MATERIALS
• Stretched artist’s quality canvas measuring 40 x 50cm
• 1/8 Art Basics 125 Taklon dagger brushes
• 14 Art Basics 126 Taklon angular brushes
• 1″ Neef 988 Taklon oval brush
• 1″ Art Basics mop brush
• Non-toxic odourless solvent
• Heat gun
• Final coat air drying, low gloss varnish
• Genesis Heat Set Oil Paints:Burnt Umber – Raw Umber – Yellow Ochre – Payne’s Grey – Titanium White – Carbon Black – Raw Sienna – Burnt Sienna – Plthalo Blue 01 – Dioxazine Purple 01 – Genesis Yellow (equivalent to Cadmium Yellow medium)
STEP ONE
After transferring my sketch of Sandy onto the canvas, I began blocking in the background. As the background will be shrouded in mist, I wasn’t concerned about putting in any great detail.
STEP TWO
With the background completed, I dry brushed in the mist using my 1″ oval and mop brushes and a mixture of Titanium White tinted with a touch of Paynes Grey and Dioxazine Purple.
Using the mist colour and a slightly darker version of this mixture, I then added in the ripples. At this point, I realised that the bush behind Sandy’s head (which was in the reference photo) was not only unnecessary, it detracted from the overall image. Never be afraid to add or remove things from your paintings if it improves the end result.
STEP THREE
After painting out the offending bush and dry brushing in more mist, I made a start on Sandy. When painting animals (particularly pets), I always start with the eyes. The eyes are the most important part of any pet portrait. If you don’t get the eyes right it doesn’t matter how good the rest of the painting is all you’ll have is a nice painting of a cat or dog, not the client’s beloved pet.
STEP FOUR
When I was happy with the eyes, I began blocking in Sandy’s face and neck. When blocking in, always use a darker colour than the intended final fur colour.
I also painted in her nose using Payne’s Grey, Titanium White and a touch of Plthalo Blue. Dog’s noses are not smooth, they are pitted, so it is important to add the pitting with tiny, random dots of lighter and darker nose colour.
STEP FIVE
Using my favourite brush, the 1/8 Art Basics 125 Taklon Dagger, I began rendering the hair around Sandy’s muzzle. Starting with the dark hairs and working up to the lights, I employ light, swift strokes, making sure they follow the correct direction of Sandy’s real hair.
No matter what colour the animal is (white, black, brown, or, as in Sandy’s case, brindle), their overall coat colour will be made up of lots of differently coloured hairs.
STEPS SIX & SEVEN
With her face almost completed, I started blocking in Sandy’s neck and collar. The hair on Sandy’s neck and body is longer and coarser than that on her face, so my brush strokes became longer and thicker. Again, I was careful to follow the direction of her hair.
FINAL STEP
To finish the painting, I went back to Sandy’s face and added some hairs above her left eye and on the tips of her ears that were tinted with a little Dioxazine Purple. This helped to tie the whole painting together. The final touch was to add some water droplets to Sandy’s fur for added interest.
