This is a painting of a Rat Terrier rescue dog Meet named "Seven". This cutie is seven years old and was a rescue. Several images were compiled to get the best features in order to create this painting. My main reference photo had a nice pose, but the photo was very small and rather blurry.
Seven's coat is very light, mainly white and I needed color to make the fur come alive. In the tradition of the Old Masters, I pulled pinks, blues and muted greens from the background to built up the body.
If you look to Seven's neck, you will discover all sorts of colors. Rat Terriers have a very refined head and a rather short coat which when photographed tends to look rather flat. By alternating brush techniques and colors, the flat areas on my reference photo were transformed to a coat with definition. The Rat Terrier is an American dog breed and was used as a farm or hunting dog.
Contemporary Background Colors
After consulting with my client we chose this rather contemporary looking background of earthly browns and fire reds . Portraits can have a variety of backdrops from fairlly detailed to more abstract like in this painting. This way portraits can be painted in a traditional realism style, yet be contemporary in feel, to fit a modern home.
