Today I was going to leave the dog's head alone and just work on the trees and the boat... but I ended up working on the head anyway. I keep making little tiny changes, moving the nose a little to the right, making the eye on the left smaller... I looked at it this morning and realized that my dog looked a little too "cartoony", and I saw that it was because I had made the features too large in proportion to the whole head. So I whittled away a little bit. I also flattened the top of his head somewhat, because I thought mine was taller and thinner than the original. I tried to warm the color up a little by adding cadmium red, an infinitesimal amount. I can't tell if it's improved or not.
I did work on the trees, but I am not happy with them yet. I got tired and distracted and went to lunch before I finished them. Next time I will tone down the three-dimensionality - my woods look too sculptural and blobby.
I am happy with how the boat looks, though. I made the shadows darker and glazed over the light areas with a thin bluish-brown glaze. I think the boat is improved.
I also worked on the water on the right, and on the land under the dog's head.
My dog's coat is still cooler than the original - at least it looks that way in these photos. Next time, I will work on the trees again, and the blue sky, and the dog's body.
(click the images for a larger view)
