My first portrait of 2009 is complete!
I had some new challenges with this one. Smokey’s owner wanted the scene to be very gray, since that’s typical of where they live in the Willamette Valley. A gray sky like this one creates flat lighting, though. I had to brighten him up enough to create some depth and interesting texture without making the lighting look unnatural. Plus, in order to balance out all the gray of his fur, the sky, and the wooden fence, I incorporated warm tones wherever else I could. This is obvious in the redwood color at the bottom of the painting, but done more subtly in the trees. Most trees in western Oregon are covered in lichens and mosses, some of which can be very bright yellowy-greens. (This is much easier to see on the original painting.) Finally, the highlights on Smokey’s fur include some pale peach tones, which help to balance his deep blue-gray shadows.
The two most exciting aspects of this painting (for me, anyway):
I got to use my favorite pastel color, the darkest shade of “Mouse Gray,” which is a rich, deep, cool gray with tones of indigo.
Also, I loved working on the tree. It’s sketchy branches and soft cross-hatched texture were more like a drawing than a painting, and I liked the variety of lines it brought to the composition. The thinner branches also reflect Smokey’s whiskers.
