A beautiful Italian Greyhound called Cairo just stopped me in my tracks – (see earlier post) and below is how I proceeded to paint him.His mother Niki (of ShadedMoon on Etsy) and I are working together on producing several Italian Greyhound portraits in the original and print forms with a percentage of the prints ones going to Niki’s UK charity the Italian Greyhound Rescue
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| Here is my drawing |
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| First wash of mid Raw Sienna was very liquid – I left parts white for the ears inside and the white blaze on chest |
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| Darkening dark areas with Burnt Umber/Burnt Sienna and a touch of French Ultramarine whilst still wet. |
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| Paint over the whole lot with a wash of mid brown and let it all fuse |
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| When almost dry go in with darks for the nose, the eyeballs and the back of that graceful curved neck. Don’t worry about runs. |
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| When almost dry I used a clean damp wiped brush to carefully lift out colour around the nose to form it |
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| Felt that Cairo needed a little hot cold counterchange to avoid boredom of being all browns. I added a hot splash of Cadmium Scarlet wash to the side of his aristocratic muzzle and above his right eyebrow and a dab on his right shoulder haunch. Then I added a whisper of Winsor Violet to the top of his nose and right ear to suggest sky reflection. I also pinked up the inner part of his right ear where the skin inside is that colour. |
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I loved painting this dog although I had a few near misses with him and he turned out much darker than he is in reality. Still – I am gearing up to paint one of his brothers and sisters next.
Come over and see him and other dog originals in my Etsy shop or how about a commission of you rown dog ? Thanks for reading. Alison
I loved seeing this come together – all the layers, one on top of the other. Great insight into the process.
Hi Alison, this is beautifully drawn and painted. ~ Dennis
Much appreciated Dennis – thanks!
He is SO handsome! And, he looks like he could just jump off the page! Thank you for sharing.
Glad he appeals to you Sue – thanks!