Todays post features a dog with a bit of a stare….fixed on a treat, or his favourite toy, or maybe staring at the door waiting for his human to arrive home? This is a watercolour on 200 lb coldpress 30×40 cm ‘ dog daze’
‘Dog daze’ watercolour 200lb coldpress 30x40cm
About REcreate-RebeccaEvansCreate
My name is Rebecca Evans, living in the New Forest I have been inspired to paint the many animals often seen around me. Having ridden since Childhood, painting equines was a natural path to follow.
I use a variety of media, watercolour, oil, charcoal, pastel,inks, plus a few more, infact I will try most things. Choosing the medium to work with can really change the effect of the art, and therefore the character of the animal. Sometimes it is an instant decision, sometimes it is the mood from within me which determines which medium I choose to use.
I never know what might inspire me next, but if it’s hairy, I will be sure to try.
RebeccaEvans Create 
Oh Rebecca! SO adorable! How do you do it??? A friend who just lot their dog asked me if I could paint her for her son. I’ve made two attempts so far I’m not very pleased with…. Any tips you can give???? It is an all black dog too.
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Thank you Jodi I am so pleased you like him. Advice on dogs, well black have to be the hardest, my dog is black and as yet I have not managed her, I just keep avoiding, however I have now painted black horses, so my advice would be this, start with the eyes and nose…I always do! Then for the coat block in the light and shadow areas, look for patterns in the coat, I use for black animals Terry Harrison Tarmac, it kind of granulated to a purplish hue with some blues, similar are Daniel smith shadow or Daniel smith shadow violet if Terry Harrison is not available to you., also I use paynes grey, and sepia, as a black dog often has brown in it. WN neutral shade is also good for blocking in, basically you don’t want to go to dark, as you need to layer up the hair of the animal. After blocking in is done you can ad the hair, this of course depends on if it is hairy, or smooth coated, if smooth then I really would not add hair lines …. Or very little, see my sorry Charlie pointer dog. ( although it is watercolour and pastel same process, as I block in the tones in watercolour and add detail in pastel, and achieve a more seem less blend with the soft pastels) the hair is many layers, same colours as above, I use a WN petit Gris pur pure squirrel as it forms a fine point, you may wish to use white gouache to add lighter hair streaks, or my fav is dr ph Martin bleed proof white, I love it….wait for layers to dry before adding the next lot of hair ( I often use the watercolours like oil paint when doing very hairy creatures) now if I feel the lines are too harsh, I get a large brush and blend it in again…but not too much! Then add more hair when dry…repeat as often as needed, of course some areas maybe blank from hair? Depends on the dog? Most of the time if you get the eye right the rest just comes…the problem is I have sometimes been given photos with a terrible view, and the eye hard to see, not great! WN Perylene green could also be good for black, as it layers well, but I have not used it yet in that way…think I may do soon as a trial? I hope this helps a little 😀
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thank you so much Rebecca for taking all the time you did to share these tips! I soooooo appreciate! Sorry Charlie is so AWESOME! ❤
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Pastel is great for over watercolour, I use it if I have blocked in wrong, to cover my mistake, instead of throwing paper away ( although I do also intend the combination at times, like ‘ sorry Charlie and bestie plus others) also blends seamlessly, then using pastel pencils you can get fine detail in, for whiskers etc good lunch with the black dog, what is the breed? If it is hard to see detail and you have a digital copy of the photo I would lighten it to value that you can see eyes, nose, and other vital parts, this really helps not just with dark dogs, but when I take a photo of a horse in shadow….it really does help to see what is to be painted!
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I just ordered a little 1/2 stick set of semelier pastels to try them out. Never used before. Thanks so much for all of your wisdom on this. Realistic is not my strength. Gosh how I love your style! The dog was a rescue, so a mix of many – maybe a lot of lab?? If you email me at mckinneyjodi@gmail.com, I will send you the photo I have if you want to see 🙂
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I hope you like them as much as me 😀 I have emailed you, I can’t wait to see the little buddy 😀
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Beautiful dog, how you paint them in WC is beyond me but most of what you create is beyond me, my friend! 💜 I still can’t manage to draw or paint our black cat who passed. Black animals are tough, good luck to Jodi on that. Really nice tips you passed on!
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Thank you Laura….I will paint my dog one day….black pet challenge!
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I would love to see that!!!
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Yay I did it, thanks to Jodi, I got my big inspiration, feeling happy with my girl 😀
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Turned out beautifully Rebecca. There is no animal you can’t draw or paint!
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Thank you Laura
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LOVE this!! That’s the total dog daze stare… perfectly captured! So good! 😍
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Thanks Charlie, he is a doggy dude!
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Super like!!! As a schnauzer aficionado I can confirm you nailed the schnauzer! Will this one be in a card set someday or available as a print?
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I am so pleased you like him, I hadn’t thought about that, I just filed it in my folder with the rest….terrible I know, but I am hoping to sell soon, when I get the courage, it’s slowly going to happen I hope, maybe on art finder? Early thoughts are for this site 😀
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Absolutely sweet!
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Thank you Cathe
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He’s beautiful! I have a Miniature Schnauzer who has that exact stare when someone touches her treat box!
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He he, not the treat box grrrrrr!
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That dog is a doll! Another of yours I will have to put in my pocket.
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Ahh thank you dawn, a pocket pooch! ❤️
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Great work, Rebecca! Your work is amazing. Love!!!
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Thank you Cynthia, not as much time this evening….enjoying the gymnastics and other Olympic sports 😀
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