Painting my old dog Boss
The ‘Boss’ painting on Blake’s bedroom wall.
My second attempt at painting taught me you can make mistakes but you can fix them or find a new way to create. I wanted bright paint blobs in the background and when I showed it to Blake he thought it looked very ‘primary school’. Considering the painting was for him (Boss was his dog, though of course the whole family loved her) I had to think about what he said, and I had to agree. I didn’t like it either. The paint was still a bit wet so I added water and brushed across it getting a multi-coloured effect. I didn’t mind it so problem solved. Then I wanted to add the word BOSS down the side to fill the space she was looking towards. I used a product called Impasto, which is a bit like a thick glue like Clag (remember that from school?). I also used it on her chest to give the softer fur look that she had there but not on the shorter coat on her back. I bought a desk-top easel with a draw for brushes and pencils. I’ll get a proper one when I progress to bigger painting, unless I give up after this one (probably not). A fun project in a day – and Blake was happy to hang it on his bedroom wall, so it can’t be too bad.
I started with a sketch from a photo of Boss.
Here’s my desktop easel with the handy little draw.
Painting a green background so I can still see the sketch of Boss.
Filling in the white details on her chest.
Adding other details in red and orange.
She’s starting to look a bit like Boss.
Adding the detail around her eyes, coat, face and mouth (the mouth was my most difficult bit to get right).
Don’t laugh at the funny coloured splashes. Yes, okay they look ridiculous.
Washing over the background with water over the wet colour worked out okay.
I added the word Boss down the side with Impasto and then painted colour over the raised effect (once dry of course).
The ‘Boss’ painting on Blake’s bedroom wall.
Let me know what you would have done if you were painting your beloved pet. Advice on how to improve would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for reading Warm and Witty Words. You can comment below.
