This is a back-dated post for my archive project, where I am copying over every piece of art I have ever submitted to DeviantArt, with the original submission date or watermarked year stamp, so a complete archive of my work can be found on this website, even if the item was never or is no longer displayed in my portfolios.

Originally posted on September 19, 2009. WIP images posted on July 29, and August 19, 2009.

Oil paint on canvas board
Diptych, 2 5″x7″ canvas boards
Three sessions
Reference: photo of Yasha, an Italian greyhound

This is a gift for a friend who moved away. Yasha is a beloved little dog she had for years. To make the painting I am referencing a photo taken when Yasha was just a couple years old. Most of the elements in the painting exist in the photo, but I have re-arranged them to create a more pleasing composition.

For the last layer, I added the tree branch shadows showing through the window, and the plant in the pot on the left. I used black paint with a very high quantity of medium so the black would be translucent, and varied the quantity of pigment to create the darker and lighter areas.

Reference: photo of Yasha, an Italian greyhound

This is going to be a gift for a friend who is moving away. Yasha is a beloved little dog she had for years. To make the painting I am referencing a photo taken when Yasha was just a couple years old. Most of the elements in the painting exist in the photo, but I have re-arranged them to create a more pleasing composition.

This is the initial drawing I will be using to guide the painting. I used a ruler to create the horizontal lines for the mini-blind.

Reference: photo of Yasha, an Italian greyhound

This is going to be a gift for a friend who is moving away. Yasha is a beloved little dog she had for years. To make the painting I am referencing a photo taken when Yasha was just a couple years old. Most of the elements in the painting exist in the photo, but I have re-arranged them to create a more pleasing composition.

I spent about three hours so far painting in the slats on the mini-blinds, and I think I’m starting to get the hang of it… In the next painting session (hopefully in just a day or two), I’ll probably just finish out the first layer of the right-hand canvas. It won’t be anything exciting – just more mini-blind slats and the top edge of the couch.

Reference: photo of Yasha, an Italian greyhound

This is going to be a gift for a friend who is moving away. Yasha is a beloved little dog she had for years. To make the painting I am referencing a photo taken when Yasha was just a couple years old. Most of the elements in the painting exist in the photo, but I have re-arranged them to create a more pleasing composition.

A little later than originally expected, here is the second session painting this piece. I finished out the mini-blinds and the couch. It looks a little different from the first panel in part because it ended up being a much longer time than intended, and partially because I purchased a couple new nicer brushes and decided to try one of them for this painting. It worked beautifully, and was much easier to finish out the blinds.

Sorry about the pixelation in the image. I’m not sure why my camera did that, but it’s only a WIP so I’m not going to bother taking another photo now.