Sadie part 2

I spent the day yesterday working on Sadie.  It took me a while to get the "hang" of her fur.  It is so soft and smooth and when you are putting in shadows and highlights you have to be careful to maintain that smooth texture.  That is one of the reasons why I like working on gesso board as a surface.  It offers a smoother texture than traditional canvas.  Many times I found myself fighting with the texture of canvas....painting on the gesso board is so much easier.

I'm pretty happy with the ears and forehead area.  As the painting progress, I usually go back and do some tweaking here and there.  Now, the ear on the right has a coat of glazing medium over it so it looks a little more intense then the rest of the painting at the moment.  I use the glazing medium to not only protect the layers of washes, but it also allows me to see what the painting will look like after I apply the final varnish.  I can still go back into an area that has been glazed if I need to make any adjustments.

Here is a close up of the other ear.  Ears can be a challenge because....well....they can do so many "funky" and "wonky" things with those babies.  They are usually in heavy shadow which can also make things difficult.  Once again, I try to just paint what I see.  I know it looks a little strange when you focus on just the ear, but when you step back and look at the whole painting it somehow makes sense.  Now for those "doggles"!