This is the very first painting I worked on this year, the first week in January. My client originally hoped to have this portrait ready as a Christmas gift for her husband Ian, but I just didn’t have any more booking slots left. I didn’t want to rush the painting as the setting is just so interesting. It is a full interior view of a pub near Limerick. Ian brings his collie dog Moss everywhere with him and Mary, my client, wanted a portrait for him including Moss. They bring Moss with them on the Shannon almost every year.
The client had two photos for me, one outdoor and one from a bar. She wanted to use the indoor scene for the painting. I suggested taking out the window behind the man and the client thought this was a good idea but wanted to keep the customers in the background for some context.
I worked at quite a small size of 35 x 25 cm. It was challenging capturing all the detail of Ian’s and Moss’s features together with the detail of the interior. The photo was quite dark too, and the client provided me another photo of Moss with some unusual markings on his back. I wanted to capture these and brightened up the colours when painting.
Hi Ivana! Love the painting – you have captured Both Ian & Moss really well. Many thanks for your perceptive & sensitive work.
Mary, on receiving a scanned image of the painting, Adare, County Limerick
Hi Ivana ! Painting arrived today. It is absolutely beautiful. Ian loves it – as do my sons.
Again – many thanks for your wonderful work. I will definitely be recommending you.
Mary, upon receiving the finished painting of Ian and Moss to her home in county Limerick
I wanted the portrait to feel harmonious so I used a limited palette as always. I tend to stick to some basic colours of Yellow Ochre, Venetian Red, Ultramarine Blue and Titanium White. In this portrait I added some earthy tones of Burnt Umber too especially for the background. Burnt Umber is a more translucent pigment and this brought some airiness into the background to support the opaque Venetian Red I used for the skin tones, clothes and Moss.
I started with a line sketch painted in yellow ochre and developed the painting from that, following with several coats of colours. I worked on the whole painting at the same time, moving from area to area until finished.