Welcome to our latest dog portrait of Leon painted by Nicholas. He has to be one of our favourite dogs that we have portrayed this year. Just look into his eyes soulful eyes! Are they gorgeous!
Richard and his wife Chantal from Crete emailed to ask if Nicholas would paint Leon for them. Richard describes Leon … “He is extremely clever, loving, playful and (I am trying to be unbiased)” and we could tell from the photos he is an exceptional dog.
Leon was an excellent model earlier in the year when his owners Richard and Chantal took lots of photos of him for the portrait. He coped extremely well considering how hot the days were in Crete when he was having to pose in front of the camera!
Photos of the Portrait of Leon in Progress
Here are a few photos of the dog portrait of Leon in progress, and this is the very first stage of drawing the portrait out. This is a very important stage, not only for drawing out but establishing tones.
Next the proper colours and tones of the dog and background are blocked in. Apart from the background, the tones you see painted will all be covered up. It’s a form of layering that allows Nicholas to create the three dimensional form of the dog.
I think white or light coloured dogs are the most difficult to paint, especially when clients request a light coloured background. Here you can see it is really important to get the mid tones and colours of the dog in, otherwise the white highlights won’t stand out. if you don’t add the darker tones in, the portrait will look flat. it is a fine balancing act to create a white or light coloured dog, without it looking dirty! If you look at the photos of Leon below, you can study the darker tones within his coat. Also this is often overlooked by the casual viewer or non artist!
Happy clients!
Leon….who is a very happy dog, we believe loves his portrait and has given it the thumbs up! So I think Leon was very happy with his self portrait. We also can’t thank Richard and his family enough for taking them for us. The frame works fabulously with the painting and really allows Leon to stand out from the canvas.
Hi Melanie and Nicholas, Hereunder list of approvals:
Léon
Chantal
RichardThank you very much
Best regards,
Richard
Richard and Chantele framed the portrait of Leon and you can see a photo of it below. The also colours work really well for the portrait.
Finally if you would like a dog portrait similar to the portrait of Leon, just get in touch. The process is very simple and we can guide you all the way!
Are you enjoying our blog? Why not sign up to our Art Blog, which comes right into your inbox each month! You can sign up at the bottom of each blog post. Please don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel too. You are more than welcome to comment below, we love hearing from our readers!