I started out this morning with a really quick watercolor sketch of a Basset Hound. That was just a warm-up to get my mind flowing with color. Then I worked some more on the duck I started the other day. I think I've pretty much finished him now. I made an interesting discovery about the paper I was using, while working on the duck. It is some rough paper that our next-door neighbor had when I was a child. I don't know how long he'd had it at that point, but he was quite elderly, so I'm guessing for a while, which means this paper has been around for at least 40 years.
What I discovered is that I can lift all of the paints I was using off this paper, even some greens which are usually staining colors. At first it was a bit disconcerting to have the greens, which I was trying to paint over, come right off the paper, but it occurred to me that I could make good use of that characteristic.
I spent most of the day painting this Basset Hound, Gomez, who spent a couple of months with me last year. I really, really liked him and was sad to see him leave. I had the best time painting him today and remembering what a fun and sweet dog he was, once he got over the worst of his Separation Anxiety, which is why he was here. My goal in this painting, as with most of my dog paintings, was to capture the love and connection in his expression as he looked up at the person he was with (in this case me).
2 comments:
Oh Melissa, you have painted him so beautifully.... I'm so impressed at how far you have come with your painting, especially your dogs. You put so much life into them and the love you have for these animals shines through.
What I'm enjoying most is your addition of bolder colours and confident brush strokes, like Gomez's ears for instance. Stunning!!!!And what a sweet expression!!!!
This is one of my favourites, until the next one.
Bravo Melissa, I can almost hear him about to sing with joy.
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