The Meaning

“Doggy Boone” was my first animal portrait. I painted it for my friends, Joe and Marlene Elliott in St. Joseph Missouri who own a Golden-Doodle named “Boone.” This piece represents the importance of family and friendship to me, especially Christmas time at the Elliott’s home which was inviting and peaceful to me. I am very thankful to have been apart of their family Christmases and I hope this piece expresses that to them.

The process

Developing the outline for this painting was the most difficult because of the Dog’s curly hair and many different wavy patterns. The way the light from the large windows brought out Boone’s undercoat which is difficult to see without a fresh trim and bright light hitting him just right. I used three different colors of black to create the outline of the dog, and then filled it in with white and a few different shades of grey.

For the light effect upon his head and body (on his left side), I used a wiping technique with hansa yellow paint to make it appear more transparent. The blue rug where he sits upon underneath, has shadow reflections of his thick and wavy coat. The hardwood floors have faint reflections of the light coming through the windows and I used the wiping technique on them the same way as I did with Boone’s furry coat.

Up above his head is a silver rectangular unknown piece in the background, which makes a interesting contrast between the light reflection upon his head and the different shades of grey that I used around his head.