Creating: A Special Pet Portrait


For many people pets become a very special part of their lives so I always look to capture a unique characteristic that is special for the individual. In this case the lady always carried her little dog in a cloth handbag. 
 
In this design in progress, the pup is framed by and looking out of the handbag. Because the fabric will be blue I chose yellow cone flowers to accent the composition and complement the color of the bag. On this extreme embossed figure gave a base color to the eyes and nose to give a sense of realism. The seeming grin on her face is because she is a very old dog and has lost the top canine tooth on the left side. Her tongue would stick out but I allowed the dignity of a precious face without too many details.


Beginning the color using a Grisaille (French: Gris means Gray) painting style I add shading to the image. But it's purple!!😧 not gray. Yes, I developed this technique when painting on leather long ago because the tan shade of leather makes black/gray look a muted green and if you know my color style it's anything but muted! 

Applying layers of acrylic color or spirit dye, doesn't matter, a deep, rich color develops without hiding the leather grain. And when it's done the purple is gone!😃

 


Here I've begun adding layers of blue to the bag, yellow to the flowers and mixed a bit of them together to make the green. The rest of this commentary lesson is forthcoming. 
 
In the meantime I have a new website that offers prints of my works on various mediums and sizes: artists papers, wood, metal, canvas and let's you choose framing, mats, all kinds of options from the comfort of your living room. There are some awesome features to view the finished pieces where they will hang permanently. 
 
There are no lessons there, just original artworks and prints. I appreciate your support whether you are a collector or student so please sign up at my website to see what's new in my world and follow me on Facebook, Instagram and silvafoxartistry.com

 

Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 1, 2024 at 3:22 AM

    Your artwork is stunning! You put so much passion in your creativity, not only in the piece itself but also in the story! Carmen

    ReplyDelete

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