Wolfie progresses from a B & W photo into a coloured portrait

The reference photo

Here's a followup on the progress of Wolfie. He's actually further along than this so when he is finished and approved I'll post later photos.

Here are some of the photos I used to help me . 

The B & W and small photos are of Wolfie. The coloured one of him is too blurry to create a portrait but I can use it as a guide for his colour. 

The larger coloured photos are reference photos from a another Alsatian commission I created many years ago. I'm using these photo to help me with the details in Wolfie's eyes and jowl but customising the shapes so the portrait looks like Wolfie! 

 I need to remember that their colour is different to Wolfie and make sure I use the smaller photo as the colour guide.

The creation of the underpainting.

 I did the under painting in the studio and then started with the Oil paint at the demonstration.

 

Below - I've planned the background to best enhance his colour and the overall design / look of the portrait. I want his face to be the star and the rest if his body the supporting act. 

Before I start painting I spend a lot of time  planning your portrait to ensure you the best possible portrait .

 This is where my portraits differ from a straight copy of the photo . How I get impact and life! 

I emphasise the important things and downplay distracting unimportant things. Something a photo can't do!

 

The finished under painting ready for the demo.

Above -At the demo at Lambton Park.

 The oil paints mixed ready. I'm starting to redefine the dark parts of his eyes and nose. Oil has a much gutsier quality than acrylic so I can really get nice dense darks . This is necessary to give the finished portrait impact , 3D and realism.

I usually paint the eyes of the portrait first  . I always refine them later but even roughly painted they help bring the portrait to life. It also makes it more interesting for people watching.

After some one passing by asked whether his tongue was going to be green I thought I had better get in and roughly finish it! lol's.

 After years of experience I can picture the portrait many steps ahead.. I forget that other people can't!

I've  started roughly blocking in  his coat colour .

The colours are planned so his face comes forward and his body recedes. This gives the portrait a 3D  more lifelike look than the original two dimensional reference photo.

 This is Wolfie at the end of the demo. Not a bad start but I want to define and bring his muzzle forward towards you. I am also going to change the background colour to give the portrait more impact.

 To be continued.

I'll be painting at the Hunter Arts Bazaar at Lambton Park November 27th

Go to my Fb page to see the event

 

I'll have original paintings and cards for sale ( credit and debit crads accepted).
If you've been thinking of having a portrait created bring your photos /phone along and you can talk about your ideas or get some from me.
Art Bazaar has cemented it’s reputation as the event that showcases the Hunter’s creative & vibrant art community that locals & visitors look forward to three times every year. Visitors will also be delighted with the food & music being offered alongside our member's stalls.

Hunter Arts Network’s second Art Bazaar at Lambton Park is being held on Sunday 27 November 2016 from 9am – 3pm. Lambton Park is located on the Corner of Howe & Morehead Sts, Lambton, so Art Bazaar will be surrounded by beautiful parklands & great scenery. Lambton is a densely populated residential area located around some of Newcastle’s main roads making it a convenient suburb for transport. Art Bazaar is also within easy walking distance from many cafes, clubs & pubs including Lambton Park Hotel, Lambton Bowling Club, Coffee Infusion & more.

Art Bazaar has developed into a major art event for the region which now attracts many visitors from out of the area and is the Hunter's premier artisan and design marketplace. Art Bazaar is a great way to show families and visitors how wonderful our creative community is. Recent accolades include Volunteer Grants 2015, 2015 Hunter Local Business Awards Finalist, 2015 Stockland Community Grants Winner & 2014 QantasLink Hunter & Central Coast Awards for Excellence in Tourism Finalist.

HAN is a non-profit membership of artisans from the Hunter who carefully hand pick stallholders to ensure that shoppers have an array of local, handmade, unique, original & quality products, making Art Bazaar an affordable opportunity for both the public & the creative people of Newcastle and the Hunter. Enjoy meeting the artists and designers who have carefully created for the reputable event providing access beyond the boundaries of the gallery.

 Thanks to the Lambton Local for the article below.

 

My demo painting for Lambton Park on Sunday 27th November will be a memorial portrait of an Alsatian dog in Oil.

Here is the latest better  reference photo and the sketch.

 

 I did this sketch from the original emailed reference photo which wasn't as sharp and had dark areas that his the shape of his eyes. I used some photos I had of  another similar dog to help me. Now I have a clearer photo of Wolfie I can see his jowls are different  so I'll amend that as I paint.

I'm having the canvas board made and will under paint him next week.
I should get a good start on him next Sunday. Come along and watch.
He'll be a 40 x 50cms custom Framed Oil. 

 Look at the original photo- I've shown the first emailed pic and a scan I have just done from the original photo.The first emailed pic was blurry and too contrasty. The scan I did today is much better!
Now I can see the shape of his jowls etc - the little things that make it Wolfie rather than another dog.This is why sharp photos are so important.

A blurry photo but it shows me his colour.

 Wolfie passed away back in the 70's so most of the photos aren't very sharp but the one we have picked is good and I have other photos of him to show me what colour to make him.

 It's unusual to create a coloured portrait from a B & W photo but the B & W one was the nicest and only sharp one we had.

 Luckily I'm used to painting from B & W . I usually do it at some stage in every portrait. I find if I just copy the coloured photo I end up with a drab and lifeless portrait - like the original photo. Copying from a B & W photo frees me to use many more subtle colours to really bring your portrait to life!  As  long as I pick a colour that's the same shade ( lightness or darkness) it will work.

My portrait of dressage rider Jeremy Janjic on his gorgeous Fresian stallion Django of Cacharel

 Inger Villadson chiropractor with the Oil portrait.

You can view the portrait at 9 ways Chiropractic clinic 1/7-9 Lambton Rd, Broadmeadow NSW 2292

#horse portraits #horse paintings # dressage horse and rider portrait # Painting of Jeremy Janjic on Django of Cacharel

Christmas is coming - Do you want a gift with WOW factor?

Your pet is only with you for a short time - keep them with you always in an heirloom portrait!

For your convenience I now accept Mastercard , Visa and American Express

Now is a great time to organise that portrait you've been thinking about.
After being flat out creating portraits all year I've finally caught up and have a starting spot vacant now!
I can start your portrait this month and with my many options you can decide to have a larger portrait or have it earlier!
I accept Mastercard , Visa , American Express and Paypal + laybyes.

Each portrait is a custom shape to best suit your photo!

My latest 2 memorial portraits- Oscy and Bella.
I make a custom shape for each portrait.
This gives the best result for each portrait - a larger face for me to bring them to life with minimum background.
Both are 30 x 40cm image size custom framed portraits but they are different shapes.

Have your portrait sooner! I accept cards and Paypal

Did you know I accept Mastercard , Visa and American express over the phone and at markets?
I also accept Paypal.
 

Have your portrait earlier .
 

Book now for special gifts or treat yourself to a lifetime of treasured memories!

The creation of Amanda and Ringo's portrait

Amanda was after a portrait that was a bit different. She explained that other than when they are at the track greyhounds are really quite  sedentary. She wanted something that showed Ringo's enthusiasm for running with his tongue hanging out and ears flapping.

 I went to the training track and set myself up inside to take photos of Ringo as he raced past.
 It wasn't easy! He was great and obliged by doing his part well  speeding back and forth as asked but the track is only c 10' wide and he was flying! Even on sports setting he was just a flash.  I took 100's of photo and some video.

After looking through heaps of photos I decided that one with Amanda in it had promise and the scope to come up with an interesting portrait. Amanda was a bit shy about being in the portrait and really wanted Ringo to be the star so I used a style that suggested her more and made Ringo the focus.

 Amanda and Ringo

 c 60 x 70cms framed size

 Custom framed oil

The original photo

The chosen reference photo  has potential but it's blurry and is an unflattering photo of Amanda. Still I like the way they are both having fun and are focused on each other. I feel we can capture the feel of their connection and the  day using  this one as the concept.

After playing around in photo shop to get rid of a lot of wasted space and make Ringo the star I came up with this idea. This stage often takes a long time but is the most important.
It doesn't matter how good you are as an artist without a good design and idea the portrait will never reach it's potential.

 I've also used some new more flattering closeup photos of Amanda's face. It's not the sharpest reference photos but I had good closeups of Ringo's head at a similar angle to help me.

Luckily I had taken lots of photos including head shots and closeup full body ones so we had a range of options to refer to.

  I wanted the portrait to be colourful and have impact. There wasn't much scope to change much with Amanda or Ringo so I upped the colours of the landscape so the portrait would still look realistic but have oomph!

 Amanda's face reference- the top one was mostly for the angle of the light on her clothes - I ended up toning down the shadow on her face as it just didn't look right.

 Clear shot to help me. I wanted Amanda to be secondary to Ringo but still a good likeness- just a little more expressionistic or suggested.

Below- early stages with the underpainting in acrylic.

Starting to paint the details in the under painting.

 Starting on the oil- Ringo roughly done.

 It's a largish portrait ( 40 x 50cms) so it take a while to have it all start to come together. The whole portrait needs to be roughly covered with Oil paint so I can start to compare things and refine and bring it all together.

 I usually start with the dark tones then the middle tones then the light bits last. 

Starting on Amanda's face in Oil.

 Amanda roughly done in Oil.
Below - - not the best photo due to sheen on the painting due to it being wet. Here I'm introducing some bright colours in the ground to give impact and depth - oranges and yellow come forward while blues and greens recede. This use of colour helps make the painting more 3D than a photo.

Below-  More finished off - extra shades of green in the trees and foreground finished a bit more. I still have to  finish Amanda's face and there is still a long way to go  but I can see how things are going.

 Amanda's face a little more finished - I ended up refining her face more  but not a bad start - nice and suggested but still getting a likeness and happy expression.

 Roughly completed along with the poop bag! 
I ended up deciding the painting needed a bit more colour on Amanda to bring it all together . I changed the lead to red to tie it in with the rest of the portrait.  I checked with Amanda and she didn't mind.

 Here you can see some of the extra photos I used to help. 
A portrait like this is quite complicated and takes a lot longer to create but it gives you the best portrait!
 It's a lot harder for me as I don't have one photo to refer to and check I have a good likeness.

In the later stages I added more subtle reds in the background to brighten the portrait and tie it all in. I decided Ringo's front legs were too short so I lengthened them, changed the colour of the lead and did many other tweaks.

 Amanda now has a great record of her happy days with Ringo at the track. Something to treasure long after he's gone!

 The finished framed portrait showing you the size.

 Detail - it's hard for photos to show the impact of larger portraits. Your eyes can take in the details but  a photo taken far enough away to get the whole portrait loses the effect .

The Lambton Park demo painting of Aphrodites framed.

I've finally got around to framing Aphrodites and she looks stunning! She is for sale and will also be going in the Dobell Art show next week.

She is beautifully framed with a cream inner wooden slip with gold line and a crackled gold outer frame.

For Sale

Freedom

 69 x 70cms framed size Oil

$2300 AUD ( Free delivery)