Puppy Love 2016 : Spoodle in Watercolour

 "Puppy Love"

Spoodle in Watercolour

I have just returned from a magical weekend at my daughters home in Wales. There. apart from spending quality family time I met "Dexter" the newest addition to the family.

Dexter is the sweetest little thing. A ten week old spoodle that belongs to my beautiful Grand Daughter, Tegan. Needless to say I was happily cuddling the fluffy pup at every opportunity. Dexter also gave me a great opportunity to share tips on painting black animals on my blog. So here he is.

I took a photo of Dexter , held in my grand daughters arms because at his young age sitting still to pose for a camera is not an option.  His tiny body is covered with stunning curly fur that appears to be in shades of blue, grey and black. So what shades did I use to paint him?

I started my base with French Ultramarine Blue, added touches of Amethyst Genuine and in places on my paper I used tiny touches of Cobalt Turquoise to add softness. To darken my mix I added Cascade Green believe it or not and the result was a terrific "dark".

Being an all black puppy, Dexter's eyes are almost missing in that you can hardly see them. In my photo I can see a hint of a sparkle in one of his eyes so I have added this.His little head was tilted to one side so I have opted to paint the leaning side in more detail, leaving the other side of the head more blurred.

It didn't really need it but I have added a tiny touch of white designer gouache to the nose, just to make this pup look younger, and for the nose to appear to be more shiny. As seen in the finished painting above. Below you can see my painting prior to the addition of the white gouache. The change in the result is so subtle.

The sweetness of an innocent pup!

My daughters home is always full of love so this little puppy is going to fit right in with everyone there. And be very loved. How lucky is he!

I feel today as though I was capturing the emotion of love in a watercolour and it is such a wonderful feeling. 

Puppy Love.

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