Paintings With Soul

"Angi (Leonberger Portrait)," 16" x 20", commissioned larger than lifesize Leonberger dog portrait, acrylic on Ampersand Gessoboard, private collection (THANK YOU!). Inquiries may always come to me . Not sure what's in the water, but after several years of doing smaller paintings, this week I've booked 4 larger than life portraits The truest test is applying all I've learned from 3+ years of daily work to the larger paintings - it's a test I'm eager to ace. It's wonderful to work in this scale again, and I look forward very much to tackling the bigger paintings in the coming months. If you are just joining us, I've been sharing the progress of Ms Angelica's larger than lifesized portrait over the past couple of days - here's Step I and Step II . And today I would say she's pretty close to being done. I'll sit with the painting for the next couple days and tweak as things become apparent. I've also sent a jpg to my ...

"Angi," work in process, 16" x 20", commissioned dog portrait of a Leonberger, acrylic on Ampersand Gessoboard, private collection (THANK YOU!). Inquiries may always come to me . To see what this painting looked like at the end of the day yesterday, click here . So today I took the painting deep into what a friend of mine calls "The Uglies." This is the stage where the various pieces of the painting are not harmonious or working as a whole. The hardest part (for me) when a painting is in "The Uglies" is to hold onto that inner image of what it will look like when done and persevere. What is my focus now (other than forward thinking and persistance)? Well, first I re-drew Angi's entire face, doublechecking my measurements (eye to eye, eye to nose, length of ears, drape of tongue, etc). I then refined my values (the measurement of light vs dark) so they were relatively close to what I want in the finished piece. I started softening interio...

"Angi," 16" x 20", commissioned dog portrait of a Leonberger, acrylic on Ampersand Gessoboard, private collection (THANK YOU!). Inquiries may always come to me . Those of you who are familiar with only the Dog a Day paintings may not know that, prior to the daily project, I specialized in larger than life animal portraits. I started the smaller pieces, in part, to try out various ideas without the time committment that a larger piece entailed. Anywho, I was tickled pink when Angi's family asked if I would have another try at the larger paintings. I thought her portrait would make for an excellent step-by-step piece if shared over the course of several days. It's been a few years since I worked in this scale, but that makes things all the more exciting, because I have learned a tremendous amount in the meanwhile. So here Angi is in the earliest stages. I wanted to block her in, showing the range of values (essentially the light bathing her body from the ri...

Today I played hookey from the studio in order to spend some time with my grandmother, who is one of the most remarkable women I know. Of course, now I’m paying the price, being in the studio at a later hour than usual. It was well worth it, though – every so often the soul needs rejuicing, and this sort of visit was just what I needed. So, I hope this was worth the wait. Here’s Joci, a Leonberger, shrunken down onto a 5x7. This is a breed that’s relatively new to me, but I am already hooked. Not just because of her delicious coloring, that teddy bear fur, and her incredible size (these dogs are upwards of 100 lbs, with a full coat of fur that resembles a lion’s mane). The clincher was the sheer depth of character in her eyes. I hope I’ve conveyed their wisdom and playfulness. I’ll be painting a larger version of Joci, too, around the area of 12x16 – a straightforward gaze, with dramatic lighting. This smaller piece provided me the perfect opportunity to work out my palette for the lar...