White Poodle, day 5

Plugging along... I worked on fixing the dog's nose, which I thought was at slightly the wrong angle and a little too far to the left. I fiddled with the color and moved the nostrils to the right a little... I don't know if I actually changed its position at all, though!

I also worked on the fur - making the underpainting a little lighter, and repainting the squiggles lighter, too. I'll have to go lighter still, I think. I also painted the legs and feet in more detail, and worked on the boat.

Working on this painting is kind of scary somehow... when I'm getting started, I have a feeling like I just have no idea of what I'm doing. Maybe it's because I haven't been painting anywhere else but in the National Gallery, and so every week it feels like the first time in forever. I look forward to the time when I'm able to spend more days painting, and stay in practice all the time!

(click on the images for a larger view)

White Poodle, day 4

Another dark and rainy day, but somehow my easel was positioned differently and my painting had more light on it. Today I worked on the fur!

I was kind of scared to start painting the fur. I've never tried to paint fur before. I brought a new color, Naples Yellow, which I had at home but which I never use. It is made from lead, and is very rich and creamy. I don't know if Stubbs used it (because I haven't bothered to research it,) but I bet he did. It seemed to match the color better.

I will probably paint all the fur again next week, because my squiggles are bigger and farther apart than his squiggles, but at least I got a start on it. I also see an adjustment I have to make in the dog's face. And I'll need to tackle the boat, and finish up the trees, and repaint the sky and cloud. I'm hoping just a few more weeks on this one.

(click the images for a larger view)

White Poodle, day 3

A miserable rainy day, but a good day to be inside the National Gallery! Today I decided to paint the dog's face, because getting his expression right is the most important part of this painting, in my opinion. I also started in on the fur on his body. 

Since it was a rainy day, the gallery I was in was quite dark - the museum uses skylights, and there are spotlights focused on the paintings on the walls. Unfortunately, my painting on the easel was kind of in the dark. So I don't know if my painting is actually too dark, or if it's just the darkness of the day. I'll see next week, if it's a brighter day outside.

Each week, as I'm setting up, it feels as if I have no idea of what to do. So I just start mixing paint, trying to make piles of colors that I will need. I can kill most of an hour doing this! Finally I have to just plunge in. I don't know why it's always so hard to get started, but it is.

Here is a detail of what I painted today. I think I got his expression pretty well... Painting the fur was very interesting. I had thought that I should do all the underpainting - the modeling of the body - and then paint the furry highlighted furry squiggles on when it was dry. But today I just worked wet into wet, and it worked just fine. I worked over some of the background where it touches the dog's chest and back, because that's necessary to get the look of the fur. I've never painted a furry animal before - this copy is going to be quite an education!

click on the images for a larger view