This is the second update on Kelly, the commission of the Golden Retriever/Great Pyrenees mix.  I think I'm getting into the short rows but am awaiting comments from the owner.

Kelly's portrait is for a Christmas gift and I want it to be perfect, of course.  Trying to determine her coloring has been a bit touch and go as each of the photos I received from the owner has been pretty different.  She also sent a link to a dog online that she said she thought had similar coloring.  So, I hope I got it right.  The biggest challenge has been the dark areas.

The owner said Kelly's dark areas had gotten darker as she aged and she didn't want them as dark as they show in the reference photo.  I've lightened them considerably and, again, hope they're what the customer wants.  It's really difficult when the reference photos show one thing and the client's memory is different.

I'm also still working on the Cotons and will be posting a wip of that painting in the near future since I told a couple of regular readers that I would.  I've just gotten the color choices for the bows in the little girl Coton's pigtails though so I haven't done enough on her for you to see much right now.  I've made a pretty good start on the little boy though.

I'm really staying busy right now but will update here as soon as I can.

Kelly - New Commission WIP

This is Kelly, a Golden Retriever/Great Pyrenees mix who crossed the bridge a while ago.  Kelly was much loved by the husband of the lady who commissioned the portrait and the portrait will be his Christmas gift.

This is pastel on velour with a mixture of various brands of semi-hard pastel sticks, soft pastel and pastel pencils.  I'm just in the blocking in stage right now so it looks very weird, I know. 

The reference photos were from hard copies which weren't the best in the world but I got the opportunity to talk to the customer at length about Kelly's coloring so I hope to be able to portray her accurately.  She looks to have been a beautiful dog with many features of a Golden Retriever.  That helps a lot since I've painted several Goldens.

I can see that she looks a little scrunched down here when in reality she has a very alert, proud bearing in the reference photos.  I'll address that as I proceed.

I'll also be posting a couple of Coton de Tulears that I'm working on.  I've started on it also but am not at the stage where you could make much sense of a photo of them!

So, don't be alarmed if you don't see much of me here - I'm busy working in the studio but I'll try to post more wips as I paint!