This 16x20 Oil Pastel piece is of 2 Dachshunds. I have been calling them my "Doxies." Their Fur Mom has asked me not to name specifics and I respect that.
I had a couple photos to use for reference. One in particular we loved because the pup's tails are touching. The shape of the photo and the size of the paper proved a little challenging for subject placement.
The reference photo has been cropped. I simplify the backgrounds to bring the dogs themselves to the focus of each piece. So the carpet and siding of the porch room would be broken down into one color or a variation of hue.
Sketching took about 4 tries. The layout was tricky. I liked the diagonal dynamic of the siding in the background and the opposite movement in the touching tails. The bodies would have to be lowered to get the full composition movement. The composition has a teal "S" in between the dog bodies and the negative space of the background. That subtle anchor pulls the eye around the piece.
Kneaded erasers can double as stress balls!
Base color being applied here. This stage always look so rough and cartoonish.
Small changes make big impacts. Each side by side difference between the images is hours of work.
"Doxies" 16x20 Oil Pastel and Color Pencil
My customer loved her portrait. She gave me praise and promise of referrals. The portrait will be hanging in her living room. The background color was a surprise-teal looks lovely with shades of browns and it is my favorite color, so that was an easy one to please her with. She said she will try to get a picture with the real life wiggly boys. I will edit if she manages it.
That wraps up 2017. Thank you for reading about each piece this past year.
I can't wait to share more in 2018 with you!
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