Friday, September 3, 2010

Sneak Peek Friday

All true artists, whether they know it or not, create from a place of no-mind, from inner stillness. - Eckhart Tolle

 Welcome to Sneak Peek Friday everyone!  In lieu of showing my actual desk today, because I'm excited to show what I've been working on all week ...the process of my dog portrait paintings.  My intention is to add it as a page to the tabs at the top of my blog.  Here we go:

Image 1:
ROUGH DRAFT

I do a light pencil sketch from a photo of the dog on watercolor paper.  Then I start blocking in shapes and laying down the lightest color first. 

During this beginning stage, I give special attention to the eyes since they are the soul of the dog and if they aren't correct at this stage, I will never be able to fix them later on. 



Image 2:
INITIAL LAYERS


Next, I start laying down thin washes of color watching that there are no hard edges where they're not suppose to be.  I use 2 brushes at this point...a brush to put on the color and a wet brush to blend and wipe away.






Image 3:
SHADOWS 

Up to this point, there is no actual fur painted.  Even though beautiful Ella is a short hair Vizsla, the hair still needs to be stippled on top of the shading.   I still go back and forth as I work all the areas together as a whole. 







Here's the finished portrait of Ella, 12" x 16", on 140lb. Arches watercolor paper.



Here's the original photo...


To add a final explanation point to my painting, I made a little stamp with a paw print to work my signature around.  

If you want to join us in the "Sneak Peak" fun, just click on  "In the Studio"  and give it a try.

I will be taking a short creative blog break to go on a family vacation through Utah's State Parks.  Hopefully, I can post some awesome vacation photos during our trip. Thanks for stopping by! 

17 comments:

lori said...

loved seeing your process! Beautiful watercolor!!! and love your little stamp-so clever!! found you via "in the studio" and see you're a fellow flyer!

Kat Sloma said...

This is gorgeous! Seeing your process is very interesting. You really did capture the soul of the dog, much more beautifully than the photograph.

Carola Bartz said...

I love seeing your process, this is so interesting! Thank you for sharing this. Have a wonderful time in Utah, there are some gorgeous state parks, and way less crowded than the National Parks.

Anonymous said...

wow, you have totally captured his expression. Beautiful

Terri Smith said...

Stunning! The eyes were perfect! Thank you so much for sharing.

Jennifer {Studio JRU} said...

Oh wow... she is beautiful! In real life and your painting! :) She reminds me of our weimaraner, except for the color. Beautiful dog!! It was so fun to watch your progress. Thank you for taking the time to show us each step. SO neat!! :) Hope you have a wonderful vacation!

Franchesca said...

How awesome!!!! Your work is beautiful! I agree with another commenter, the painting captures more than even the photo does. I only wish I could do what you do with watercolors!

Alesha said...

Diana, this was so amazing to me - since I don't draw or paint! Your process is very complex, but ultimately so rewarding!

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today, too. It's so nice to visitors!

Now, if I could just reach out and pet the dog, I would feel my visit here was complete! :) :) :)

(Instead, I'll go pet my own "canine unit" as we call him! lol!)

Alesha

Marianne said...

You are so talented. The painting is amazing.
I so want to go with you to Utah. It is my second favorite state. If you go through Zion National Park be sure to stop by Best Friends Animal Sanctuary on Route 9 near Kanab. You can take enough photos of dogs to keep you busy for years.

Jodi Ulschmid said...

Beautiful painting!!! So fun to see your whole process. Hope you have a wonderful trip!

Jodene Shaw said...

Diana,
Beautiful painting and I love seeing to work in progress...and the little paw print!

Oh, I envy your trip to the Utah parks...it is someplace I have ALWAYS wanted to go! Can't wait to see your photos!

Carrie Schmitt said...

Love the quote by Eckard Tolle. And you are so talented! I loved seeing this process because I would have no idea how you did this. Seeing the steps makes it even more amazing! Did you teach yourself or have you taken classes?Thanks for sharing your talent!!!

Sonya McCllough Lockridge said...

I have an Ella , but we change her name too Eddy, Ella is just beautiful ... keep up the O so awesome work!

Diana said...

Marianne, Oh I forgot about Best Friends. I have donated to them before. I don't know if we'll make it there, but thanks for reminding me. Love them. We're heading to Arches. We biked Solitude today.

Carrie, I pretty much am self taught. I devote a lot of time to it. Not so much when the girls were your kids' ages though.

Mary-Michael said...

Diana! This piece is absolutely superb! Thanks so much for sharing this and the process. Hope you have a fantastic vacation! Looking forward to seeking more of your work.

Adriana said...

Diana,I'm in awe!!
What gorgeous portrait of a soulful pet! You are a wonderful and talented artist! Thank you for sharing the process too..

Thank you for dropping by my blog!

RasaOM's Art said...

Amazing work. Beautiful dog.