The original reference photo had a lot of detail, which is good, but it was taken in low light, with no real shadows. Maybe a very cloudy wintery day? Anyway, the light was cold, and it was hard to see his golden fawn patches. At my request, she sent me another photo of Hammy in a field of lupines, which was wonderful! The complete opposite. I hope to get some of the feel of the light and background from that picture into the soulful gaze of the original pose Christine chose.
I started with a Payne's gray underpainting, which I wish now I'd taken a scan of. It looked like a black and white photo. Well, you know, as close as I could make it, anyway! All his distinct markings were there; the dark eyes, nose and lips, the dark areas in his ears, most of the brindling. Lots going on in those eyes and ears! Here's a closer look.
Not done yet, though.
Which brings me to the theme of the week. I don't have a catchy name for it. If there is one, and you know it, tell me! H and I were talking about it in regards to his business (water treatment). The idea is that it takes more work to complete the last 10% than the first 90%. Maybe it's related to "the devil's in the details"? At any rate, while you can see where everything is going (except the background), there's a LOT of work to do before I call this done.
I think I'm getting the sense of the lighting I want in this, though. Once the background gets more solid, I may have to adjust the shadows more, pump them up, get more contrast. We'll see.
It's bedtime now. Tomorrow, we'll get to that last bit!
Thanks for looking!
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