It has been getting progressively more difficult to find reference photos that inspire me. The more I paint, the more picky I’ve been getting about what makes a decent reference photo. Ideally, I want an interesting/exaggerated perspective, strong lighting and a close up on the face. That isn’t always available to me though so I try my best for just a close up of the face and decent lighting. I can exaggerate the lighting to some degree, but there is only so much I can do at this point.

I frequently make small alterations to the images to make them work better as art, but I feel like a slave to the image most of the time. I get wrapped up in recreating details in the early stages and end up painting them over and over again. It does add a nice layered look to the paintings, but it is time consuming to wait for each layer to dry.

Day 66 is a do over of one of my earlier paintings. The reference was unfortunately taken with a flash so there is weird light inside the nostrils and the eyes were white from it. While I think I did a better job overall the second time around, it still isn’t exactly how I pictured it turning out. Who knows, maybe I’ll do this one a third time and finally get it exactly right.

Day 67 was painted as a gift to my grandma for her birthday. She absolutely loved it and it also impressed my great aunt who has since commissioned me to do a larger portrait of her dogs. I haven’t seen the reference photo for the commission yet, but I’m crossing my fingers it’s decent. I’ll do my best regardless.

Follow my daily progress over on Instagram or Facebook. I post these paintings as I finish them each day or if I’m taking a day off I’ll post my current work in progress. If you would like to purchase any of these finished works or commission a portrait of your own pet, send me an email at amber.honour@burntumberarts.com. I’ll be back next week with even more gouache paintings.