Framed portrait of "Captivation"

She's now hanging on my wall in a gorgeous solid wood frame that my husband built from scratch for me! For those who are into woodworking and would like to view our step by step article on how to make your own custom wood frame, please visit my website at http://www.colettetheriault.com/descriptions/Articles/Buildownframes.php

Black Labrador Painting in Pastel

Here's my girl Shayli in all her splendor!! On this pose she is intensely fixated on her archenemy: a lucky red squirrel that had climbed to the safety of his perch.
Title: "Captivation"
Medium: pastel
Support: sandpaper
Size: 8"x10"

Very pink tongue!

In this step I've added the base color for the tongue which still needs to be toned down. I'll be using some blue and violet pastels for this. While there's still much detailing left on the dog's mouth, I do hope to complete this portrait within the next few days. I'd love to have her hanging on my wall in time for Christmas!

A new look with a background!

I must admit I almost always struggle with backgrounds and this one was no exception. It seems the less detailed it is, the more difficulty I have! It probably has to be all in the technique...something I should spend more time experimenting with. Note to self: put finger cots next time to prevent blister from sandpaper! OUCH!!

The more I look at it, the more I prefer the portrait with a background as opposed to the plain paper. I think the next challenge will be to find the correct pencil colors to accurately depict her nice long tongue!

I might regret....

In haste of starting this portrait, I blissful painted the dog without putting any much thought to the background! Something I am bound to regret sooner or later. I don't dislike the plain background however...but I feel that her lively face deserves a good backdrop to make the portrait appear even more realistic.

Back to work on my girl!

That's my girl!!
I'm so happy to be able to work on Shayli's portrait again. It was put on hold due to the Fall/Christmas workload being heavy but I've found the inspiration to resume working on this painting. Now that I finished her eye, she seems to be coming to life right on the paper!

Beginings of a dog portrait

I've decided to use pastel pencils on sandpaper for my portrait of Shayli. I've been wanting to try out a new paper I purchased last winter called UArt pastel sandpaper, 800 grit. So far so good but I'm finding myself forever sharpening my pencils to keep a fine point!