Monday, March 04, 2013

Irish, a memorial portrait


Final painting of Irish



I was asked by a group of dog trainers if I could paint a portrait for their friend as a memorial to Irish, a show Labrador Retriever that died suddenly from surgical complications. It is such a wonderful opportunity to be able to be a part of this gift and an honor to paint such a beautiful dog. I decided to do this painting on suede mat board so it gave it a soft feel, a bit defused. I love portraits, both animal and people on suede mat board. I think it creates a romantic feel to the painting. I started laying in the colored background which is always my favorite part. When painting white or black dogs I love to add a lot of color to help bring them to life. I get the dogs shape in and mark where the eyes, nose and mouth will be. Once I have it roughed in I do the eyes, if the eyes aren't right it won't work no matter how good everything else is. She has something called eyeliner, which is tricky to paint since I don't want it to look like she has two black eyes. I also struggled as the picture was only a 3x5 photo that was a bit overexposed and the right side of her face was in shadow, making that other eye just a black blob. I had to create her other eye and I am waiting to hear from the owner now if she is happy or wants more. Here is Irish, RIP.


4 comments:

Martha said...

It is beautiful. I think you captured her soul.

Joan Tavolott said...

What a lovely pet portrait!!

Congrats on being in the magazine!!! I can understand why that painting was selected. It is absolutely lovely!

Desiree's Designs said...

Thanks so much Martha and Joan!

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