Thunder, 051617 S 12x12

Update:  Thunder has been ADOPTED!

Thunder is a homeless, catahoula leopard dog looking for his forever family at the Brown County Humane Society in Nashville, Indiana.  This painting is part of a series of portraits of homeless dogs available for adoption.  They have so much expression on their hopeful, sometimes sad, faces!

I start with a drawing on a pre-tinted panel and then mix up a black with Ultramarine Blue and Cadmium Red Medium and block in the dark values.

I mix lighter values adding more red and yellow and a touch of white to paint in the brindle markings.  I use a hue with a bit more blue for his nose and shadow in the white areas on his neck.

I add the light pink to his muzzle using a mix of Primary Red-Magenta and Titanium White.

For the white on his muzzle and the stripe on his face, I use Titanium White with a tiny bit of yellow and red to make a warm white hue. 

Finally, I paint in his beautiful, sleepy eyes using Cadmium Yellow Light, a tad of Cadmium Red Medium all mixed with a touch of Ultra Blue.  A speck of white in the corners of his eyes is the finishing touch to get his expressive look.  For the background, I use the Ultra Blue and Cadmium Red mix, heavier on the blue that helps unify the entire painting

"Thunder, Catahoula Leopard Dog", homeless dog series, oil on panel, 12" x 12", Code #051617 S 12x12, c. 2017 by Charlene Marsh.

You can adopt Thunder from the Brown County Humane Society in Nashville, Indiana.  Plan to attend the Dawg Gone Walk and Fiesta on Sunday, May 21, 2017.  
 
Update:  Thunder has been ADOPTED!

Thanks so much for following along!

Happy Trails!

Cheers,

Charlene

Simon, Black Lab, 051217 S 12x12

Update:  Simon has been ADOPTED!

This painting of Simon, is part of a series of paintings of homeless shelter dogs and is available for adoption at the Brown County Humane Society, Nashville, Indiana.  Shelters often report that black dogs languish, overlooked and unadopted.  I am hoping this painting shows some of the personality and uniqueness of a "plain black dog".   Yes, I am guilty  of using that phrase once when someone brought me a black dog.  My first comment was, "She's rather plain."  But I kept her anyway and loved her for 13-14 years.  I have had many plain, black dogs ever since, over the years.  I hope that people will take a look at the dog's personality and joie de vivre and give them a chance.  I think Simon is the perfect ambassador for the job.

Here's my set up ready to start painting.  I have already drawn Simon on a pre-tinted panel.

 I start with all that black fur in the shadow areas.  I use the palette knife to "carve" out the fur and give it texture.

A lighter value is mixed with Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Red and/or Primary Red-Magenta, with Titanium White and used for highlights on the black fur.

I mixed up a hue with more red in it to shift it to violet.  I add the nose and tongue.  For the tongue, I used three values of the Primary Red-Magenta, a rather transparent color, mixed up using Titanium White.

For the eyes, I mixed a golden brown using Cadmium Yellow Light with a touch of violet.  I also used a golden brown with a touch more red in it and mixed a black pupil.  The highlight to his soft eyes used a very light violet mixed with Cerulean Blue and Magenta.

 

I added the background using the golden and violet colors that I had used on Simon's fur and eyes only with more white added.  I continued fine tuning the details in his fur and shadows.

Here's the final painting:

"Simon, Black Labrador", homeless shelter dog, oil on panel, 12" x 12", Code #051217 S 12x12, c. 2017 by Charlene Marsh.

If you can give Simon a good home he is currently available for adoption at the Brown County Humane Society.  Update:  Simon has been ADOPTED!

Thanks so much!

Cheers,

Charlene 

P.S. I love to hear from you so please send me an email or leave a comment or even use the old fashioned telephone!  I still have a landline with great reception.

Serious Tito, 051017 S 12x12

Update!  Tito has been adopted! Yeah!

This painting is part of a series of portraits of homeless dogs at our local shelter waiting to be adopted.  Tito is an American Bulldog currently up for adoption at the Brown County Humane Society shelter.  He has such a serious look on his face!  He seriously wants to find his forever home!

Here's my set up to start the painting.  I have drawn his mug shot on a pre-tinted panel, set out my palette, and am ready to paint.

I start with the darkest blacks, especially around his eyes, using Cadmium Red Medium and Ultramarine Blue. 

For the rusty browns on his face, I used more red and Cadmium Red Light mixed with the blue.  For the blue shadow on the right side, I went back and forth with that using Cerulean and/or Ultra. Blue, scraping it off a couple of times.  The entire surface had to be covered before I really got the right value I was happy with.  You can see in the final version I went with a lighter value in Cerulean Blue.

For his white fur, I used various mixes of Cadmium Yellow Light, Cadmium Red Medium and Light, and Primary Red-Magenta mixed with Titanium White. 

Then I painted his eyes which were very intense.  I mixed his eye color using yellow, a touch of red, and Ultramarine Blue to gray down the color just a tad.  I added a black pupil and a highlight to make the eye moist and glistening with the sparkle of life.

Finally I start adding the background using some of the color that is in the shadow on his white fur in the lower right.  Using the color elsewhere in the painting helps balance and unify the image.  I add and fine tune the details overall.  And the final painting:

"Serious Tito", homeless shelter dog, oil on panel, 12" x 12", Code #051017 S 12x12, c. 2017 by Charlene Marsh.

If you can give this handsome boy a happy home, please contact the Brown County Humane Society about adopting him. 

Thanks for checking in!

Happy Trails. 

cheers,

Charlene

Dresden, the Smiling Dog, 050617 S 12x12

This is one of a series of pet portraits of rescue dogs currently up for adoption at the Brown County Humane Society shelter looking for their "forever homes". This handsome boy, Dresden, is described as "always smiling" and I wanted to capture that happy energy he exuded.

I drew out his picture with charcoal and kept the reference photos nearby.  You can see my set up (above).

I started blocking in the black shadow areas on his face using a mix of Ultramarine /Blue and Cadmium Red Medium.  I mix a rust color for his fur from the Cad. Red Med. and a touch of blue and yellow.

I used a touch of yellow mixed with white for his white fur and used a purple mixed with white for the shadow areas of his white fur.  Alizarin Crimson with a touch of white was used for his tongue.

I used green in the background since it is the complementary color to the reds and would visually vibrate adding to the excitement and cheer of this exuberant dog. I mixed a nice golden color for his unique eyes, adding a black pupil and a touch of a white sparkle. 

 "Dresden, the Smiling Dog", oil on panel, 12" x 12", c. Charlene Marsh, Code #050617 S 12x12.  SOLD

If you are interested in adopting Dresden, please contact the Brown County Humane Society.  This painting will be on exhibit at the Dawg Gone Walk and Fiesta fundraiser on May 21, 2017.

Thanks for following along!

Happy Trails!

Cheers,

Charlene 

Frankie Doggie Portrait vs 2 111515 S 12x12

This is the second painting of my dog, Frankie, who was a three legged rescue from our local Brown County Humane Society.  You can see the first painting and how it was created HERE as well as some more info about Frankie.

This is the photo I used for the painting.  He looks so happy with a big smile on his face!

I started with a quick sketch and then blocked in the blacks and rusts on his head and face.

I used purples for the shadows to work with the complementary color, yellow, used in the whites of his fur.  I added his bright, hunter orange collar, bright pink tongue, and sparkling eyes that capture his sweet, gentle personality and happy demeanor.

 

"Happy Dog Frankie, version 2", oil on panel, 12" x 12", c. Charlene Marsh, Code #111515 S 12x12.

Thanks for following along.  Happy Trails!

Cheers,

Charlene

Happy Dog Frankie! 111015 S 12x12

This is something different for me.  I decided to paint some pet portraits and start with my own rescue dog, Frankie.  I got him from the local Brown County Humane Society which is a wonderful "no kill" shelter that does a lot with very little.  They have reduced the overpopulation of dogs and cats in our rural county so successfully(still more to do!), with innovative programs, that the leaders are often asked to address groups nationally.  

I adopted Frankie in 2007 as, maybe, a two or three year old.  He had shown up at a local camp with a broken leg that had never been properly set.  In the end, after consulting several vets, the consensus was that the leg had to go.  So I met Frankie when he was still recovering from the surgery.  I saw a picture of him in the newspaper and his big brown eyes just melted my heart.  And the rest is history.

I just built a ramp for him this week to get up onto the deck and into the house.  He seemed to be having more and more trouble navigating the two steps to the deck as he gets older.  Hoping the ramp works for him!

 

So, anyway, I started this portrait by taking some pictures of Frankie and found he was an easy model, with a big smile on his face most of the time.  I did an initial sketch and then blocked in the colors.  I'm afraid I didn't get any "progress" shots beyond the initial sketch because I painted this at night and the lights in my studio, being daylight halogens, tend to cast the photos yellow.  

So here is the side by side with the painting and the photo and, below, the finished painting.

"Frankie", oil on panel, 12" x 12", Code# 111015 S 12x12, c. 2015 by Charlene Marsh.

I did a second painting of Frankie I will share next time.  Let me know which one you like best.

Happy Trails!

Cheers,

Charlene 

Teddie 010516 12x12

I have started a new series of animal paintings that I plan to unveil at a fundraiser for our local Brown County Humane Society Dawg Gone Walk and Fiesta, May 21, 2017, 1:00-3:30 p.m., where I will have a sponsorship booth.  I am really looking forward to this fun event to help raise money for this wonderful shelter that has a 98% "out alive rate".  They do a spectacular job, especially for a rural shelter in a small community.  Some of the volunteers have even given lectures to national audiences about their innovative and effective programs.

Here is a sneak peek of one of the animal portraits.  This is a painting of my beloved dog, Teddie, who passed away March 2, 2015 at the age of sixteen and left a big hole in my heart. 

 

He insisted on going on our two mile, daily hike in the forest every day up to the very last week or so.  The last couple of years he walked slower and slower and slower.  One evening, at the end of the trail, I got to the back of my property and waited for him at the gate.  And waited and waited and waited.  By then it was quite dark so I got a flashlight and then re-traced the entire trail looking for him.  I couldn't find him.  

In a near panic, I walked back towards home and asked my other dog, Kendra, "Where's Teddie?  Find Teddie."  About halfway back home, she stopped along the trail and stared down towards the creek.  I flashed my light in that direction and saw Teddie had dropped down to the creek to follow it to our back hill.  I think he was having a hard time seeing the trail after it got dark.  A sense of relief washed over me.  Boy, was I happy to see him!

After that incident, I would stop at various points on the trail and wait for him to catch up.  I never let him out of sight for very long.  I can usually walk the two miles in forty five minutes at a relaxed pace(less if I am in a hurry) but, as Teddie got older and older, I eventually had to budget 1 1/2 hours for our walk.  

Sometimes he would be asleep at walk time and I couldn't rouse him to go so I would take off without him.  I only left him behind once or twice because when I got back home, he would be fully awake and mad as a hornet at me for leaving him behind. 

So for this painting of Teddie, I started by selecting a reference photo that I shot some years ago that captures the spirit of my boy with his fluffy, Benji type fur.  Then I roughed in a loose sketch with alizarin and cerulean paint mixed with oil.  I used a paint brush to paint in the sketch.

I switch to my favorite palette knives and start blocking in the shadows on the body and ground and the darkest parts of the nose, mouth, and eye.

I continue to work the background using a combination of light spring greens and a gray violet.  I finish blocking in the fur on the body and face. I soften the line where his back end meets the background so that it recedes in the distance.

Now that the basic "under fur" has been painted in, I go back on top with the lighter wisps and strands of his fuzzy fur.  I work from the back of his body to the front so the front fur sits on top of the back fur.

The fur on his head often stuck straight up, wisped up with static electricity more than the picture shows so I painted how I remembered him.  In the end, I felt like I captured Teddie's spirit and felt like he was here with me as I finished the painting.

Here's the final painting under natural light where the colors are more accurate than the photos of the painting in progress shot indoors under artificial light.

"Teddie", oil on panel, 12" x 12", Code #010516 S 12x12

Thanks for following along!

Happy Trails!

Cheers,

Charlene