I've Been Framed!

Inspiration:
The picture below is another of my friend's pups. I have used the gouache "ink" technique on dogs with black and white before, could I pull it off on a totally black dog?
I sent my friends the drawings of her dogs, Brae and Shasta (#30). She loved them so much, she had two of them framed as a gift for her husband.

I like how she included the original pictures, and notes I sent her about the drawings on the back of the frame. She plans to get the last picture framed at some point in the future. 

#31: Brae

Reference Photo

What I like about the drawing:
Not much! Yeah, it looks like a black dog, but I don't think I captured Brae's personality very well. I am fairly pleased with the white charcoal highlights, however. 

What I might do differently:
I made Brae a bit too fat! Oops, sorry about that, girl! My gouache was not thin enough. It isn't visible at first glance, but if you had the picture in front of you, and held it a bit sideways, you would see areas that were quite thick and a even a few bubbles. 

What I learned:
It would be helpful to test the gouache on a scrap before beginning to paint. In a previous gouache drawing I lost sight of the lines of the drawing. This time I made a copy of my sketch before I covered the original with gouache and I found that helpful to use as a reference.

#30: Shasta

Inspiration:
While taking the online Drawing Cats and Dogs class I practiced by sketching dogs that belong to my friends.  Shasta was especially intriguing with her short hair and her coloring. I created one drawing and shared it online. She went nuts over it, and asked if I could send it to her... she'd even pay! (I didn't charge her.) I decided it would be fun to surprise her and include another drawing... or two. 

#30: Shasta

9" x 9" pencil on vellum

What I like about the drawing:
I love the pup's expression. To me, she looks like she is inviting the viewer to come play with her.  I feel like I was able to show the dimensions of her face by using more strokes, creating a darker area. I am pleased with the background. I like the variation I achieved with smudged pencil.

What I might do differently:
I am not certain that her ears are accurate. Again (and again, and again...) I must move away at several stages of the drawing process to assess my work. I used very little shading by smudging the pencil. I think that might have helped differentiate areas of different color.

What I learned:
Val Webb (course instructor) says that the eyes are the soul of the picture, and I agree. Val puts them in, first thing. It certainly does make the drawing come to life, right away! I am not a patient artist. I don't like taking a lot of time with my work. I want to see it... NOW! Were I to take more time, step back more, and revisit the work another day I think my work would be more refined. I also find that view a picture of the art work helps me get that "view from a distance." I shall try looking at a picture of my work on my next piece.

#25: Dog Gone It!

As I continue with my class on drawing dogs and cats, we switch from pencil to work with charcoal pencils, both black and white.

Inspiration: After working with grey paper and some subjects provided by the instructor, Val Webb, I decided to try my hand at drawing my two dogs.

What I like about the painting: I was pleased with the second drawing. I like the texture of Tucker's mane, and the lines of the face appear softer.

What I might do differently: I didn't take enough time with the first drawing. I did my lines, dusted off my hands, and sprayed the painting to fix the charcoal. The next morning I took another look at the drawing and realized how unfinished it really was.

What I learned: I MUST step back from my work and take that 6' look. I think it may also be really important to give myself a break from the work, and readdress it later, with a fresh eye. This should have become a habit a long time ago! I also found that the charcoal pencils are very frustrating for me. The point, especially that of the black charcoal pencil, breaks in the pencil sharpener far too often. (I just Googled how to sharpen charcoal pencils and the article suggests that you use an Exacto knife blade. Complete instructions are provided. So, hey... I learned something else!)