Description - The Brief
Shawn Bailey MBE commissioned me during the first Lockdown to paint a canvas of his beloved pet German Shepherd, Tara on an A4-sized canvas.
The Process
I asked Shawn to send me some photographs of Tara, in particular close-ups of her face. This was to allow me to get a really good idea of the shape of her eyes, her expression, colouring and the texture of her fur.
I started the portrait with a number of pencil drawings and colour testing until I was happy that this was right. I then hand-painted her image on the artist's canvas using gouache paints, with the focus being on getting the colours as accurate as possible, especially her eyes, fur and muzzle.
It was also really important to try and capture her personality as Shawn describes her as being “a very happy dog”.
The Outcome
The final outcome was an original hand-painted canvas for Shawn and his wife Susan that they can treasure. They were both extremely pleased when this was delivered to them.
