First Portrait of Chester

I don't know why I haven't painted him before, it isn't that he's not photogenic and I hadn't got any good photos. I just haven't got round to it.

The other night he was a very naughty puppy and pinched a crisp off hubby's plate! After being duly chastized he was sent to his bed and sat staring at his master for about 15 minutes when he must have decided enough of that and promptly turned his back on hubby and sat staring at the tv. I took this photo shortly after which is his "oh so loveable face" thinking how cute and naughty he could be at the same time!!

I had painted my grandpup Archie a couple of times but Chester's fur is a different colour and I wanted to use a different palette... well not so different but a different complimentary so I chose purple as my rich dark and also added a touche of UB and the other colours were burnt and raw sienna and alizarin crimson...

I drew the image (as many of you will know I don't always draw but with portraits when I am looking for a likeness I do), then I masked small areas... the highlights of the eyes, the whites below the eyes and a few whiskers here and there.

 I painted the first wash on the eyes and nose first then when dry randomly applied water around his face dropping in the paint using a mix of the colours above. I did try and colour match him as the photo came out slightly pinker than he is in the flesh so the colours you see in the painting are a little closer to his proper colour as he is golden brown, I kept chasing him round with colour swatches to see if I was close and the match to the photos was definitely not quite the right hue for him. It does make me think about when I am doing commissions and all I have is a photo.....I have never had anyone dissatisfied with the colour but maybe that is because I always use an accent of something different which makes the whole thing more colourful anyway.

I worked around the head using both smooth and rough brushstrokes to depict the nature of his fur and adding my darks (a mix of burnt sienna, aliz crimson and purple with a touch of Ub added in parts). I work on different parts of a piece so that areas can be drying as I continue to work and tweaking the likeness as I go along. Once I feel the painting is almost there I remove the masking and work more on the eyes as stark white is sometimes too much so I soften around the whites.

I was looking to get what we call his "spaniel look" where if he was wearing a pair of specs he would almost be looking over them!!

So here is the cheeky little cocker spaniel....... Chester

Goddess

I have a few of these images to paint all from Alex Lee Johnson. Again only a resemblance not a full portrait study but I do rather like this one.. I was painting it alongside the eagle last night so have just finished it... can't tell you for sure all the colours I've used as I have stepped outside my usual limit or 4 or 5.. think it is something like this

UB
Alizarin Crimson
Burnt Sienna
Quin Gold
Raw Sienna
Translucent Orange
Cobalt Blue

I didn't do a planet exercise for this.. it was one of those where I didn't always know what my brush was doing!! I might tweak this when I look at it again in the morning or I may feel it is finished....decisions, decisions!!

Hope you like!!

Amazing Effects

There is a photographer on Paint my Photo called Alex Lee Johnson whose work is just fantastic and  I have one or two images of his on my to do list.

This started out as a play to see if I could get some of the soft focus effects he has in his photos as I love them both in photos and paintings. As usual I didn't spend much time on the drawing so the likeness to the original image is ok though not spot on but that wasn't the aim of this piece and I am still pleased with the effect overall.

Alex has some wonderful creative ideas and anyone who has any doubt as to whether photography is art need look no further... his photos are moody, unusual and so attractive they have really inspired me! I enjoy painting portraits and his photos are a treat to use!! In this one I really liked the intense contrast of light and dark, something I am always drawn to.....interestingly I do usually alter images quite a lot, cropping, using alternative palettes but quite honestly Alex's images lend themselves to a loose watercolour treatment and I couldn't resist it as it is!!

I have used a limited palette for this

Indigo
UB
Burnt Sienna
Alizarin Crimson
Touch of white gouache raw sienna and Winsor red (eyes and lips)

I may have another go at this and take a bit more care with the drawing as the girl in the original is so beautiful.... but as I mentioned I am really quite pleased with the end result as a painting and not bothered about that aspect of it.

The Dear Departed!!

Both these drawings presented challenges not least of which was the subjects were dead!!! As a  consequence both photos were terrible and while I could fiddle with the dog,  which was a mobile phone download and rather blurred, I thought I was going to have to give up on Granddad.

It was a gift from their granddaughter to his wife and the photo had been taken in the seventies. It was very small and I couldn't see any detail,  particularly in the eyes, when I scanned it and tried to blow it up. Fortunately my brother in law has a programme which enhances images as long as he has the original photo and he got it to a good enough quality for me to do the portrait.... technology eh!!!!

In the end I quite like this one as it captured the essence of him and more importantly the family were delighted. Will post another posthumous drawing soon!!!