Riley
Acrylic on canvas, 5×5
© Xan Blackburn

 Gorgeous whippet-guy, Riley, with those smokey bedroom eyes … I’m in looooove!

Riley has a brother who’s portrait I did awhile back, with a sort of flowery background.  Riley’s reference photos included one with a fallen leafy background, and I liked that, but didn’t want to get too finicky with the leaf look, so I went with a more impressionistic approach, using the basic colors, and letting the details go.

Then I could concentrate on Riley’s handsome face!  Yeah.

You can see how this painting took shape in the animation below, which I thought to add the reference photo to, along with my conceptualization (aka “sketch”) of the background, and a couple close-ups of the finished painting at the end.

Next up is Craig’s Wali.  Another whippet!  This guy is a smiley fella, white and brindle.  Tomorrow we’ll see how his painting shapes up!

Riley – in progress
© Xan Blackburn

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