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“Vizsla Study in Profile,” 6x12, acrylic pet portrait on canvasboard. Inquiries as always to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com .

Experimenting with a new palette at the tail end of last week really set my creative juices going. I wanted to play more with the combination of yellow ochre, cadmium red dark and cobalt blue – I found I could get some lovely oranges and flesh colors with them, and wanted to push the paints around some and see what else I could make them do. But I resisted the pull of the studio all weekend long, and made myself wait till this morning.

I turned to a breed favorite – the Vizsla. (Continuing along the blue-orange theme from last week, too, I just realized.) I’ve said this before, but I just love their coloring and the drape of skin across sinewy bodies. And while I’m not certain this profile is quite confirmationaly perfect (the nose might be a smidge too deep), there was enough other positive things happening that I didn’t ditch it entirely.

I primarily used one brush for this piece – a 1/2” flat. I used it’s crisp edge for drawing, tilted it a bit to get smaller flecks of color with it’s tip, and laid completely on it’s side to lay down a wider wash without any telltale brush marks. Using one tool eliminates that fistful of wet brushes in my left hand. It also leads to mixing some very harmonious neutrals, as I try to always leave a trace of the prior color mixture still in the brush.

Now I did go for a filbert at the very end, just to clean up edges and drop details in around the eye, so I didn’t rely on one brush entirely. But pretty close.

So there you have it, today’s dog-a-day painting. Stay tuned for another Vizsla tomorrow!

I’m already putting the pieces in place for the return of Shelter & Rescue Week, which will start next Monday.

Meanwhile, thanks, as always, for looking.
And for sharing these paintings with your friends and family,
Kim

Kimberly Kelly Santini
http://www.turtledovedesigns.com/
distinctive pet portraits
& 4-legged paintings

http://www.paintingadogaday.com/
come. sit. stay.
enjoy the art.

Founding member of the Canine Art Guild
http://www.canineartguild.com/
the gateway to canine art on the web

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