Acrylic Dog Portrait: A million tiny hairs

Over the past month or so I've been working on an acrylic portrait of a dog, picking it up on and off when I've had time.

It's finally finished and will be given as a surprise for its new owner on their birthday this week.


The background was the first thing I painted, leaving the dog shape in the middle white. In hindsight I should have painted the whole background, then sketched out the dog afterwards.


I ended up having to repaint the background because there were some little white gaps around the dog and I couldn't match the colour perfectly to fill them in.


Anyway, we learn from our mistakes and, even though it took a little longer than it probably should have, I'm pleased with the outcome.


For anyone interested, I used Daler Rowney acrylic paints on acid free 240g acrylic paper. It's got a nice texture which is visible in the photo above.


While working on this pet portrait I did a bit of research into acrylic techniques and discovered the wonderful artist Marcel Witte. For my next project I'm going to try his technique of painting the background and blocking all shapes out first.

To deliver the painting, Sam and I took a trip to South Devon this weekend. It was a great chance to meet up with all our friends and we even got out on the water on Saturday in a friend's boat.

I was disappointed not to have brought my wetsuit as the guys were wakeboarding and it looked like so much fun!

Here are a couple of snaps from the wakeboarding session near Torquay.



Don't forget to follow me on Facebook if you haven't already! Ciao for now :)

I'm sharing this post on the following blogs:  Handmade Harbour, Paint Party Friday Manon Popje's Illustrations, Nifty Thrifty Things, Be Different Act Normal and Tatertots and Jello.

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Clare Willcocks: Acrylic Dog Portrait: A million tiny hairs

Sunday 3 August 2014

Acrylic Dog Portrait: A million tiny hairs

Over the past month or so I've been working on an acrylic portrait of a dog, picking it up on and off when I've had time.

It's finally finished and will be given as a surprise for its new owner on their birthday this week.


The background was the first thing I painted, leaving the dog shape in the middle white. In hindsight I should have painted the whole background, then sketched out the dog afterwards.


I ended up having to repaint the background because there were some little white gaps around the dog and I couldn't match the colour perfectly to fill them in.


Anyway, we learn from our mistakes and, even though it took a little longer than it probably should have, I'm pleased with the outcome.


For anyone interested, I used Daler Rowney acrylic paints on acid free 240g acrylic paper. It's got a nice texture which is visible in the photo above.


While working on this pet portrait I did a bit of research into acrylic techniques and discovered the wonderful artist Marcel Witte. For my next project I'm going to try his technique of painting the background and blocking all shapes out first.

To deliver the painting, Sam and I took a trip to South Devon this weekend. It was a great chance to meet up with all our friends and we even got out on the water on Saturday in a friend's boat.

I was disappointed not to have brought my wetsuit as the guys were wakeboarding and it looked like so much fun!

Here are a couple of snaps from the wakeboarding session near Torquay.



Don't forget to follow me on Facebook if you haven't already! Ciao for now :)

I'm sharing this post on the following blogs:  Handmade Harbour, Paint Party Friday Manon Popje's Illustrations, Nifty Thrifty Things, Be Different Act Normal and Tatertots and Jello.

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12 Comments:

At 3 August 2014 at 12:46 , Blogger Ali said...

Wow your detail is amazing. I bet it's new owner will be thrilled when they see it.
Ali xx

 
At 3 August 2014 at 13:09 , Blogger Arnoldo L. Romero, MLA said...

You did an outstanding job painting that dog! You can almost feel the texture of his hair, and his eyes are adorable. Blessings!

 
At 3 August 2014 at 15:40 , Blogger Dawn said...

Awesome detail, so very talented, I wish I could paint like that, I'm sure it'll be a lovely surprise :)

 
At 3 August 2014 at 16:26 , Blogger Sinea said...

Wow, he looks like he could come to life! I have labs and this is a LOVELY depiction of my favorite dogs.

 
At 3 August 2014 at 20:54 , Blogger ike said...

Fabulous painting - they will be very pleased with that :-) I know what you mean... I always block out the colours before I start or else I have to do a thousand more strokes trying to cover the background paper !! :-(

Hugz
IKE xxx

 
At 3 August 2014 at 21:00 , Blogger Auntie Shan said...

EXQUISITE!
My Mom used to do Horse Portraits in Soft-Pastel-Crayons on "Velvet"-Paper decades ago. So I *know* how much WORK is involved. Your Textures are Fabulous!

 
At 3 August 2014 at 21:22 , Blogger Giggles said...

Stunning work....you are amazing... such intricacies!! Love it so much!!! Each tiny stroke so beautiful!! I bet the owner was beyond thrilled!

Hugs Giggles

 
At 3 August 2014 at 21:30 , Blogger denthe said...

Wow, all those tiny details .... amazing work!

 
At 3 August 2014 at 23:42 , Blogger Lucy Blossom said...

It's fabulous, I'm sure its going to be a much loved present.

 
At 4 August 2014 at 03:21 , Blogger rose AKA Walk in the Woods - she/her said...

Gorgeous piece ~ and what a beautiful gift!

 
At 5 August 2014 at 00:31 , Blogger manomij said...

Wow Claire it has ended up looking fantastic, well but it did all the way through for me to be honest. I love painting so thank you for sharing an artist I didn't know. I love all the different art you create and you are so good at all of them. Keep it up and I can't wait to see what you create next.Happy Paper Saturdays ManonX

 
At 6 August 2014 at 03:12 , Blogger Free Spirit Designs said...

Oh my goodness it must have taken you so long to do all those tiny hairs! The result is fantastic though, a really special gift :) x

 

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