It started with an Instagram post of my sister's handsome golden retriever having fun at the beach. Charlie looked so full of happiness and fluffiness, and so I saved a snapshot of the image to use as a possible painting reference.
After many different paint color combinations and layers of paint, I honed in on his fluffy golden hues, using a deep purple on the nose and as a background. I used a fan brush as well as a rake to add some of the fluff texture details.
For this dog portrait, I used a 12x12 inch gallery wrapped canvas with a 1.5" profile, which makes framing unnecessary.
I learned about the basics of varnishing an acrylic painting, and why an isolation coat is recommended as part of that process. There's a lot of information out there, and I was thankful to find some very useful tips and tricks on YouTube.
I'm pleased to report that this dog painting made it safely to my sister's family in time for Christmas! You can find examples of my other dog portraits here. And now I present...... the finished piece!
