Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Progress of Belgian Malinois Portrait

I took the following photo, which shows the next step of the dog portrait, with my phone and so the colors are way off. It will have to do for now, I suppose...until I scan a final version of the completed artwork and make any necessary color adjustments.

On this step, I'm almost finished the fur on the neck/shoulder and then I will move on to finishing off the background (which should be a breeze)!

Stay tuned for the conclusion to this painting...


Asian Snow Leopard Drawing using graphite, charcoal and colored pencils...SOLD!

I am so very thrilled to announce that "Peaceful Repose" has found his forever home!
Before shipping the artwork, I took the opportunity to do a final scan of the drawing with my new scanner.  I now have a pretty good digital representation of the artwork before it leaves for its final destination.

 "Peaceful Repose"
Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia)
size: 9"x11"
graphite, charcoal and colored pencils

To view the reference image used for this artwork and the work in progress, click here

To read more about the snow leopard, visit my website here

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Painting the smiley dog mouth...

I've completed the Malinois' nose and the rest of the cheeks and muzzle on this step. I've also begun defining the mouth and  adding the tongue and shadows along the jawline. Next I will complete fur of the ruff and collar and probably move on to complete the rest of the dog's mouth.

The actual painting is a bit darker than shown and the green background is more on the bluish side...


Friday, July 11, 2014

Malinois portrait progress

In this step, I've painted more of the very short muzzle fur and the nose (which still needs some tweaking). So far, I have layered up to 6 different pastel colors in order to render this dog's fur. 

Below you can see the fur details up close (larger than actual size).  Since the small precise strokes require a very sharp and crisp point there is a need for constant sharpening. Concentration and a steady hand is essential to lay the fur correctly. This process is quite time consuming and there is still much more work to be done...

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Malinois portrait painting progress...layering of fur!

For this dog portrait, there is much layering of the pastel to get the fur just right! It is essential for the color, length and direction of the fur to be accurate in order to render a realistic portrait.

You will notice that the dark facial mask characteristic of the malinois breed has faded due to the appearance of grey/white flecking that naturally comes with aging.


To view more of my work, visit www.colettetheriault.com

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Dog portrait progress of a painting...

I don't know why uploading images to blogger alters the color and fuzzes out the detail but the green background on this painting is totally off (it should be more forest green, toward the blue spectrum)! Oh well, regardless, I wanted to share an update now that I've added the eyes and started layering the facial fur. It is a tedious process of layering and blending the pastels directly on the suede but well worth the results.
He still looks sort of funny at this stage with his nose and open smiley mouth only sketched in.