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Sunday, May 25, 2014

Fritz the Schnoodle

Day 1: 20x16, oil on panel (photo taken with iPad under florescent lighting)
I am working diligently to be more aware of paint quality. By that I mean having the brushstrokes be visible. I have always tended to paint smooth when in the studio. I can be very expressive outside painting but that does not necessarily come inside with me. I thought my dog, Fritz, would be a good subject to practice "paint quality" on. He just lends himself to it. I got him pretty well blocked in on the first day, shown above. There are definitely things that need to be corrected and finished, but his personality is already coming through.
Day 2: photo taken with iPad under florescent lighting
Not as much progress as I had expected was made on day two. I did get the whole canvas covered finally. I moved his left eye over a bit but I am not sure it doesn't need to moved closer in. I worked on his face, chest and front legs but they are still not quite finished. The background and rugs got more detail and refinement as I worked my way around the composition trying not to stay too long in any one place. The box in the background is coming to far forward and I hope it is just reflecting glare from wet paint. It was one of the last things I did, but if it is not the wet paint, it has to be toned way down to be pushed into the dark recesses of our kitchen.
Day 3: 20x16, Fritz, oil on panel
Day three has Fritz looking like the sassy boots he is. I did move the eye on the left further to the right; I did work on pushing the background further back as well as the depth of the rug he is standing on as it recedes and finally, some fine tuning on Fritz including adding his tags and melding some of his fur a bit better. I also had to bring his front paws over the threshold as it just wasn't reading correctly with them stuck below that level.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow what a great project. I like the soft view as well, but with your graphic magic, Fritz became very textured, very touchable now, with hair you could rough up with your fingers. His proportions are well-defined and the background fell back into its proper place. I like the way you brought the light forward to really show off his earnest expression. Does the shadow under his chin make the hair behind his tag less visible? Maybe it's my lq monitor, but does it lose its dimension right there? Your love and commitment really pay for you.

victoriasart said...

It is probably not your monitor. I see what you are saying and I will ponder on that and let you know. I value your keen observation.