Bonnie

Bonnie

rabbit

rabbit

Lisa

Lisa
colour 8x10

Mrs Blore

Mrs Blore
graphite 8x10

Oakley

Oakley

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artbykarieann
I am a part-time pet portrait and wildlife artist living in the deep dark forest between the Royal Forest of Dean, Herefordshire and the Welsh border. A beautiful and inspiring place to live and create pet portraits and wildlife art.
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Saturday 14 March 2009

Dog Portrait, Patch

I've worked some more with Patch's portrait. Sometimes I wonder if it really is a good idea to show work in progress as I look back and think the work so far is nothing like the image I'm supposed to be working from. I've looked back at yesterday's post for Patch and even I thought it was so far from the mark any client wuld be horrified to have asked me to produce a portrait of their beloved pet!
Thankfully eventually things do begin to tie up and I think my latest update for Patch does look a better match for the reference image, phew!!!
This is so many more layers and so much more work just to get this far, I've gone back over layers to deepen the colours and show more shading, I find shading is what makes all the difference between a flat portrait and a much more realistic one and now I'm happier myself with how Patch is beginning to look. Patch has mainly white fur for the body so this will be mainly shadows and shading to get the body shape correct before adding the white! Sounds odd but I use the greys and pale shades to add the minor colours which appear in white fur (there are many believe it or not) then I go back over with a white pencil to pick out the highlights and create a more rounded and solid shape. As you can see the brighter colours on the face shown in my previous post have been dampened down with white to give Patch much more true to life coloured fur. At long last I'm happy with where this portrait has got to.
I have now added a links page to my blog, please see the headers at the top of the page if you are interested in exchanging links. I am happy to take links for blogs and websites but please add my link to your site first leaving me a comment of where it is and what your link details are.
And news from the goose pen....we have our first toulouse dewlap egg of the season, we found it yesterday in the straw and left it to encourage the other three females to lay, however Willow collected it for me and I caught her going up the lawn with her own very large easter egg. Thankfully she didn't crack it and about 5 minutes later she went to fetch a duck egg as well, again she was so careful it didn't crack, perhaps I have a new egg collector and I've done myself out of a job!!!!
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6 comments:

Laure Ferlita said...

I am always intrigued by a work in progress, and love to see the step by steps, but I say that as an artist. I also hear you about your concerns of a potential client seeing the work and thinking no way. Two thoughts - don't post the reference material. No one will know what you're working towards. Second, communication with the client is always key. Explain you'll be doing the portrait as a WIP and that there are many "ugly" stages and not to panic, but instead enjoy the show and watch the magic!

This is really taking on form and substance - looking forward to your next post!

Kathleen Coy said...

Wow, you got a lot done today! Looking great! I understand about being hesitant to post work in progress photos, lol. You've seen how mine start off...they don't look like much in the beginning stages. But the fun is seeing the difference as work continues into something respectable. I do love seeing other artists WIPs.

And yes, lots of colors in white fur, as it reflects what's around it!

Unknown said...

Wow! You're cooking with fire on this portrait! As always, gorgeous as ever.

Sarah Sullivan said...

Oh what a beautiful face - looks like my Lucy Lu! Wonderful job. Sarah

David Larson Evans said...

Elegant

artbykarieann said...

I have thought about not putting up the reference image but I guess that's the nature of the beast, I want to show my portraits do look like the pets they are of so it's just nail biting until you get to the later stages. Luckily clients are very understanding when they see my squiggles on a page at the very beginning. Perhaps I should show no references until I've finished but I would still look myself and think I was so far away from the reference!

Copyright (c) 2008 -2010 Karie-Ann Cooper. All rights reserved. All images, words and text remain the copyright of Karie-Ann Cooper. All artwork on this blog is protected by copyright law and must not be used, copied or downloaded without the permission of the artist