Petey is done ... What's next?

Except for the final varnish, Petey's portrait is done.  Let's look at the final steps.

Petey - work in progress
acrylic, 8" x 10"
© Xan Blackburn 2012

This step doesn't look too much further along than the last step I showed you.  The work is mostly deepening the shadows, and adding detail to Petey's features.

Time to add some more color!

Petey - work in progress
acrylic, 8" x 10"
© Xan Blackburn 2012

Keeping the couch loose, so the focus stays on Petey, I laid in a hot red, then some warm gold, and burnt umber, bringing up just a few areas with some white mixed with raw sienna.

On Petey, I used all those same colors.  I always love working on the eyes, making them glow or deepen into complexly tinted shadow.  At the last minute, I decided his blue-ness was just a bit more blue than I really wanted it to stay, so I washed back over some of those areas with some burnt umber to give it a more complex and warmer feel.

Petey
acrylic, 8" x 10"
© Xan Blackburn 2012

While I had the pallet handy, of course I dinked around with the whole thing a little bit more, adding some red tones to the inner ears and the eyes, adding some more detail around the eye on the bright side, and bringing down the shadow under his jaw on our left.  I think the glaze of burnt umber really did help to bring him into reality.







Here's a detail view, just for fun.

Petey - Detail
acrylic, 8" x 10"
© Xan Blackburn 2012

I kept this portrait a little more soft-focus than some.  I don't know why.  Just the way this one spoke to me, I guess!

Big Announcement: Portraits can now include humans!

Well, they always could, but I really want to encourage this aspect.  My fascination with the way humans and animals interact is hungry to express itself in my art.  When we look at our pet portraits, we hope to feel some of the love we have for that pet; I'd like to capture that actual bond, to focus on the way you (or your child, or friend, or grandmom ...) IS with that dog or cat or hamster (etc.).  So, while you're thinking about your commission, I hope you'll consider the possibility of adding the human presence in the portrait itself.

Meanwhile, I'm wrapping up the Hope for Hounds design (collar: done, tee-shirt version still to do), there's the breed club logo still waiting for final vote by the club to finalize which version, I've just started discussions about some fabric designs, and the soft sculpture greyhound portrait.  That leaves all three commission positions open!  Whoo hoo!

Now, What's Next?

If you're hoping for a spot on my commission list, now's the time to sign up for alerts.  See the link in the sidebar?  For more details, see this page.