Tip TopAcrylic on Aquabord, 5 x 5© Xan Blackburn Tip Top’s portrait was a special challenge in that I only had one photo to work from, which was small and low-resolution, as well as being fairly dim. Her head is lit from the rear, leaving most of her face in shadow, with just a rim … Read More “Portrait Marathon: #7 – Tip Top!”
Note to future participants: Have your photos ready! Keep an eye on your email if you know your turn is coming up, so I don’t have to skip over you. 😉 Miss StarAcrylic on canvas© Xan Blackburn Star’s portrait took a whole different direction than … any portrait I’ve ever done, I guess! Why is … Read More “Portrait Marathon: #5 Miss Star”
WaliAcrylic on panel (Claybord), 8 x 10© Xan Blackburn Whew! Wali’s portrait, on 8 x 10 panel, took me a little longer than the smaller 5 x 5 canvasses, but I could have been more efficient, I think. Also, working on the very smooth panel requires a different touch, as it shows watery brush strokes … Read More “Portrait Marathon: #4 Wali”
Petey: Greyhound portrait in progress Petey got some long-awaited (and well-deserved) attention today. Let’s see where he’s at right now. Petey: work in progressAcrylic, 8″ x 10″© Xan Blackburn 2012 I know I’ve said this before, but I really enjoy this phase. There’s a dreamy quality to it, the suggestion of things not quite pinned … Read More “Petey: that watery phase”
Petey – Work in progressAcrylic on canvas panel, 8″ x 10″© Xan Blackburn 2012 Petey is a handsome young devil, isn’t he? Jumping right in, I took the reference photo, re-sized it, got as much information as possible out of it (luckily, most greyhounds have a lot in common, so I can use locally available … Read More “Petey’s portrait”
Jean has decided she’d prefer to have her dog Petey’s portrait done, so the large painting of Niccolo and MaeBella will go back on the shelf. We’re still negotiating the PERFECT choice for reference, so in the mean time, I’m working on my website, which is due for a major overhaul. Yeah, it looks okay, … Read More “Okay, Petey instead!”
Sammi – work in progress5″ x 5″ acrylic on canvas©Xan Blackburn 2012 Fall Portrait Marathon, Sammi Sammi’s portrait wrapped up pretty quickly. While I wait for it to dry enough to scan, I’ll show you this intermediate version. Some of the “magic” white glazing has gone in, and is particularly visible on the tongue here. … Read More “FPM #9: Sammi is done!”
Sammi – work in progress5″ x 5″ acrylic on canvas©Xan Blackburn 2012 Fall Portrait Marathon, Sammi Sammi’s portrait is zipping along now. Even though he’s such a subtle guy (except for his exuberant personality, of course!), some truly deep darks are necessary to make his light face have dimension, to POP it out of the … Read More “FPM #9: Sunny Sammi begins to pop”
Sammi – work in progress5″ x 5″ acrylic on canvas©Xan Blackburn 2012 Sammi was a happy guy! According to his human, Sammi came to them as an 11.5 year old bounce, wobbly and with a “slight fecal incontinence”. He was a sweet ol’ guy, but had no problem telling his humans he was in want … Read More “FPM #9: Sunny Sammi!”
Matt5″ x 5″, Acrylic on canvas©Xan Blackburn 2012 Fall Portrait Marathon, Painting #7: Matt Matt’s painting finished up in one sustained burst, and I didn’t get any more progress pics for you. Sorry about that! We left off here. One of the first things I did when I picked my brushes back up was … Read More “FPM: Matt is Done!”
