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“Cookie in the Snow,” 6x8, lab mix pet portrait in acrylic on canvasboard, private collection (thank you!).

While working late last night on a new canvas, I accidentally discovered a fabulous new palette combination. I thought I’d try it out again in the light of day to see if it was truly as exciting as I thought in the wee hours. And it was.

I introduced raw umber to my palette last night because I wanted my colors on that particular painting to be muted, yet still have a depth to their undertones. One can do this anytime by adding a touch of the colors’ compliment - that pushes your saturation back – but it can also flatten out the density of the color. What I found with the raw umber was that it deadened the saturation without chalking or muddying (yeah, that probably doesn’t make any sense at all to those of you who aren’t painters!). It was an exciting revelation, though.

When mixed with cad yellow dark, the raw umber created a warm and subtle glow. When that combination was tinted with pthalo blue, it became a richly dense shadow. And when glazed overtop with cadmium red, there was that beautiful warmth one sees in a brindled coat.

So there’s the history behind this latest color discovery of mine!

Cookie is the first of many portraits to come in the weeks ahead who’s sale benefits the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah. Proceeds from the sale of Cookie’s painting will further support their efforts at providing quality of life and a second chance to the variety of animals they shelter and rehabilitate. In the weeks to come, I will see if I can’t figure out how to create a space on the Painting a Dog a Day website (www.paintingadogaday.com) as well as the project blog (www.paintingadogaday.blogspot.com) to track the dollars being raised in support of shelter and rescues through Dog a Day sales.

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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