"Daisy Blue" - finished

The photo I used as reference for Daisy's face was taken with flash - there's red-eye, and she was looking upward. I want her looking straight at you, with Border Collie intensity. The eyes are critical; eyes will make or break a portrait. Especially in this one because of the concept - a black-and-white portrait with Daisy's one blue eye in color. That blue eye is what I call the "punchline" of the painting. So I left her eyes 'til last, and went at them with great concentration. These are the reference photos I used for Daisy's eyes. The center one is the face shot I was using.

And here is the finished portrait. It was completed and shipped in time for Carolyn to give as a surprise Christmas gift. Grisaille (single-color portrait) is my lowest priced portrait. This is a good example of what can be done for a very reasonable price.

What is interesting to me is the way your eye fills in the missing colors - the pink tongue, a yellow and green daisy collar. I have been experimenting with leaving paintings in a partial state and your eye fills in the rest. I have more things to show you in that area... Stay tuned!

"Daisy Blue" - In progress 4

This is the photo I'm using for reference for Daisy's body. 

(That's Carolyn with her "pack".)

One more day and I will finish this portrait. The one blue eye will be what I call the "punchline" of the piece.

Winter Solstice

We had a storm that dumped a lot of water on the coast today. It is Winter Solstice, shortest day of the year. Toward the end of day, the grey sky was breaking up and clearing to blue. So I took myself down to Whaleshead Beach.

The storm waves were coming in huge. Tide was in, so there was hardly any beach --- dangerous to walk on in these conditions. So I stood on the cliff above. The chill air was perfectly clear.

You remember Whaleshead Rock, over which we saw the moon setting last summer --- you remember that huge rock that spouts a plume of water when the waves hit just right. (photo of spout taken on a mild summer evening). 

When the waves hit today - the surging storm waves rolling in - the waves were going 1/3 of the way up the height of that massive rock. There were piles of cloud far out at sea and the whole air - the clouds and the sky - was in the most beautiful colors of pastel, with a half moon riding high in the heaven, and the rim of the clouds all in molten gold where the sun had set unto. 

The voice of the sea is really something when it's in certain moods. It was a symphony today, one of the most beautiful I've heard (and I've been a son of the sea all my life). You should have heard the sound of the sea hitting Whaleshead Rock. It is the Winter Solstice today, the shortest day of the year. Hooray! That means we are on the upswing again!

"Daisy Blue" - In progress 3

Daisy is beginning to emerge from the background.

"Daisy Blue" - In progress 2

As per my assignment, I'm working entirely in black and white. In the reference photo I'm using of Daisy's head, her eyes are looking upward. Carolyn wants Daisy looking straight at you, and I know this breed well enough (even tho I don't know Daisy personally) that I want to capture that "Border Collie intensity" in the eyes. I'm leaving her eyes blank for now, and will concentrate on them last. Eyes are the critical part of every portrait. I'm known for being able to capture the soul in the eyes. (Oh the pressure...)

"Daisy Blue" - In progress 1

A long-time client, Carolyn Martini (New Hope, PA) has commissioned a portrait as a surprise Christmas gift for her housemate, Tammy. For a long time Tammy had a unique concept for a Roeckl portrait of her Border Collie, Daisy Blue: the whole portrait in black & white with just Daisy's one blue eye in color.

Here is the first "in progress" picture. The drawing is laid out on grey Canson paper, my beloved grey Canson.

  

This is the 3rd portrait Carolyn has commissioned. Her first one, of her blue-eyed Luke, can be seen here on my Portraits site.