dog – Page 2 – Art Bern

Art Education Slap Down

*Wolfy Portrait* | 9 x 12” | Oil on Canvas Board

Painting is truly a never ending learning process, which is what makes it so intriguing and rewarding, no matter one’s skill level. However, there are times when you pivot to a new thing – subject matter, tools, medium, etc – and realize the education could be a seamless experience, while there are other times when it’s more of a slap down. This portrait of one of my beloved pups, Wolfy, was indeed of the latter variety.

I’m pretty sure I had a couple things working against me on this one, but let me know what you think in the comments. First, it’s exponentially more difficult to paint (or draw for that matter) a dog that you know really well; getting the expression just right is nearly impossible. Secondly, the reference photo I used was, well, not the best. Wolfy does not like the paparazzi and therefore a workable pose from the furry prince was hard to come by. The third and final challenge was the recognition that Wolfy’s hair and color patterns were new to me and frankly very difficult to figure out.

You’ll notice the reference photo has a grid overlay, which helped tremendously and led to a few adjustments that were very helpful in terms of portrait accuracy. However, despite the grid and many hours of work on this piece, I feel like the final result leans cartoonish and for the life of me I can’t figure out why. I think it might be the length and width of the snout is simply off, but it might also be the plane of the forehead… or it’s his eyes. I don’t know. Thoughts?

Despite the challenges, I had a lot of fun with this composition. And although it was a slap down learning experience, I did educate myself alot about what works and what doesn’t. Some of the “what works” highlights that will carry over into future pieces are the brushwork for long fur, the use of reds in brown haired dogs (it’s there, it’s just hard to see), and the realistic texture of a palette knife for the tongue and nose.

Thanks for reading!

#artbern #berntx #crashboomzip #painting #art #abplanalp #bernabplanalp #austinartists #atxartist #atxart #atxlife #rescuedogs #bestfriends #dogsofinstagram #dogsofinsta #dogstagram #oilpainting #fineart #petsofinstagram #contemporaryart #fosteringsaveslives #dogsofig #austinpetsalive #mutts #muttsofinstagram #snouts #wetnoses #shephers #hugyourdog

June 18, 2022 by Bern Categories: dogsTags: art, dog, German shepherd, oil painting, painting, portrait, rescue dog Leave a comment

Soulful Eyes

Vedder | 8 x 6” | Graphite on Paper

Vedder the soulful black lab dog. Graphite on paper drawing.

This is a friend’s dog, Vedder, who I’ve never met… the dog, not the friend. I only know about this adorable black lab (I’m guessing… looks like a black lab, hoping he’s a rescue dog, too) because I occasionally check Facebook and he manages to take a lot of really good photos of his dog. As a doggy dad myself, I know how hard it is to get a good pic of your dog, especially a black one.

I’ve been spending a lot more time this year working on dog portraits and other dog related compositions. Many of them have fallen short of anything resembling artwork, thus the lack of posts on this topic. However, some things have started to click lately and I believe it’s because I’ve returned to the core exercise of drawing instead of painting dogs. I’ll bounce back to painting them very soon, but sometimes my brain needs a reset in terms of how it translates between my eyes and the canvas.

Vedder was all about getting the face, especially those soulful eyes, just right. I’m pretty happy with the outcome, especially since the initial drawing block-in required very little adjustment. In other words, the proportions of the face and related features was accurate from the outset, something I hadn’t been getting right with the brush and canvas.

Drawing dogs is very tedious, but it’s offset by very rewarding outcomes. The process of drawing hair via thousands of “strokes” is a test of patience, which artists really need, but oftentimes it can be elusive as you’re excited to get a composition done. Vedder is an older pup, how old I’m not sure, so he has features such as white hairs and a well-used dog nose. These are very tricky to get onto the paper with graphite only. As you can tell from this composition I missed the mark on that front, but the rest of the details I hope capture the personality of Vedder. I’ll have to cross post this on Facebook to see if my friend has an opinion.

On the technical front, I used 3 pencils – HB, 2B, and 4B. The paper is very basic, no idea what it actually is because it’s a sketchbook that I usually tote around on trips when I want to get some sketching done to capture the place for posterity. Very convenient, but the paper has no teeth which makes it hard to layer hair strokes with value shading.

Thanks for reading… and GO HUG YOUR DOG!

#artbern #berntx #crashboomzip #painting #art #abplanalp #bernabplanalp #austinartists #rescuedogs #bestfriends #dogsofinstagram #dogsofinsta #dogstagram #oilpainting #fineart #petsofinstagram #contemporaryart #fosteringsaveslives #dogsofig #adoptme #takemehome #austinpetsalive #mutts #muttsofinstagram #snouts #wetnoses #blacklabs #hugyourdog

May 13, 2022 by Bern Categories: dogs, DrawingsTags: dog, drawing, pencils 2 Comments

Play Hard, Sleep Hard

*Dangling Paws 2* | 16 x 12″ | Oil on Canvas Board

There are many great facets of our canine companionships, not the least of which is the bond built through play sessions, especially the kind that simply wear them out! Dangling Paws 2 conveys the perspective of the doggy parent watching their pup sleep (but not in a creepy way) after a long session of fetch, most likely with that tennis ball in the background.

The paw is the focal point of the composition, but ensuring it didn’t dominate the entire painting required a lot of finesse and patience, of which I have an abundance of neither. I liken it to going to a nice restaurant only to have the night ruined by a loud table who invariably has some douchebag who can’t handle his alcohol screaming at the top of his lungs all night to tell story after boring, nonsensical story. Yeah, that guy… I didn’t want the dog paw to turn into a painting version of that guy.

The trick for me was to make the head bereft of details, focus on basic forms and emphasize the anatomy that really matters with a dog’s head – nose, eyes and ears. It was also very important to make it slightly cooler in temperature, which would push it back and allow the paw to stand out, but not too much.

I had a number of re-do sessions before I got the blue hues just right, namely not too blue and cool, otherwise the paw became too dominant, i.e. douchebag paw! To get it to work, there were two things I had to meter properly. First, the cool blues were tempered by light orange to knock down the saturation, but also mixing in a tad of ivory black. Second, the paw fur needed to be a lot darker without much blue. I might cringe re-reading this post in the future when I learn a more “proper” way to solve this problem, but I opted to create two foundational blacks. One was a mix of Burnt Sienna, Ultramarine Blue (UB), Cadmium Yellow Medium, and Indian Red; the second mixture was primarily Ivory Black and UB with a splash of Indian Red.

Building up the texture of the hair along the leg was a lot of trial and error. I thought about switching the dog’s hair color to brown so it would be easier to adjust values, but ultimately I stumbled onto a lucky suggestion. I was re-watching a painting video by Johanne Mangi, who does great dog portraiture, and she mentioned, almost in passing, that she used Venetian Red to make the most black-of-black fur colors. She said it was counterintuitive to add red of any kind to darken blacks, but she insisted it worked. Next thing you know I’m slapping a skeptical stroke of Indian Red straight from the tube onto the paw… and I’ll be damned if it didn’t work!

I thought about using a palette knife for the paw pads, similar to what was done in Dangling Paws 1, but I liked the results from the brushwork a lot, so opted to leave well enough alone. I purposefully excluded longer hairs between the pads because I like to reserve that effect for older dogs, which in my experience all seem to get shaggy paw pads as they age. I’ll tee that up for Dangling Paws 3 or 4.

The gallery below is done in chronological order so you can see the roller coaster ride of the process. Sometimes a piece just paints itself – I know a lot of artists out there will disagree with that and say that never happens – but we can all agree sometimes they fight you on the easel, but you have to stick with it and remember it’s part of the creative process.

Thanks for reading and if you have a dog, go play!

#artbern #berntx #crashboomzip #painting #art #abplanalp #austinartists #rescuedogs #bestfriends #dogsofinstagram #dogsofinsta #dogstagram #oilpainting #fineart #petsofinstagram #contemporaryart #fosteringsaveslives #dogsofig #adoptme #takemehome #austinpetsalive #mutts #muttsofinstagram #snouts #wetnoses #blacklabs

March 21, 2022 by Bern Categories: dogsTags: dangling paws, dog, oil painting 1 Comment

The Nose Knows

Dog nose painting — *Sniffer* | 16 x 20″ | Oil on Canvas Board

Those of you with nosy dogs might want to call this “hey, whatcha eatin’?” Either way, the nose of a dog is without question one of the most amazing features of any creature on the planet. I’ve read a couple of books that extol the power of the almighty wet nose, which has been helpful in understanding how my furballs perceive and investigate the world around them. It also led my wife and I to play games with our pups that essentially exercise their noses, which turns out is very effective in wearing them out.

The perspective for this composition is from an unusual angle, namely underneath the head, but somehow looking up at the nose. It was a bit of self-inflicted mental torment because I kept pausing the work to make sure this is what a dog’s nose looks like when they go poking it up in the air. Every time I was sure the reference photo was somehow wrong, I would go check out my dog’s nose and sure enough, that’s what it looked like.

As a larger piece, I had some key decisions to make regarding how to render the fur and random hair structure under the mouth. I opted for size 4 and 6 brushes, mostly rounds and flats, to balance the realism of hair while not committing to individual strands throughout. The key with this kind of structure is to ensure disciplined layers that start dark and eventually work light. I also found it useful to do a fair amount of wet-on-wet to get a homogenous look / texture to the hair.

There was a lot of stepping back from this piece to get proper perspective. My plan (always have a plan!) was to view this painting from at least 10 feet, which would allow the observer to really get a sense of the whole snout and see the nose as the focal point. I know this will sound silly, but I kept likening it to an ice cream sundae with a bourbon cherry on top. To draw people to the nose, the texture was critical. This was largely accomplished through a variation of dark mixes, mind you no pure blacks, but warm blues, cool dark reds, and warm yellows to mute the saturation.

Lastly, from a technique perspective, I used a couple of really beat to shit brushes to create that classic dog nose texture. I did some scumbling I suppose, but most of what I was doing didn’t have a painting term – I was basically just smashing and tapping these old brushes loaded with paint all over the nose, creating various transitions in planes and values until it looked right.

Base layers of dog nose painting — Reference Photo

I really enjoyed doing this piece and I’m ecstatic that my wife loves it, too. This particular piece is going on our walls once it’s dry, but it will not be the last time I paint a beloved dog sniffer.

Thanks for reading!

February 2, 2022 by Bern Categories: dogsTags: Abplanalp, art, Austin, dog, painting 2 Comments

Puppy Butts!

The inspiration for this piece needs no explanation – even my cat loving friends love a cute puppy butt!

I used various photos and paintings as reference points for this furry pack, but the common element was first and foremost the lighting. The goal was to capture the time of day, walking along the beach as the sun was either rising or setting. The golden coats of the pups simply glow in this lighting as they explore the beach during a receding tide, with mom in the lead looking for, well, who knows what.

My wife and I enjoy fostering dogs, especially mom’s and their puppies. That experience has taught me a few things about rescue pups. First, they know it and they show it – if you haven’t had this experience, you’re missing out. Second, nothing beats watching puppies explore the world as they try to play with everything and everyone they meet, including each other. Finally, puppy butts are just plain cute!

The paint colors were tricky to get just right because there is so much golden yellow throughout. The use of cool blacks (Ultramarine Blue and a little Burnt Sienna) for the paw pads and where the paws touch the beach help give definition and “pop”. Originally I wasn’t going to try to incorporate any reflections in the little pools of water along the beach, but having seen this work well in other paintings I decided to give it a go. I’m glad I did because it really helps give depth and movement to the scene.

Just as they encouraged and inspired me in this composition, I’d highly recommend fostering or adopting a rescue dog at some point. In my experience you can find any breed, age, and personality in your local or regional shelter or rescue group.

#dontbreedorbuy #rescuedogs #bestfriends #dogsofinstagram #dogsofinsta #dogstagram #oilpainting #fineart #petsofinstagram #contemporaryart #fosteringsaveslives #dogsofig #adoptme #takemehome #austinpetsalive #atx #berntx #crashboomzip #oilpainting #austinartists #abplanalp

September 12, 2021January 21, 2022 by Bern Categories: dogs, RescuedTags: dog, oil painting 2 Comments

Dangling Paws

Dangling Paws | 18” x 12” | Oil on Canvas Board

This piece is inspired by playtime with Wolfy, who loves fetch despite the challenge of galloping around with his huge paws!

There were a few new challenges with this piece, namely capturing the various golden browns of Wolfy’s shepherd-hound coat, as well as the texture of his paws. The key to the coloring was working in various reds and warm yellows, but it took a lot of experimentation to get the right likeness. The paws were more about the texture from using a painting knife instead of a brush, which made the surface of the paws look rough and realistic.

However, the hardest part was the dog bed. I got it in my head that the pattern of the bed would help give the sense of plush comfort that Wolfy’s 85 pounds was enjoying as he slept with his head and paws dangling off the edges. It turned out to be effective, but the next time the bed will have no artistic flair.

Thanks for reading!

March 23, 2021 by Bern Categories: dogs, RescuedTags: #austinpetsalive, art, dog, impasto, oil painting, painting, pet, rescue dog 1 Comment

Lyra – Spotty Dog Portrait

This one was a challenge for a few reasons. First, this adorable pup is a newly rescued dog one of my good friends adopted recently, so there’s the pressure of getting it right for a multitude of reasons. Secondly, Lyra’s stare is very intense in this portrait, so the need to capture that “what are you looking at?” essence is a new challenge for me. And lastly, Lyra has LOTS OF SPOTS!

Looking through the progression shots in the gallery below, it’s clear that there were a few challenges with the length of her snout. There’s nothing more frustrating than nailing a dog’s nose only to realize that it needs to be erased because you gave the pup a Pinocchio nose. Glad I did opt to erase, though, because it made all the difference in getting her likeness right. In fact, this composition reminded me that I frequently err on the side of Pinocchio noses, so I need to remind myself every time I start a portrait to keep it short!

Back to my friends who adopted Lyra…. she’s a lucky girl to have found such a great home! My friends live in a part of the country that lends itself to great outdoor adventures and plenty of room to run. While there were some lose leash walking and other training challenges early on, Lyra eventually figured out what was expected of her and what seemed like insurmountable issues became distant memories. It never ceases to amaze me how adaptable dogs are to the world, so willing to forgive and live in the now while embracing those who show them love and compassion.

Adopt, don’t buy!

September 20, 2020 by Bern Categories: dogs, DrawingsTags: Abplanalp, adopt, art, Austin, Bern, dog, drawing, rescue 2 Comments

Wolfgang Portrait

Graphite on Paper | 4” x 6”

Say hello to Wolfgang (Wolfy), who was willing to take a short break from his squirrel hunting to pose for this quick portrait. This is a smaller piece that isn’t quite as refined and complete as the previous Happy Lab portrait from last month, but the intent was to practice a couple of smaller drawings before taking on a more comprehensive composition.

This is actually the second effort at this portrait, the first having gotten off track just enough to warrant starting over. Despite carefully checking and verifying the dimensions and proportions along the way, somewhere along the process I inadvertently extended his snout, which threw everything off. It took me a little while to figure out what was going on, as the error was ultimately very small, but that seems to be the challenge with portraits – the slightest proportional error is magnified, but it sneaks up on you in a very insidious way.

I also wasn’t very happy with the focal point of his left eye in the original effort, which I had redrawn at least twice prior to discovering the proportional issue with his snout, so I decided to restart the entire composition. Rather than flipping to another page in my drawing book, I used the opposite page so I could contrast and compare along the way. The immediacy of the failed effort staring me in the face proved very helpful as a reminder of where the key problem areas were initially.

In the end Wolfy’s draft portrait came to life pretty nicely – see progression gallery below. It’s very hard for me to incorporate the variations of his brown, gold, and black coat, but focusing on the key patterns instead of every detail captured the essence of his inquisitive look and cute face.

June 20, 2020June 20, 2020 by Bern Categories: dogs, DrawingsTags: art, dog, drawing, graphite, portrait, Wolfgang 3 Comments

Happy Lab Portrait

Graphite on Paper | 6” x 8”

dog-labrador-art-drawing-Abplanalp — *Happy Lab Portrait* | Graphite on Paper

This Labrador’s smile and overall happy, expressive face quickly caught my attention. I have no idea who this dog is, but I know s/he’s never met a stranger.

I thoroughly enjoyed the slow, methodical pace of working through this drawing. One of my focal areas this year is something I call “dogs in motion”, basically dog’s doing stuff (see Frisbee Dog), which remains my primary interest when it comes to dog related art. However, the challenge of doing a realistic dog portrait has always nagged at me, in large part because I could never figure it out. This composition is either a fluke, which is entirely possible, or something clicked in my art brain – my big, smushy, oft confused art brain.

The technical keys to this drawing, at least for me, were as follows:

Proportions: Free-hand drawing, no tracing is mandatory for me… otherwise I won’t learn a damn thing. There’s something elusive about getting the snout of a dog just so. Eye spacing and size of the nose, which is a lot bigger than you think, were also key.
Eyes: Oh those precious stares! The expressive nature of a dog oftentimes exudes from their eyes, but I realized so much of that expression is from the hair around the eyes, too.
Hair Strokes: The darker areas of the coat are a combination of different types of pencil hardness, but also more variations of stroke density, i.e. darker areas have more strokes, which is obvious now that I say it aloud.

Hopefully the progression shots above are helpful to see the compositional approach. There’s a lot of bouncing around, but ultimately it’s about getting the eyes and nose nailed and then building out from those anchors.

Thanks for reading!

June 2, 2020June 2, 2020 by Bern Categories: dogs, DrawingsTags: art, dog, drawing, graphite, labrador, portrait 3 Comments

Frisbee Dog!

Frisbee Dog | Graphite on Paper

One of my dogs, Zip, is obsessed with 2 things in life: food and anything thrown. I used to think her love was exclusive to tennis balls, but over the years I’ve learned that not unlike her willingness to eat anything thrown into her food bowl, she will retrieve anything thrown across her yard. The day she trained me to sling a frisbee was a fond day indeed… for both of us. It’s her insatiable drive (dare I say “lust”?) to retrieve that inspired this drawing of Frisbee Dog.

No, this is not Zip, but the reference photo captures all the key elements of a dog in motion doing her thing. The face is particularly tricky, in large part because it’s obscured and squinty, which mutes distinguishing features like eyes and ears. But you gotta love the open mouth and all those frisbee hungry teeth!

The gallery includes a reference photo and two versions of the drawing. Granted, the drawing is a rough study and not intended to be a refined composition, I thought it was interesting to see how different photo settings can change the look and feel of a piece of art. Using the same source photo of the final drawing, one is set to sharper detail while the other uses a soft setting to remove some of the detail of the pencil strokes. Bear in mind this drawing is done in my sketch book on thin, see-through pages; there’s not a lot of teeth in the paper, thus the relatively rough nature of the drawing. Also, the entire piece was done with only 3 pencils – 2B, HB, and H.
I think this type of subject would make for a good painting.

I’ll try a few more drawings of frisbee dogs and then make the jump to the canvass.

April 19, 2020April 19, 2020 by Bern Categories: dogs, DrawingsTags: art, Australian shepherd, dog, drawing, frisbee, graphite 4 Comments

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