our retired brood mama greyhound just couldn't fight her way past the illness that had ruined her innards for years before we got her. She leaves a hole familiar to anyone who's ever loved and lost a pet.
Her illness also left us with a great, big, fat vet bill. In an effort to recover from that blow, I started a portrait marathon. Small paintings, 5" x 5", acrylic on canvas, for $50. I started with 10, but got so many sign-ups, I decided to just keep going. I'm now on the first portrait of Round 2. To see the completed portraits, you can go here.
Right now, I'm working on RobinW's greyhound, Treasure (also a retired brood mama!) You can see the reference picture there on the left. This is where I'm at as of this morning:
The background is pretty much done, and the underpainting is in. I decided to edit out all the collar and cape (yes, that's a cape) stuff around her neck and shoulders, so you could concentrate on her arresting gaze. And her funny toothy Mona Lisa smile! I kind of like it like this, in a way. Very water-color-y, but it's obviously not done, so back to work I go! I'll try to stay up to date with these here. Let my family at least see what I'm up to! :) Hi, family!Bye bye, Happy.
Oh, I love those portraits! I'm sorry about Happy, too. Those broodies are so special!
ReplyDeleteI love what you're doing, Xan - just stumbled on this post today. The portrait is great, and Happy was clearly such a loved girl. Keep up the wonderful work!
ReplyDeleteXan- so, so, so sorry to hear about Happy. My Lucy died a couple weeks ago- the feeling is horrific.
ReplyDeleteJen
P.S.- work is beautiful, as usual!
Jen!! I'm so sorry! I didn't know. :( I just read your blog post. It is devastating, isn't it, even if they are old, and unwell ... it still HURTS! Sending you packs of hugs, Jen!
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