Friday, January 2, 2009

Jumping Jack Flash 6x6 oil

I could not paint Lucy and not Jack.  Jack is our 4 1/2 year old Maltese.  He is Lucy's mentor.  Jack is King of the castle and thinks he is human.  That of course is our fault.  He was the most adorable puppy.  If there is such a thing of loving too much, Jack is the loyal subject of that care.
Painting fur is difficult.  There is this desire to paint the fur as if you were brushing it.  It is so important to deal with the values of the fur as it turns around the form.  The eyes seem to tell the most about the subject.  Jack has very sweet eyes that are always on one of us.  I should have put my reflection in them.

8 comments:

Bassman said...

Sweetheart:

I love what you've done here. The painting of Jack captures his spirit. His eyes tell the story, and you've caught his entire expression. Plus, your commentary is lovely.

Bassman Bob

Nothing to See said...

He is absolutely adorable. Very nice painting.

Kim VanDerHoek said...

Wait a minute, shouldn't he be up in the air with a bark on his lips? This adorable little puppy looks WAY too peaceful to be Jack. Is he crashing from eating too much sugar over the holidays?

Just kidding - He's so adorable!

Besides, if you were to paint him in motion he'd end up being a little blur across the canvas.

Anonymous said...

Seriously good. You really did great on the values. That face! Those eyes! Ultra cute.

Eliot said...

i think a socks tribute is due next, i'm sure there's a photo of her sitting still somewhere.

Edward Burton said...

I love your painting of Jack! Wonderful expression - very cute.

Kathleen Harrington said...

Terrific portrait!
My Casey dog is jealous - wondering why I haven't painted her yet.
You've inspired me to do so!

Kathleen

Hillary Miller said...

I love the expression on his face and the wonderful quality of your brush strokes. His body is just vague enough to make it seem like his head actually has no body. If you asked me, I'd encourage you to give just a bit more solid finish to his body (doesn't have to be as much as the head...). He has such beseeching eyes!