Kevin’s Painting Blog

I have noticed that the paintings which I end up being most pleased with are those that I was able to paint rapidly.  Take this dog painting I just funished - I whipped it out in 3 hours max.  I spent one hour on the underpainting, let it dry for a day, and then finished the rest the next day in one sitting.  Here’s how it went….

Day one, the under painting:

I did it in a thin wash of ultramarine blue because the dog had a orange/brown coat and wanted to use the complimentary color for it, hoping specs would show through in the final painting (which they did.)  This is where most of the time was taken on this painting.  I have found that if you spend time here getting your drawing correct, etc, it pays off big dividends later.

Day Two, Stage One:

First I laid in the darkest dark’s located under the chin and on top of the head.  Then I went in with the darker browns.  This took me no time at all, probably 20-30 minutes max.

Day Two, Stage Two:

Here, I went in with the lighter colors.  Honestly, from here on the painting went real easy.

Day Two, Stage Three:

From here it was just a matter of putting in the lightest lights, finishing the nose, adding a background, etc.

Probably one of the easiest paintings I have ever done. The blue specks that show through don’t show up well on this photo but I am pleased with how they come out on the finished painting.

Things I could have done - put in some reflected light around the chin in the form shadow using a bit of blue-green mixed with the red-orange.   Won’t change it now though - I already signed it.