Riley

 Last Fall, a friend saw some of my paintings on line and asked if I would be interested in painting a portrait of her dog. I told her to send me some photos and we could talk about it. A few months later, she began sending me photos of Riley. She wanted to surprise her husband with a special Christmas gift. 

After looking at all the photos, I picked one that I thought I could work with. She and I talked about 'the life of Riley'... he seemed to loll around on the sofa quite a bit! You can't see it in this photo, but his right paw just draped off the sofa cushion - casual, nonchalant... 

I began with a sketch on sanded paper.

I decided to work on his face first to get a feel of what he might look like. I got in the suggestion of his body and wasn't sure what to do about the sofa...

...maybe just a simple background of a complimentary color. The more I worked on it the less I liked it! I did like that he popped out with a dark background, but I kept fighting with his body.

So, I gave up the landscape shape and thought I would try it as a vertical. I could crop out a lot of his body...  I cropped the photo...and got rid of those pesky legs!

I began again - this time on Art Spectrum paper that comes in dark gray. It's a better start.

 Now I am really liking his face, but still finding the legs a problem.  What if...maybe just a head shot... I'll erase his body.

If I put in a bit of neck, he could look regal...

Ta da... It is really about Riley's face.