ENTRY #1 :))

 Many of the dogs I paint I have not met, some I have met and still others have left this world and crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Cya is a sweet girl who shares a life with Murray. I have cared for her on several occasions and, in fact, I was her protege when it came to starting my 'career' as traveling dog sitter. This is a labour of love.

Luckily I had several photos of Cya to choose from and ultimately selected this one--I liked the extra bit of colour in her My Brown Dog beads.

CYA (Fashionista)

I am using Arches 150# cold press paper with dimensions of 10 x 12. The paper is soaked, applied to the board with tape and staples then allowed to dry over night. Hopefully, it dries flat with no buckling.

Drawing up the sketch is the first order of the day. Once the drawing is on tracing paper I can transfer it to the dry water colour paper.

Pigment choice can make or break a painting so the next step is to study the photo closely examining it for colour and subtle shade differences being aware of tiny details that make Cya uniquely Cya. I don't rush this stage and go back to the photo several times over the next day or two.

Once I am pretty sure of the  colours in my head I proceed to the next step--putting them down on paper.

Colour Palette for Cya

Because Cya is mostly black/gray I plan to use a mix of ultramarine blue with burnt sienna to come up with blacks. This will provide more depth and shades than if I use a simple black from the tube.

Another important consideration is background. Often, I agonize over this but this time I was pretty sure right from the start. I loved the colours in the beads so decided to do a simple splash of colour in the background reflecting those in the beads.

So, finally, it's time to put my brushes to paper.

See you over at Entry #2.

~C