Red the whippet: #3 in the Portrait Marathon

I think I'm done ... 8" x 10" acrylic on panel © Xan Blackburn
I’m pretty sure Red’s portrait is done.  I’ll sleep on it (not literally – that would not be comfortable at all!)  Since it’s almost 9:30 at night, and tomorrow is Chris’ greyhound, Cash’s turn at the Marathon, I’ll just give you a gallery of progress pictures to look at.

PM #2: Stella – done!

Stella greyhound portrait
Stellaacrylic on Aquabord8″ x 10″© Xan Blackburn I think I’m done with Stella.  I hope Lynn agrees! As it’s Memorial Day weekend Saturday, my husband and dogs are all wanting dinner, and I’m rather hungry myself, I’ll just show you some progress pics to show you how I got to this point.  Enjoy! Stella’s reference …

Stella, the Sleeping Beauty

Stella greyhound portrait in progress
Stella – work in progress, stage 3acrylic on Aquabord8″ x 10″© Xan Blackburn Stella, the sleeping beauty!  Okay, she’s not sleeping in this portrait, but her owner tells me that she sleeps a lot, and sent me several photos of her in that state.  Sounds like a greyhound to me!  (Contrary to popular belief, greyhounds …

PM – Luki’s portrait complete

Luki's portrait complete
Luki acrylic on panel, 8″ x 10″ © Xan Blackburn Delicate Luki!  I really enjoyed building up these hot and cool layers to create this pup’s portrait.  It feels like that may capture her personality, in a way, maybe echoing her own internal contrasts.   I only took a couple pictures besides the final scan …

PM – Luki (greyhound portrait)

Luki (work in progress) acrylic and conte crayon on panel 8" x 10" © Xan Blackburn
Luki – work in progress 8″ x 10″, acrylic and conte crayon on panel © Xan Blackburn I’m pleased with this stage, though I had hoped to be a bit further along by quitting time tonight.  Well, life, in all it’s variability, will make hash of the best of plans, eh?   Here’s a quick …

Surprising Sadie, Done

Sadie (eye detail)
Wow.  Well, once I got rolling, this just went like a flash!  Isn’t it funny, ha ha, that the painting part of this portrait actually went quickly, but all the hair-pulling, sketching, sighing and laying in bed at night imagining the painting took days!  I should be used to that, but there ya go. I …

Roheen, Irish Wolfhound, Done!

Roheen Irish Wolfhound digital painted portrait
Roheen’s portrait is the fourth and final digital portrait in a series.  Her wild fur was the biggest challenge for me, and took several tries to get the right approach.  I tend to be finicky, and she was turning out looking too groomed.  Challenging photo references are often part of my job (for some great …

Moma – Another Digital Portrait Painting

Moma Digital painting (Artrage Pro) © Xan Blackburn
MomaDigital painting (Artrage Pro)© Xan Blackburn Wow.  Well, I’m pretty happy with that, though it did take a lot of hours to get it there. This detail shows a little bit more how much detail I squeezed into this 5 x 7 painting: Moma (detail)Digital painting (Artrage Pro)© Xan Blackburn Yes, those are all individual …

Bud – Digital Pet Portrait, and my Other Job

BudDigital painting (Artrage 4)5″ x 7″ @300dpi© Xan Blackburn 2014 My series of paintings of Ellen’s dogs continues with handsome Bud.  I loved his gentle, relaxed smile, his soft hair and wonderful markings, but who could resist those bluuuuuuue eyes! Working on paintings in a digital way allows a lot of freedom to experiment without committing …

Radar – Digital Portrait of a Golden Retriever

UPDATED  Radar’s owner decided the eyes were too closed; not the expression she wanted, so I re-did the eyes with a more alert expression.  The client was pleased! Radar’s portrait is one of 5 small paintings of my client Ellen’s dogs, a series to add to two I’d done for her in the past.  This …