This is the latest portrait to come off my easel. It is of Bran, the beautiful mixed collie shepherd dog. She was rescued by her family when 6 months old and stayed with them for 15 years. She was very special to them and so they commissioned Bran’s portrait with me as a keepsake.
They were very happy with the result and I was just honored to work on such a special portrait. The reference photos were excellent. They were taken outside on a lovely day. It is a beach setting, which is wonderful (I have a thing for beaches so I was very excited to work on this painting :)). We decided to choose a profile image of Bran. I think it really captured her good nature and gentle character.
I suggested a wide landscape format, 40 x 20 cm in size. It captured just enough background without overpowering Bran in the centre of the composition. I worked in the detail in Bran’s fur with small brushes. It is a sunny scene, so the shadows are quite deep in tone. The basis of my palette were burnt umber, venetian red and yellow ochre. For contrast I used cerulean blue and ultramarine. It was important to capture the warmth of the sun in the image. I took some pictures of the finished canvas on the wall, together with some progress images as I was painting.
