I'm told this dog's name is Sassy. This isn't a commission or anything - she was in a car at a shop I go to & since I had my camera and she was being sooo cute looking at me from the car window, I had to take her picture! The shop owner told me about her as I guess her owner is a frequent visitor to the shop. Actually, this is more experimenting with the Jack Richeson pastel sticks. The paper is Strathmore charcoal and pastel paper and I'm also using some pastel pencils for detail. Right now, all I've done is block in some colors and there's still a lot to do on her.
The photos didn't come out that well as they ended up looking very streaky from the reflections on the window glass. I clarified and did as much as I could with my photo software and have guessed at some of the details in the eyes. I'd say the eyes are about 95% done but I'll have to tweak them before I finish, I'm sure.
I don't know when I'll finish this as I'm also working on a commission. The commission is a dog and I'm at the planning stage which is always the most difficult for me. The main photo has eyes that can't be seen and the other photo has the dog looking totally different from the first photo! If the client hadn't sworn they were the same dog, I'd be very doubtful! Anyway, I'm not even sure what medium I want to use but I think it will be watercolor. I keep sketching very flowing lines which seem most suitable for watercolor but I'll just see what suggests itself when the sketch is finally finished! Fortunately, this client is wonderful and always leaves it up to me to work however and in whatever medium I want.
7 comments:
Ah...what a sweet looking little munchkin! It will be another one of your cute pet portraits. I bet (if I where a betting woman) the owners would like to see this. They might even would want to buy it from you. ;o )
I haven't had a chance to test the sample of paper any further which you send me, but I will soon. Have you made up your mind on it if you will work with it again?
what a little cutie, looking goodso far
Thanks, Christine and Geraldine. Isn't she a cutie? You can see why I couldn't resist painting her.
Christine, I don't know whether the owner would be interested in the portrait or not.
I will probably work on the pastelmat again especially since I have the new pastel sticks. I think they will help fill the tooth so that the work goes a little faster and maybe better.
So cute and looking great so far Jan.
They have such sweet faces.
You're doing a great job, Jan!
I've decided that a large part of art is not just technique and color, but problem solving... .just like dealing with streaky photos, eyes that can't be seen and such. I'm starting on a commission that's going to be a challenge... an old black and white photo of a young girl (who's now in her sixties) and her Mother. The photo was enlarged years ago from a small snapshot and the original photo is not available. The enlargement is slightly out of focus... plus the customer wants the portrait done in color! Pray for me :-)
Thank you, Dors! I do believe you're right, Teresa! The one thing I don't like about commission work is that the references are rarely all that good! I like to take them myself so I have no one but myself to blame but that's not always possible.
And, you're right, prayer does help! I try to pray over every commission because I know I need all the help I can get! I'll add a prayer that yours goes well too!
Very nice. It's so nice when a photo op presents itself. My luck would be the dog getting mad if I took the photo and started barking. You are doing a really good job.
The commission sounds interesting. Makes me curious about the photos. But you will do just fine. I had problems with a commission when my Bible study leader wanted a picture done with all her past pets. You should have seen the refs I got.
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