20"x26" oil on illustration board, 10 hoursLast week at the office, Gary's dog Gus was taking a nap in the hall. My boss, Chris, took the opportunity and turned on the hall spotlights and snapped this photo on his iPhone. I knew right after seeing Gus that this was a painting just waiting to be made so it was lucky Chris got the shot.
Gus is an ENORMOUS malamute - his head is bigger than a backpack and one of his feet are bigger than both of mine put together! But he's pretty low-key and I think this kind of captures a good chunk of his essence.
I am starting to like illustration board again, this being my second piece on it since I originally learned to paint on it 18 years ago. I really like the smooth blend I achieved on the wall and the black stayed more matte than if it had been on canvas, I think. I had a deuce of a time with Gus's fur; I started getting too detailed which clashed with the overall style so I blended it all together and tried again but with large strokes to give a general sense of color. And no, his rear foot isn't missing, he's laying on it.
Sorry no in-progress photos to speak of; I forgot my camera all three days I worked on this.
