Creating a Special Pet Portrait - Part 2

In part 1, the bag color had just started with blue shades enhancing the grisaille or purple shadows. The building of the blue over the shadows is pushing the dog further into the forefront and she looks almost ready to hop out. Note that I do not paint evenly on the bag behind the head. The closer the brush strokes come to the animal the darker I want it so that the pup stands out more. Outlining the cut edges of the design also pulls the carving forward. The right side of the bag is too light and will be toned down. A little more yellow is brushed on the flowers. Have you noticed that the purple has all but disappeared and each segment of the design still has shading?😀

I have also added some highlights to the pup's nose and eyes using the pale blue shade. I almost never use pure black or white on my paintings.


Now I've introduced shades of brown; umber and sienna, to the fur, eyes and flowers in washes. 

To that very small amounts of titanium white are added to individual hair strokes to get that furry, fuzzy look.

I added a bit more coverage of blue inside the bag and toned down the right side. Touched up the green of the flower and washed some blue between the leaf and new bud.

All that is left is the dog tag--a touch of silver, blue and black and her pink collar-- to which I couldn't resist adding 8 Swarovsky crystals in two sizes.💖
 

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

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Learning and Reinventing Wheels

Image
silva fox artistry For the Leather Artisans: I've been an artist all my life and have found that just when I discover something new, a product, style or technique, someone else has found it too! So you don't feel as let down as I do when this kind of thing happens I'm giving a heads up on things I want to share. Most will have to do with my number one passion--ART, more specifically LEATHER ART , and even MORE specifically Wildlife, Tame life and Flora which I have been doing for quite a while. I don't do basket weave because I can't manage a straight line and I don't make; gloves, saddles (though I did make one for my grandson's rocking horse), boots, pants, utility belts, etc. My expertise lies in creating ART that is life-like in tooling leather so I will share those techniques. I hate wasting time on preparations for carving leather, there are efficient ways of doing things and a way of creating exciting patterns when you can't draw anyth
Read more
Image
  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
Read more

Designing patterns

Image
Patterns can be easily designed from photo's you've taken then using a copy machine to size and piece each design element. Using a black, fine point marker, trace each piece for your design carefully eliminating any part of the photo you don't want. Set the copier to a lighter setting to get rid of distractions in the pattern. Your black traced lines will show up clearly. Use the marks you are familiar with on a leather pattern ie. solid lines for cutting, dashed lines for details not cut, and feel free to add contours like muscle structure and I'll show you how to make your modeling a bit easier. Make copies of the sizes you want these design elements to be when they are assembled. Piece your picture together as you like and tape the parts down. Copy the work one more time as one piece and voila, you have an excellent pattern! I can draw, but this kind of an assembly makes designing a custom pattern a bit easier for people who don't draw well. (Make s
Read more