Project 7: Yorkshire Terrier

Sindy belonged to Laurie, a nice lady from France whom I met at an art show in Long Island. She commissioned me to paint a portrait of her little dog.

Reference Photo

1 Establish the Form and the Dark Values

With your pencil, lightly sketch the dog onto the panel, using a kneaded eraser to make corrections or lighten lines as needed. Use Payne’s Gray thinned with water and a no. 3 round to paint the main lines of the dog.

Mix a dark steel gray for the gray fur’s shadowed areas with Burnt Umber, Ultramarine Blue and a small amount of Titanium White. Paint with a no. 5 round.

Mix the black for the nose, mouth and around the eyes with Burnt Umber and Ultramarine Blue, painting with a no. 3 round.

Mix a dark brown for the tan fur’s shadowed areas with Burnt Umber, Raw Sienna and a small amount of Ultramarine Blue. Paint with a no. 5 round. Add another coat for good coverage.

2 Paint the Middle Values

Mix a middle value blue-gray for the gray part of the coat with Titanium White, Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Umber. Paint with a no. 5 round, following the fur pattern with long, smooth brushstrokes. Dab a highlight on the nose with a no. 3 round.

Mix a middle value for the tan part of the coat with Raw Sienna, Cadmium Orange and a small amount of Burnt Umber. Paint with a no. 5 round.

Mix the eye color with Burnt Umber and Raw Sienna. Paint with a no. 3 round. With the dark brown from Step 1 and a no. 3 round, paint the pupils and reinforce the dark outlines around the eyes.

3 Paint the Light Values

Mix the light tan color for the dog’s coat with Titanium White and a small amount of Yellow Oxide. Use a no. 3 round to paint smooth, flowing strokes. Use just enough water so the paint flows.

Mix the highlight color for the chair and for the gray parts of the dog’s coat with Titanium White and a small amount of Ultramarine Blue. Paint the dog’s highlights with a no. 3 round.

4 Add Detail to the Tan Parts of the Coat

With a no. 3 round, glaze the light tan fur with the middle value tan from Step 2. To re-establish the highlights on the head, mix a portion of the light tan from Step 3 with Titanium White and paint with a no. 3 round. Refine the fur using two no. 3 rounds, one for the light tan and one for the middle value tan. Paint fine lines with the middle value tan, blending with the light tan, and then vice versa. Use enough water for the paint to flow easily.

Detail the dark brown shadow areas of the ears, head and chest with a no. 3 round and the middle value tan. Use a no. 3 round to blend and re-establish the darks as needed, then add some darker detail to the dog’s muzzle with fine, parallel strokes. In the shadowed areas, add a few fine lines of the dark brown.

Paint some long hair tufts from the ears with a no. 3 round and a mixture of the light tan and a bit of the middle value tan, softening the tips of the tufts.

SINDY

Acrylic on Gessobord

8” × 10” (20cm × 25cm)

5 Add the Final Details

With a no. 3 round, take a bit of the middle value blue-gray from Step 2 and mix it with a bit of the dark steel gray from Step 1. Use this color to add detail to the darkest parts of the coat with flowing strokes. Use a separate no. 3 round and the dark steel gray to detail the blue-gray fur of the coat and the tan fur of the hind legs. Paint fine strokes following the fur’s pattern. Blend and soften with a separate no. 3 round and the neighboring color.

Paint locks of hair from the legs and hindquarters, using separate no. 3 rounds for the middle value gray, the dark value gray and a new tan color (a mixture of the dark and middle value tans). Add some lighter locks with the new tan mixture.

Detail the feet with separate no. 3 rounds for the dark brown and middle value tan.

Mix the eye highlight color with a small amount of the blue-gray and Titanium White. Reduce the size of the lock of hair falling across the right eye using the eye color and a no. 3 round. Then paint the highlights in small, curved arcs.

Paint highlights on the nose with a no. 3 round and the blue-gray. Blend with a separate no. 3 round and the black from Step 1.

Brighten the highlights on the head with a mixture of Titanium White and a touch of Cadmium Yellow Light. Paint with a no. 3 round, using a separate no. 3 round with the middle value tan to blend and soften.