Bella
I have several more small illustrations to do for the children's book author. Not feeling great about that, but I will take a deep breath and get it done. Last night, though, I got a call from a local acquaintance, semi-tearful, about commission rates. I was literally talking to this woman last month about her aging-but-still-spry dog, and how she was a bit worried about her family coping with eventually losing the pup. And, six-shades-of-damn, the poor dog just had a very rapid onset of severe illness and had to be euthanized days ago. So - she wanted a painting/drawing asap as a means of coping with the loss.
The photo she sent me was ok to work from - not ideal, an informal snapshot at best, but the light is nice and I can see the dog clearly. The human figure I'm going to have to adjust a bit, but . . that is part of the job. Rest in peace, Bella, you were very loved.
This particular shade of toned paper, I will note, is *perfect* as a background for a brown dog.
I took yesterday off and did virtually nothing, because I felt terrible. Today I am back to work and Having Issues.
Sometimes an art reference photo can be redone (hey would you take another shot for me with more light/hair pulled back/hand moved slightly. Other times, including THIS time, it cannot. Which is perfectly ok; the client asked me if I could work with this and I said yes. And I can! However; (I have blurred the face, here)
since it was just a casual, family snapshot, I am going to have to work around the issue of most of the face being obscured and 'neaten up' the hair a little to make it a reasonable-looking portrait. I am determinedly thinking of that as a Worthwhile Professional Challenge instead of a bother. Which is genuinely helping.
For anyone who's interested, I included the front of the pad. Canson Mi-Teintes Pastel. It has blue, light and dark tan, gray, greige, and white. It is my second favorite. The Strathmore 'Toned Tan' pad is my ultimate favorite, tho.
Well, dang, I kinda blazed through this in five sessions spread over two days. Unlike some other pictures, where background clutter was actually important, I pruned details out of the background of this ruthlessly. The focus needs to be on the man and dog.
I was going to keep the color limited to them, as well, but Bella ended up blending into the blankets too much that way. The actual sheet in the photo was red, so I put that in to balance the large amount of blue and make Bella stand out.
I should DEFINITELY go clean something or bake a dessert right now. Hm. We will see.