Hank is my 3 year old bulldog that replaced dearly departed Louie. His personality, however, is opposite Louie's. Hank is regal, loving, and not nearly as smelly. He is more active (he just tore both ACLs from excessive activity), he loves people, and requires constant attention.
In order to illustrate his personality, I chose a 20x20 square canvas, and placed his cuddly head in its center. I blocked out Hank's head in yellow ochre first in order to set up the composition, and then painted details over it. I had to paint the pillow he is reclining on a few different times to achieve a velvety, royal feel. Originally, the blue was much lighter, and took away from Hank's face. The indigo I ended up with here allows Hank's head to come forward and he became the center of the composition as I had intended.
I stylized the black spots under his lips, and I like the effect. Many of his wrinkles pop, but I think I could have worked them more. I am happy with the blue I put into his fur. If I ever paint Hank again, I would want to get a more impressionistic feel to him. The paint should be thicker and here he is a little over-modeled. More movement and thicker paint would add vividness to the portrait.
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