Oscar

"Oscar" is the painting I've been working on all week.  It's 18 x 24 inches, oil on panel.  I love the way it came out.  I've marked my progress with my cell phone camera to share on this site.


Disclaimer:  I know I have to get a 16 megapixel digital camera.  I was doing some window shopping on-line yesterday.  I don't have the confidence to buy yet. 


Oscar will be entered into an art show where he hopes to catch the judge's eye.  He refuses to dance, so the rules of making a good painting will have to do the trick. - pun intended  


Rules like good composition, color relationships, balance of light and dark values and mastery of your medium.  None if these rules come from an artist as a trick, but rather after years of hard work. 

This is the start of the painting.  I decided to have Oscar standing on boulders rather than logs. Below is the mid-way point.

It's not a good shot, but you can see that I tried to paint one of the front paws up and bent, like how a dog would pose.  Well, after a good night's sleep, I decided against that.  There are subtle changes that I made to bring the piece to completion. 


How do I know when my piece is finished?  When one more brushstroke would ruin it.  Feel free to post comments! - Brande