Tiffy ~ A Portrait of an Adventurous Dog
"Tiffy"
Oil on Panel ~ 9 x 12inches
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Canvas and Paper Prints available
Tiffy's portrait has been finished with a final layer of an yellow ochre wash and some more detail work. Here are some more close up shots. I am happy with the way Tiffy turned out and am excited to see his owner's reaction to the painting.
Tiffy's right eye was played up with color, highlights and expressive form to be the dominant eye, since it also happens to be the one closer to the viewer.
If you look closely you can see some green in the muzzle and some blues and pinks in the nose. The green is light which bounces up from the grass that Tiffy was sitting in. The blues and pinks were used to enliven the look of the nose. A surprising dash of color well placed adds visual interest to a painting and makes it more exciting to look at.
I have been working on Tiffy's" ear, head structure and fur and somehow ended up going darker than I should have. Before I can fix the color I will need to let the painting dry to prep it for a warm ocher wash. Gives me time to start a new painting~
Here is some more about Tiffy as told by her owner ~
"Tiffy was a mixed breed, as the vet said, 100% Puerto Rican mutt. She knew her spot in our family and “invited” herself to all our family activities. Tiffy loved her routine—going to get the girls from their school, she’d get so excited 3-4 blocks away knowing where we were headed and she’d get very “vocal” as she’d place both feet up on the front dash board hoping to get a closer look thru the windshield and would start “talking” like a seal. She’d get excited to go get the mail and was so satisfied knowing the order of how we did things. About an hour out before my husband would come home from work, Tiffy would post herself on an ottoman we had placed by the window so she could watch out for him. She loved to run alongside our bikes and when she became too old to run we’d have to sneak out on her otherwise she’d “cry” for lack of not being able to go along. It would break our hearts to leave her out of an activity. At the close of the day, she’d join us in our family prayer circle and hop on the children’s beds while they said their prayers. She’d join in for family reading time then would walk out their bedrooms with us ready for the next activity of the night. Friday nights we’d have popcorn and root beer floats, and a treat for her. She always seemed to know when it was Friday and bark impatiently at us if we were running behind schedule.
Tiffy was a pleasure and a joy and the perfect dog for our family. She kept us laughing heartily with her very cute and developed personality. We enjoy reminiscing about our fond memories with her and feel honored to have you paint her portrait!!
We look forward to following the painting of her as you do it—what an added bonus!. We remember your tremendous talent and attention to detail in your culturally rich portraits.
Thank you again, in advance. What a treat and blessing for us
Meg"
1st layer of color is being applied. Right now I am mainly concerned with getting the form in place and going crazy with all that fur. So while I keep working, here is a bit more about Tiffy as told by his owners.
"On one occasion, since Puerto Rico is a very tropical area, my husband was riding in his car with his window down. I happened to be riding my bicycle coming the other way with Tiffy running by my side. She spotted the car and dashed over to him. Without a moment’s notice, she leaped into the car through the window and landed right on my husband’s lap.
Tiffy frequently walked on her hind legs and could easily walk 10-12 feet on them. She’d “smile” all the while and used her front paws to show her excitement pawing in the air. She knew a variety of tricks—roll over, shake, play dead, give me “five” and give me “ten”, say prayers, guess which hand, and she’d dance and twirl on her back hindquarters. She loved to play hide-n-go-seek with all the family and would often instigate it. She loved to play, just play and frolic. And she was very frisky and would often spark a game of chase. Oh how she loved to play!! Tiffy would carry her own leash in her mouth and bring it to us to put it on her then she’d prance around with it for a good while with it still in her mouth while we were riding bikes with her alongside us or on a walk. When she’d pick up the scent of something interesting, she’d drop it out of her mouth. She also learned how to open doors that weren’t latched by getting up on her hind legs and throwing her front body weight at the door. She knew she’d mastered that and would just go room to room opening the doors for herself. If it opened inward, she’d use her right paw and pull it open and go thru, big as you please and very proud of herself."
I have started on Tiffy's portrait by laying in the darkest darks, the lightest lights and two tones of gray values. The whole portrait is in it's roughest form and will be worked on until theright tonal values have been established.
Meet Tiffy, a cute little Mutt who has gone to doggy heaven and is still greatly missed by the family who adopted her. I will be painting her portrait very soon and wanted to share some of the things Tiffy's owners were kind to share with me.
"We got Tiffy while living in Puerto Rico from a neighbor who saved her from the wild dog packs that live and run wild there. We have had her since she was about 6 months old and she is ALL personality. She loved to ride in the car and even when we were not going anywhere, she would wait by the back door until I opened it. She would head straight for the car and “beg” on her hind legs to get in; I’d open the windows and she would just sit in the car, sometimes for up to 3 hours. I would go check on her periodically and “ask” her if she wanted to come in the house; but no, she would rather sit in the car until she’d realize it wasn’t going anywhere that day. Marc would come home for lunch and ask where Tiffy was. I’d say, she’s sitting in the car. Just sitting there he’d ask. Yep. Sitting and patiently waiting.
On one occasion, since Puerto Rico is a very tropical area, my husband was riding in his car with his window down. I happened to be riding my bicycle coming the other way with Tiffy running by my side. She spotted the car and dashed over to him. Without a moment’s notice, she leaped into the car through the window and landed right on my husband’s lap." ~ Meg Poussard
