Woman with Dog Portrait 597

This portrait of a young woman with her dog captures a moment of a friendship that is so special to so many of us. Our four legged friends bring us joy and make us smile on a daily basis. So it's only fitting to make the background a happy one as well.

The original photo shows a cityscape and more of the legs of the couple. Since the pants and hind part of the dog are both very dark, it created a dark area in the painting that really does not add anything positive. Therefore I have decided to crop the photo so that the focus is more on the young woman and her pet. 

The city backdrop, really does not add anything of interest either so I changed the background to something softer. I still have a lot more work to do, but this stage gives a good idea what the finished painting will look like.