Dot portrait
This adorable pup is Dot! This commission came in through way of Ripley’s extended family. It was a lot of fun putting together the background (I used a lot of blendable colored pencils to get the sharpness of the window frame), and of course Dot’s fur has so much great texture and soft colors. Lately I’ve been going for a small square-head brush for fur; it just gives it some nice glisten and doesn’t allow for too much preciousness (eyelash-thin brushes can quickly make fur look hyper-realistic in my experience). I was thinking of doing a classic wooden frame because I feel like a medium wood complements pretty much everything. But then saw this lovely gray frame that really set off Dot’s fur.
More details here: Watercolor pet portraits
Photos of Dot in progress here: Painting timelines
And here’s a photo of me using a light tablet to get the outlines of the portrait. It’s tough using these when it’s daylight on the thick watercolor paper that I use; the light of the space dulls the lighting under the paper. Sometimes I put a light scarf over my head while I do a quick sketch (if anyone were to walk in, I would appear possessed), but it’s really just more comfortable to sit under my desk for a little while.
