Bella

My sisters dog, Bella. She is a sweet baby girl and I thought I would try to paint her. I used two reference photos to create her likeness. It took a few stops and starts, but here she is! I used various Winsor Newton watercolors and painted her on 9 x 12 inch Arches 100% cotton cold pressed watercolor paper.

The first dog I painted was from one of Louise De Masi's tutorials. What hair this dog had! Here is the finished painting and also a snapshot of it in its ugly phase. The ugly phase is when I am actually ready to toss it in the garbage can. I started taking progress photos to remind myself to stay the course and not give up when it looks terrible. Just let it dry, put it away for a day or two and then revisit, focusing on one section at a time to see if things start coming together. It usually works out just fine. Again, the eyes are always the favorite part for me to paint.

The first dog I remember having was a golden retriever that we had when I was a child. His name was Shannon and he was such a good dog. He hated fireworks and would hide under my bed every 4th of July. Painting the gold colors on Bella reminded me of his beautiful golden coat. He will always be a part of the farm, the farm that I left a long time ago.

Here's to childhood, and here's to the dogs we cherish.

Happy Monday everyone!

Helen