Saturday, April 6, 2013

Precious

9x12 Acrylic on canvas board

This is a commissioned piece I am doing - a friends' sister-in-law's dog named Precious. One of the things I worry about the most when painting a persons pet is whether I've captured the personality of the dog. This one was a bit hard - the photos I had were all a bit off (blurred, side shots, etc). You can't really see it in my photo, but lots of brush strokes in this one.

I'm also not sure about the red background. Thought it would make the dog stand out a bit. (and one of the photos of the dog showed a red blanket draped over the edge of the sofa)

What say ye? Is Precious done, needs more tweaking, change background, leave it alone & sign it? 

3 comments:

Sea Dean - Paint a Masterpiece said...

Hi Nan, obviously you're not happy with the painting, or you wouldn't have asked. I think you're a wonderful artist but we all have moments like this and I'm happy to give feedback.

Backgrounds are so difficult, it's something I constantly struggle with.

If you (and the client) like the red, these would be my suggestions. 1. More variation in the background with cool colour on one side and warm on the other to show the light. 2. At the moment the edge between the dog and the background is too strongly defined, so I would suggest blending some of the fur over the background. 3. Also blend a bit of the red into the fur for reflected light which would integrate the two better.

Personally, I think that shade of red is too conservative (as in old men and smoking rooms) and doesn't reflect the terrier personality. I like the more contemporary grey/violet in his fur and would prefer something more like that in the background, but that's just me.

Hope that helps.

Autumn Leaves said...

I love the rich red background. I like the look in Precious' eyes too. Almost a sardonic or wry look to this little one. Leave alone and sign!

renate said...

Hi Nan:) I love this dog. The name of the dog is just what your painting shows. His expression is wonderful. In my opinion the red background goes beautiful with the colors in the fur. I think the owner of the dog will be very happy with it. (I really love this painting. If I wouldn't like it I wouldn't comment!)
Take care:)

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