Another Doggy Portrait Step by Step

I met a lovely lady during one of my workshops and she asked me to do a bit of tuition with her, and even though she is a very good painter without my help,  she wants to learn watercolour and loosen up a bit.

I went to her house where I had the privilege of meeting Jenny, her lovely little dog..... a dog in waiting (to be painted that is!!) I asked Linda to send me some images and loved this one which has a quirky tilt to her head and shows her personality perfectly. 

So here is another step by step... seem to remember to do the doggy ones and another white dog too!

 

A loose drawing just to get the nose eyes and mouth in the right place and a little paint applied and bled out to the surrounding areas... colours used

Burnt Sienna
Permanent Rose
Raw Sienna
Indigo

As many of you will know I don't always draw but with commissions I do generally do a sketch to get the features in the right place.....if I am painting for myself, and I don't get a good enough likeness, there is no-one to check it but obviously when the owner will see the painting of her pet, it has to look like her pet!!

While the face is drying I add some background, here you can see the colours used and mixed on the paper, this will be darkened as the portrait progresses but also helps me get some shape into the composition at this early stage. I can see on here that the nostrils aren't quite right but that can be lifted at a later stage.

A bit more detail added to the right eye and nose and under her chin. I am keeping as much of her white as possible at this stage and will add shaded areas as it progresses. I work on areas as they dry so I am often working on another painting at the same time. Too often a painting is spoiled because we don't wait for the paint to dry... a sure recipe for mud (see  my blog about mixing mud here)

More work on the eyes and nose, background darkened and collar added in. Also added a bit more of her body but washed most of that away as I don't want the eye to be led there.

Can see the edge of the background at the top is too defined so will look at that....

So softened the diagonal edge and started to add more tone to the face, adding areas of paint where I see tone on the photo, softening edges as I go. I have worked more around the eyes and added a few highlights with white gouache both in the eyes and for some fur around the nose and mouth. I have added a touch of detail to the left ear but washed away so it is just a hint. Can see an area, left of her chin which doesn't look right and when I check the image can see I need to bring the shape round a bit.. the wonders of technology, seeing on screen makes these things stand out so much more.

Also added a bit more around her collar... hope she likes!!