painting ~

Okay.... time to quit the dilly dallying around and get down to business!  I have been procrastinating over this project long enough.  I'm going to paint a dog... and hopefully it will resemble our beloved Brandy that we had for 14 years before her passing two years ago.

I know I showed you the sketch on canvas that I finally got around to attempting:

I really didn't like the sketch; as it just didn't look like Brandy - but ... I decided to try and work with it anyways.  I never drew a dog's face before ... let alone paint one ... AND I'm using oil paints ... only did that once before ~ so bear with me.

Seriously ... I don't have a clue as to using oil paints.  This is a trial and error  ~
I don't own good brushes or any of the fancy stuff.  I don't even know if I have the right kind of canvas (my daughter picked it up at a garage sale and gave it to me).  I've used acrylic paints on occasion but oils are a whole 'nother ball game.

I decided I would first paint in some shadow and work from dark to light.  I'm sure some artist out there is going to read this and laugh. I'm serious ... I don't know what the proper steps are in doing this.  Should I be painting the background first and then working in the subject ~ or vice versa?? I suppose I could do a web search and find out some answers; but I'll just jump off the boat into the deep water and swim!

Here goes ...

Welcome to my studio ... the kitchen table.

Oh mercy!  This is not going the way I want it to go.  That poor forlorn dog that is showing up on my canvas.  It's nose is too long ... and those eyes ... oh my...

Think Mel ... think ... don't quit ... just start blending those paints around ... tweak the eyes and shorten that snout somehow.

Here's where I'm at when I quit a few hours later ... YES HOURS. I had to quit for the day.  My colors are getting muddled ... and I don't know what you do about that.  Do I have to let it dry some before attempting more?  Any oil painters out there with some suggestions??

I hope it's starting to look like a golden retriever???  

Until next time ...

So it goes in my neck of the woods.

~mel