Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Who's your Buddy now.

This is 'Buddy' a handsome mixed breed dog owned by a friend. He reminds me of a German Shepherd in this portrait, especially with his large upright ears and coloring. His direct gaze speaks to his personality which I'm told is strong and energetic but lovable.
This guy loves to run and he has just the right home for it with a big beautiful field on the owner's property and plenty of pesky wildlife around to keep him entertained..like a family of foxes.
His new mother loved him from the start, but he was a handful and his dad wasn't quite sold on the idea. It took a little time but Buddy worked his way into everyone's hearts and now his dad takes him everywhere.
This is acrylic with touches of casein mixed in, painted on a terra cotta toned panel. I started using toned pastel papers several years ago and use that same underpainting for acrylic and casein. You can see it peeking through in the background and in areas of Buddy's chest and neck. I like the warmth and cohesive quality of this method.

2 comments:

Marie Theron said...

My, Karen, but this is so realistic. The dog is coming out of the canvas into the space of the spectator! Beautiful image!

klp said...

Hi Marie, How are you? I have too many FB friends and miss posts by my favorites likes you..time to thin the list soon.
Thanks again for your comments on my work.
I think the blue background(which was a happy accident!) pushes Buddy's image forward giving it depth. I must remember this in the future.
Take care, Karen