The first picture is a completed portrait of two wonderful young ladies and their sweet puppy. The process from beginning to end of this portrait is shown in the subsequent photos, from final portrait, to original photo (one of hundreds taken), five "in process" painting shots, and the final framed. It took from beginning to end about 6 months (a lot due to the very slow drying of oil paint)! The painting is now living happily with their owners and the adorable dog.
Original photo. Great faces, but needs a lot of creativity in the background!
After the initial sketch is complete, I like to fill in the background darks. These dark areas highlight and surround the subjects, which will draw attention to them later in the process.
The actual background where the photo was taken was not very interesting, so we talked about creating a wonderful fall feeling behind them. I love this because it gives me freedom to do what I want in the background.
The clothing needs to be accurate, but not draw attention away from the girls faces, so I work on this while filling in the dogs basic colors and shadows.
Here the dog is close to being done and the clothing is taking shape, but I felt that the shoes and shirt on the left were too bright, so I took down their color a bit. The faces are the most difficult part of a portrait because it must look just like the subject in a very happy moment!
At this point in the painting the proportions are accurate, but the shading and details needs work.
The final product! This frame compliments the richness of colors in the painting and also fit into the room where it would be displayed. I love these great girls and their dog!
I have painted the same girls in a portrait years ago which is shown in the portrait section of this website. See if you can find it!