Cleo's Journey Home Not going to lie I was a little intimidated with this one. I was commissioned by a former colleague of mine to paint a picture of her dog that had recently passed away. I knew my biggest issue would be getting the painting to actually look like her dog. She gave me a photograph to work from and I used it as my template. I can't tell you how many times I referenced that photograph making sure it was as close to exact as could be. I worked the hardest on layout. Once you put the photo next to the painting you know if something isn't right. With my OCD eyes I can spot differences a mile away. The color with light and shadow was just about the second hardest obstacle.
The fun part was creating the background. As you may guess the background is a photograph. I had taken this particular photograph for friends of mine. They were standing inthe mid ground on the steps. So proportion wise, Cleo would be quite large for this real-life scene. That does not matter to me because she is the focal point and in the foreground, she should be large scale (trust me, had I not told you that you would never have know). I did in fact play around quite a bit with detail and color. Just as with the sky, I create how I feel. I wanted this painting to have warm glow feeling at just around sunset. I am really big on creating moments with meaning, so for me this was all sentimental. Think of the passing of time as we move on through our journeys in life. Not to mention I imagine Cleo turning and walking away up the steps as she goes on her own journey.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Andrea Stitt
A behind the scenes look at the creation of each painting as well as adventures in being an artist. Archives
December 2017
Categories |