Colby’s Eyes
Posted by Judy Moore Mudd | Filed under Animals
About the Painting:
Name: Colby’s Eyes
Size: 5×7″
Medium: Watercolor on 140# Arches paper
This painting is of my daughter, Sara’s service dog, Colby. He is a 5 year old, 85lb, Golden-Lab mix lapdog. Colby was acquired through Canine Companions for Independence in Columbus, Ohio, which is a wonderful organization helping disabled individuals live more independently. Here, I painted him without his working vest. He is watching the crowd milling about at Churchill Downs. He has expressive eyes and so that was my focus in the painting.
My process: I started with a light Cerulean blue delineating all of his shadowed areas in his fur. I then started with his ears and worked my way around his body using Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, and Permanent Rose, darkening and lightening as I went and leaving white paper where he had white fur. I then moved to the darker areas- nose, eyes, etc. using a mixture of Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna and Alizarin Crimson to make a strong dark, leaving small white specks in his eyes and lower eyelids. When I painted the nose, I softened the upper part of his nose into his fur, blending it. I added a little darkening to his eyebrow areas and painted his toenails. The background I did last, with a mixture of Thalo Blue and Alizarin Crimson. Instead of painting around the bricks, I lifted the color inside the bricks, giving them shape. As a final step, I darkened the bricks a little under Colby’s body to make him blend with the surface instead of looking pasted on.
Price: SOLD! If you would like a commissioned painting of your pet, please email me a quality photo with good lighting in .jpg format. A 5×7″ is $40.00 plus shipping. Larger size paintings are available. Please email me for a quote.
