Painting progress of 'Waiting'

Good day to all! I do apologize for my recent hiatus and my inconsistency here on Steemit. I have a terrible habit of doing that on social media sites. I am working to improve that. Please remember that when I disappear, I promise to return from my forest of hiding... eventually. Lol!

This post will be about my first painting of 2018, 'Waiting'. For this painting I used Turner watercolour paints of the colours Ultramarine blue deep, Raw Sienna, and Quinacridone Sienna. I used Canson's Moulin du Roy 140lb fine grain cold-pressed watercolour paper.

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(Picture above) This is the initial graphite drawing I made in my cheap sketchbook. I mostly draw from reference photos unless I'm confident in my ability to draw something from my head. It's very helpful and I think it's important to study and draw from reference photos (of real things not just fantasy or others' artwork) until you are very familiar with the subjects that you want to draw/paint. You aren't "cheating" or a bad artist if you use reference photos - unless you are copying exactly or stealing someone else's content/artwork! Always ask for permission or use copyright/royalty free stock photos. I often get my references from unsplash.com.

(Picture above) I transferred the outline of my drawing to my watercolour paper

(Picture above) First wet-on-wet layer.

(Picture above) Here I've started to add the suggestion of wavy fur on his ears and neck by making brush strokes in the way the fur would grow, then taking a clean wet brush and softening some of the edges. I've also added another layer to the eyes.

(Picture above) I decided to add a dark background - which is something I'm not always fond of doing - so that the dog would stand out more. I used the same colours for the background (ultramarine blue deep and a little quinacridone sienna) as I was using for the dog.

(Picture above) I added a second layer to the background because it was a little too light and uneven for my liking. Look at all that heavenly granulation of the ultramarine blue! I continued to build up the fur texture and value; using both warm and cool tones in the fur for dimension and interest. Ultramarine mixes beautifully with warm browns and rusts to make lovely neutrals!

(Picture above) At this point I had added quite a few layers of a ultramarine blue and quinacridone sienna mix to the eyes and nose to make them dark. I lifted out some paint on the eyes and nose and fur edges. I also added more colour to the face and started to build the shadows.

(Picture above) Here I've finished the face and added all the little details that I thought were necessary. By adding shadows and cool and warm values to the face helped give it definition. Before I added the fur/whiskers/muzzle details and shadows to the face it was very flat and lifeless.

Honestly, details can make or break a painting; too many details can make a painting look overly busy, rigid, and possibly over-worked (unless you are purposely making a highly realistic painting then you need lots of specific details) too few details and it will look flat, unfinished, and amateur-ish... when painting you need to find to right balance for you. I like to concentrate the details to the face - especially the eyes (if it's a portrait, that is).

Along with lifting paint, I added white highlights and details by using a white ink pen.

This is the finished product! I learned quite a bit from this painting and exploring my skills and style. There is a time-lapse video of this painting's process on my YouTube channel! If you are interested in watching me paint this Golden Retriever, please take a look > https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj5KRklL7tCaPiqrAWFd5Eg?view_as=subscriber

Please let me know what you think of this post. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me!

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