
There were several photo's submitted but this was the most engaging as he was looking directly into the camera lends with a not too impressed expression on his face. He could almost be saying, "for goodness sake will you put that camera down!"
Firstly, the composition. I wanted this to be purely a head shot, as Teddy has quite an unsual coat colouring, and I didn't want that to detract from his face. My palette was limited in the outset to Pthalo Turquoise and Process Magenta, mixed with varying amounts of Titanium White. That gave the underpainting real depth, when the addition of Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow and Paynes Grey in the eyes and fur. I used the dry brush technique that I used on the Carole Baker workshop throughout and I think this is clearly evident in the fur on his chest his chin. Picking up the ground colour (Pthalo Turquoise and Titanium White) in the highlights of his fur set him into the painting.
This painting took me about 16 hours in total. Most of this time was working through the colour layers which I hope gives this piece vibrancy when you view it up close.