Dog
Acrylic on 8 x 10 canvas panel
Happy Sunday! This was my first attempt in painting a dog in acrylic. I had chosen this picture because of the superhero pose not really paying attention to the fact that painting a white and black dog would be hard to pull off. Black and white is an inclusion of reflective colors that bounce off the fur from their surroundings mostly and bits of black and white mixed in as low lights and highlights. This pup had a lot of creams and flesh tones in the white but only brown and gray in the black from what I could see. The reference picture was lovely and the photographer really knows her stuff. I was drawn to the photo so I just painted what I saw. I did remove the background, so the dog would really pop. And he/she does.
I painted the portrait on an 8 x 10 linen canvas. I found it extremely difficult to get the softness of the fur and the sharpness of the fine whiskers. Paint would gather or drag on the squared tooth of canvas. If I was working on a large scale it probably would not have been a big deal, but on a small scale? I had lots of issues and many attempts.
Next time, I will either paint on a wood board or prime the tooth out of the canvas for a smooth foundation.
What I liked is that I left everything out, so when I could grab a few minutes, I would paint for a bit. I know I had posted this before but I keep forgetting. I also have another painting to get started and a drawing on the board. I want to get one more painting ready to start, so I can have 3 things going…I will see how it goes. I promise series, but don’t follow through because after I get one thing finished I want to move on to something different, whether it be subject or medium. So we will will see.
Be Well and Happy!
Carol Ottaway 