Ringo the Lab

This is a dog portrait progress.  I went to meet Ringo and take his photo which is really the best way to do a portrait.  To meet the subject enables me to try and inject some of his character into the painting.  It’s always the subtle things in a portrait that make it look like them.  With dogs I find it’s as much about the eyebrows as the eyes themselves as this is where a lot of their expression comes from.

The finished portrait 12″x18″ pastel on velour

I took the photos of Ringo in their yard which gave me nice greenery to use in the background. I’m going to do a very blurred background so that Ringo really stands out.  I’ve got my line drawing on the velour and ready to go.

I want the backdrop to be really deep with the green leaves sitting out towards us.  I’ve just blocked in the black and softened it with some plum purples. I’ve then started using the flat edge of a dark green pastel to mark in some leaf shapes.

The background leaves were really simple and I haven’t overdone them or tweaked them as I want them to look soft and out of focus.  I used the flat end of some lovely Unison green pastels to create each leaf in one mark.

I love painting black dogs as their reflections and shine really give them form.  I start by laying down the blackest areas making the marks follow the hair direction.  Then I start from the dusky blues right up to the highlights.  I tend to work quite small areas from left to right and top to bottom just to save leaning on work I’ve done.

Both eyes in he’s looking out now.  I still use the fat Unison pastels for the smallest areas, just search for small corners or sharp edges.  I then neaten and strengthen the dark areas with pastel pencil.  I can also use lighter pastel pencils to neaten and clean up clumsy large marks if needs be.

With that highlight on the nose it really brings him into 3D.  I’ve used a really light yellow for some of the strongest highlights including the nose.

The body is going to be quicker than the face to do as not as much of it is being hit by daylight and therefore there is more solid black like under the chin.  I find this contrast makes sense of all the highlights on the dog’s face as that’s what is having the most light hitting it.

Throughout his coat I’ve used a plum purple in the darkest areas of black as it adds a warmth and richness to the dark.  The highlights are different shades of blues, lilac and yellow.  No white was used.

The collar is last to go on.  Using pastel pencils to create the clean lines and will use softer pastel to create the leather and the shine on the buckle.