Previous work
*This finished portrait can now be viewed in the Dog Gallery.*
The
portrait of Lewis is well on the way to completion now. I've largely
finished Lewis himself and now need to tackle the carpet he's laying on,
the background and then tie it all together.
An interesting
challenge in this portrait is that, in the picture I'm using for
reference, Lewis is lit from behind. This makes a really nice "rim"
highlight but also makes it important to get the background tone right
too, in order to really bring the subject forward.
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Once
the colour palette is established I like to tackle the important areas
of a portrait next. Trying to catch the expression and character.
Obvious
focal points in most portraits are the eyes. Especially in a view like
we have of Lewis here where his gaze is very direct.
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Here
we can see my initial colour work on Lewis. The scratch sheet to the
side of the picture is for testing out which colours to use, how they
blend and relate to each other. Even with that, the first part of the
subject I tackle is generally where I work-out the basic palette of
colours, so there can be some trial and error here. I work with a
selection of pastels held in my left hand, continually swapping,
adjusting, overlaying, blending and refining as I draw with my right.
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My
current commission is a beautiful Boxer called Lewis. Having recently
lost my own two Boxers it's a nice subject to tackle for me.
For
this portrait a really interesting view of him has been chosen. Anyone
that's owned a Boxer will know the pose well...flat on the floor, chops
resting on the carpet, eyebrows twitching and on the lookout for the
next game or treat. Very characterful and nice change from some of the
more formal poses I've done.
Here we can see my initial sketch.
Working out proportions, size on the page and getting to know his face
and expression. Even though one main view forms the basis of the picture
other views are also important to help me understand markings, colours
across the coat and other details.
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*This finished portrait can now be viewed in the Dog Gallery.*
Further
work on Tilly and Flip-flop for this entry of "on the easel". Carrying
on with the black dog, "Flip-flop". Trying to keep a nice sheen to her
coat but also trying to lessen the effects of the flash for more natural
lighting and to match the lighting on Tilly.
I'm
continuing work on the portrait of Tilly and Flip-flop. I've created a
temporary mask from tracing paper to cover the left of the picture while
I work on the black dog (which I think is "Flip-flop"!). This will prevent the dust from the darker pastel transferring onto the work already done on Tilly.
My
current commission is a double head portrait of two terriers called
"Tilly" and "Flip-flop". I'm really enjoying tackling the contrast of
the black and the white, the rough coat and the smooth in one picture.
