and drag them across the areas that need to be softened. The more softer brands of pastel are used to bring the lightest lights to the water and clouds.
Our dog club (Irish Setter Club of Southern California) had its 100th Specialty Show this past weekend on June 4, 2011. It was a beautiful day in a very nice park. Our puppy, Faith (Jamond Wings of Glory at Rendition), won Best in Sweepstakes under judge Dr. Gary Brown, DVM. We were thrilled. Here are some pictures my husband took ringside. Thanks Rich!
