Oliver

Oliver. Oil on panel, 6" x 6". ©2019.

Oliver very much wanted outside yesterday, which gave me an excellent opportunity to photograph him in dramatic light. He sat in the dark entryway looking out the all-glass storm door, very intent and still. I love the way the sun caught his eyes and ear, and how his whiskers contrasted with the dark wall behind him.

This is my first-ever painting of Oliver, and my first time using an app that grids off photos on the iPad. The grid made the drawing process much more pleasant! Working from photos has gotten so much better in the years I've been painting. From the luck of the draw getting reference photos printed, to printing them at home, often multiple times (using expensive inks!) to get the colors right, to just cropping and gridding them off on an iPad. I could probably take them with the iPad and save another step, but the phone is a bit easier to manage (and still more convenient than a camera).