Eddy.

From the original photo



to this finished painting:

Eddy

this painting will be added to my permanent gallery site

Pat Elliott Paintings

Eddy 6

I'm continuing to paint the spots and some of the shadows as I progress up the body, through the neck and into the face.

Just the ears to go and the painting will be finished.


We had such a beautiful sunny day, that at certain angles you could see the collar name "Eddy" sparkle.. so I photographed him at a strange looking angle, but you get the idea of how he will twinkle - like a little star :)

Eddy 5

Here I start painting Eddy's spots and some of the marking on his muzzle.
Being a Liver dalmatian, his spots are brown.

These actually take quite a time to paint.

Because Eddy is a friend's dog, she would know instantly if the spots were wrongly placed or the incorrect shape. So, I take my time and try to be just as precise with the placing of the spots.

Eddy 4

The eyes are all finished , the collar was next to be worked on.

The dark collar throws the name "Eddy" forward and the curve on the neck helps to create a feeling of a 3 dimensional dog.

The name Eddy was actually spelled out in diamante, but that's incredibly difficult to reproduce, so I used some iridescent medium, which will sparkle in certain lights .

Eddy 3

Once my background is in, I start on the eyes.
As always, the window to the character of the dog.



Once the eyes are in, the painting sits more comfortably and I know whether or not the portrait will be as I want it .

Eddy 2

In this stage, I painted in a blue sky with a few clouds to make a nice backdrop against which Eddy would stand out.
Just the one colour in this sky - French Ultramarine - and lots of water.



It took a couple of hours for thee painting to be completely dry so that I could paint the next section.
Some people like to use hairdriers to get the painting to dry quickly.
My preference is to let the paint and water do their own thing !

I also painted Eddy's name in a pale shade of the same blue, with some iridescent medium added - to give his collar a little sparkle in certain lights !

Eddy 1

I'm taking a little break from experimenting with flowers and floral backgrounds to paint a very special dog.

He's a liver dalmatian and his name is Eddy.

The drawing includes all the prominent spots so that I can get a good likeness to his handsome self .
You might need to click to get the larger picture, to see him clearly.