As a birthday present for her partner, Kat asked me to paint a portrait of one of her dogs resting peacefully with him. Kat’s main concern was that the dog had taken too fondly to her rather than her rightful owner (her partner), and so by taking this picture she wanted to symbolize that the dog was actually her partner’s best friend.
The final product. Below you can see the progression of the painting before it came to be what is seen above.
Phase 1
Started off with the typical contour lines mapped out using a grid.
Phase 2
Filled in a loose grisaille or underpainting to map out where the darkest and lightest areas should be.
Phase 3
Began filling in with the color and eventually covering the entire canvas.
Phase 4
Went in with a second and third layer of paint, refining, especially on the fur coat of the dog where necessary.