PORTRAITS BY RACHAEL ROSSMAN

Unique watercolor portraits and pet portraits as seen on dooce.com, marthastewart.com and The Pioneer Woman. Commissions gladly accepted.

The Shaggy Dog

I have a problem.

I paint dogs, cats and other furry things, but when I receive a photo of a particularly hairy breed I have a momentary lapse of confidence. You see, hair is difficult to paint. Especially with watercolor and especially on Yupo.

I can paint labs and chihuahuas and wiener dogs all darn day. But given the challenge of painting anything a little more shaggy, well, I have to come up with a good plan.

Another thing? Shaggy dogs usually have hair over their eyes. But the eyes are my signature! So the plan usually requires a lot of liquid mask and even more artistic license.

To quote the A-Team, "I love it when a plan comes together."

Yes, I just quoted the A-Team.

 
 

Murphy

Completed: May 16, 2010

Soundtrack: Jason Webley

Beverage: Iced Mocha

7 Comments on “The Shaggy Dog”

  1. Oh Rachael I love this one. I can hardly wait to see the painting of my shaggy pair, because they are certainly shaggy and you are right that shaggy hair covers their beautiful eyes and extremely long eyelashes.

  2. I think this is one of my favorites to date! I know, I sound like Simon Cowell on American Idol….”You’re in it to win it”, but I LOVE this painting! High five!

  3. Beautiful Rachael, I love the emotion you put into the dog’s eyes. You have such a wonderful gift.

  4. My favorite paintings of yours are the shaggy dogs. I think you do a great job of recreating their hair while showcasing their eyes.

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