Tuesday, 21 February 2012

21/02: SHROVE TUESDAY AND PUPPY PICTURE UPDATE

We drove to a beautiful rural location in Essex today to photograph a black labrador which I'll be portraying soon.   The weather was lovely for February - bright and sunny and perfect for outdoor photography.  The journey was approx 2½ hours each way and we took the 'scenic route' and really enjoyed the break from routine.

The dog 'Lottie' was gorgeous.  A real working labrador full of fun and energy and no surplus fat.  I took lots of pictures and apart from the ones where she squinted into the sun, she was a perfect model - really photogenic.   Her mum and dad narrowed it down to 2 favourite pictures.  I'll be using the pose from one and the colouring from another and I can't wait to get started.

I didn't know it was Shrove Tuesday till I heard some discussion on the car radio about the best way to cook pancakes.    Academic really, they are forbidden foods in our current diet plan :-)   Next year maybe ....

Anyway, I haven't done any artwork at all today, and tomorrow I'll be doing my usual stint as a volunteer at the Pilgrims Hospice eBay office ... so here are some photos showing progress on the puppy I posted about yesterday.

I'm using pastels on Fisher 400 sanded paper and the image will be cropped down (losing some of the ears) to fit a 6" x 6" aperture in a mount/frame I've selected for it.

They eyes are drawn in first - as usual, and then I've started blocking in areas of colour/shade to define the contours of the face.


More detail added using pastel pencils.   At this stage I'm not sure whether to sharpen up all the little wispy hairs or whether to blend them in and go for a 'softer' look ....  


This is approximately where the picture will be cropped to ... sorry its a bit 'warts & all' with this close up photo - much better viewed from a distance.    I'll see how it looks in the mount/frame tomorrow evening and then decide what changes to make.    





4 comments:

  1. awww :D that is very cute :D gorgeous lively eyes

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  2. Oh those eyes!!! Who can resist? lovely work Sue.

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  3. That's precious, Sue, and not close enough for me to see any warts! lol

    Glad your trip went well and the dog was so cooperative. Can't wait to see the portrait now!

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  4. I love this little puppy. And you did such a good job on it.

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