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"Bailey (Border Collie Study)," 6x8, commissioned border collie pet portrait in acrylic on canvasboard, private collection (THANK YOU!).

I enjoyed painting Bailey's face - the expressive eyes in that vast white mask framed by dark ears.

With all the color around her (pool in background, and greenery and brickwork at her feet), there was a lot of bounce happening. I imagined the scene in my head, her entire body, and how it fit into her surroundings. There was light bouncing from the water, carrying teal up into the shadows. There also was the orange of the pavers glinting off her lower jowls. And some green picked up in her chin. And because my light source was yellow filtered by leaves (green), the shadows carried a lot of blue and violet.

If you spend some time studying real objects (not photographs), you'll start to notice some of the things I've mentioned above. That nothing exists completely on it's own - it picks up color and light from it's surroundings.

There's an interesting conversation going on right now in an artists' online forum (http://www.canineartguild.com/) I belong to about what color paints to use for particular objects (like a white dog). My input (I can rarely refrain from sharing my point of view!) was that there was no basic starting point, because it's all relative.

Yes, white dogs are white. But they can also be lavendar and pink. Go to a paint store and look at all the different whites, and you'll see what I mean! There's just as many, if not more, varieties of white dogs to go along with those paint chips.

Thanks, as always, for looking.
And for sharing these paintings with your friends and family.
See you tomorrow!
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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Comments

  1. KSigl9:34 AM

    Hi Kimberly,
    I've been a fan for awhile now, since the article featuring you & your work in in the Best Friends magazine. I've been checking your site weekly or so and just thoroughly enjoy seeing the sweet faces and expressive eyes that you paint. I've never written before, but the two faces on today's posting really tugged at my heart. Thank you for what you do, and for sharing your work with the rest of us. Happy Thanksgiving :)
    ~ Karen Sigl, Green Bay, WI

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kimberly Kelly Santini3:05 PM

    Thank you, Karen. I am delighted that you are enjoying the faces as much as I do. Happy holidays! :) Kim

    ReplyDelete

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