MikiToo is ready to view! Let me catch you up on how I got to the finish line with Miki. You saw the underpainting pretty well underway in the last post. I did deepen the shadows in various places, refined the eyes a bit, and the nose. I went about as dark as I could right … Read More “Portrait Marathon: MikiToo is DONE”
Oh my ggoooooodness! This guy, despite being still a goofy youngster, all spider-thin legs and wispy waist, got caught in a moment of grown-up old-school gorgeous! How could I resist this photo?? Well, I could not. I started this one with a deep Payne’s gray underpainting, knowing that I want to have those dramatic shadows … Read More “Portrait Marathon: MikiToo = DRAMA!!”
As I’m typing this, I’m waiting for the paint to dry enough to safely scan the portrait, so I’ll kill some time showing you the interim steps. After the last step I showed you, I kept deepening my darks and adding detail. I also started adding some color, beginning with yellow, as you can see … Read More “Portrait Marathon: Hailey Done!”
Hailey’s portrait is starting off a little differently than usual. Typically, I start with a blank canvas, transfer my drawing, and then do the underpainting, usually in dark blues, not working on the background ’til I’ve got the underpainting well underway. I decided to try a different route with Hailey. She’s a black greyhound, and … Read More “Portrait Marathon: Hailey begins”
Yeay! This little guy was a blast to paint. What a fun, funny, sincere, whimsical, adoring and adorable guy! Hubble and his human, Faith, were obviously lucky to have found each other. (For those of you just joining us, I’m in the midst of my Spring Portrait Marathon, explained here.) This is the phase I … Read More “Portrait Marathon: Hubble is DONE”
Heya all. Sorry for the delay. I had to fiddle some more with a recent project, run some errands, do some accounting and finish my taxes yesterday. Here’s where Hubble got to at some point yesterday afternoon. I did get some more work done on the portrait, but I’m going to wait a little longer … Read More “Portrait Marathon: Hubble has growing pains!”
Hubble is starting to look back at me, here. Actually, he appears to be staring rather hard with his right eye (on our left)! That will have to be adjusted. I started this one a little differently. I laid down some color washes first; the background (and sides of the deep canvas), and the lilac … Read More “Portrait Marathon: Hubble begins”
Lookit this little guy!! What a cutie, huh? Hubble, I’m told, was always a gentleman, a true velcro dog, and the very apple of his human mom’s eye. He came to his final family with “age unknown”, zipped to their hearts, and stayed there, even after his passing a couple years later. I hope I … Read More “Portrait Marathon: Hubble”
Alright! Pending an overnight waiting period, I think Bailey’s done! What do you think? Any comments? How did I get from that sort of Dresden blue look underpainting to this? Lots of layers! I got the background laid in, most of the color in Bailey herself, stepped back, and wasn’t happy. I went away, had … Read More “Portrait Marathon: Bailey DONE”
I will sleep on it, but I think … I’m feeling pretty well finished with Bella’s portrait. I was really enjoying building and building up the layers of watermelon and ultramarine blue and lemony yellow, balancing towards one or the other in different areas. When I went back in with some tinted white glazes, everything … Read More “Bella’s Portrait Update”
