Wednesday, July 9, 2008

How to Paint an Apso, Day 2


Here’s a picture of the corner of my studio, lights on and ready to get started for the day.
While I’m picking out some music, Zeke asks to be put up onto his “spot”, there, on the chair.
That’s where he stays virtually the whole time I’m painting. Good thing I stand when I paint.
Sadie lays down below, in her little studio bed.

I laid out my palette with Winsor & Newton Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna, Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Yellow, a dab of Cadmium Red, and Titanium White. I always try and use as limited a palette as I can get away with. It’s amazing how many colors you can mix with just a few primaries. Rembrandt usually used a very limited palette of three or four colors, plus white.
Look what he did with it! I think it keeps the colors balanced and harmonious.

Zeke’s coat is a wonderful mixture of silver and gold with charcoal tips. Those colors are mixed throughout his hair, and there are very few places where one color dominates. Depending on the angle of the light, he has either a golden or a silvery shine. That makes it a little challenging to capture the right colors. Luckily, he’s laying right here on my stool, so I can match colors directly to the area I’m trying to paint. He’s a pretty willing model.

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