meet Molly !

"molly" 11.5"x15.5" Terry Ludwig And Girault pastels on Sennelier La Carte

Meet Molly!  This is my friend's dog at Frame Up II, where I work. She asked me to paint Molly and she will be hung up in the shop for all to see. No pressure, right? Wow! Black dogs are really hard to paint! When you look at them , of course you think "all black", right?  I decided not to get flustered and took a bunch of photos of Molly. I have painted other animals and it's really important for me to get to know them, their personality.

Molly at the frame shop

Then I  started sketching her, I really want to capture her personality and a likeness. Look how shiny her coat is…. not all black…. do you you see the grays and blues?

in my sketch book

Molly is really a sweet dog, part cocker spaniel part labrador… we think. Her coat is very wavy and shiny.

here is some of my progression

  The color is not good in these pics. I used a dark blue/gray Sennelier La Carte paper. It's my paper of choice for painting animals. I always start with the eyes…. do a basic sketch of the head and start laying in the darks. I do not use black pastel! I use Terry Ludwig's darkest violet and sometimes a dark blue. Next come some of the mid tones (Girault neutrals and friends by Richard McKinley) and highlights are last. 

I sent Molly's owner a pic and she couldn't wait to see the real painting. Frame is ordered and soon she will be hanging in the frame shop! I'm happy!