The Secret's Out!

Well, I can finally show you one of my two latest "top secret" projects! I delivered the original this morning, and it has been given to the recipient for whom it was commissioned, so I can now share it with you! Here's the final piece....

This is a Bernese Mountain Dog puppy - isn't he a cutie? You can read more about the breed HERE. The friend who commissioned this piece asked if I would add the "in progress" pictures of this piece to my blog for the recipient to see, so below you can see the painting progress to its final finished state...

This was my reference photo from my client... from which I made my sketch...

 Once I got my sketch down from my reference photo, I transferred it to my watercolor paper...

I started work with laying in some of the background - leaves, texture on the ground, some pebbles...

Salt sprinkled over damp watercolors creates a nice "rock" texture...

Continuing with the background, deepening shadows, creating texture in the leaves, and starting to add in some of the soft browns on the face...

Deepening shadows, adding more "background" leaves, scumbling on the foreground,

 and starting to lay in some color on the paws...

Every doggy needs a nose!

On the reference photo, the background is so dark that parts of the puppy's dark fur blends in and gets lost in the shadows... So I lightened the foliage up a bit and added some highlights on the puppy's fur to make its shape stand out. (Incidentally, I saw one of these puppies at Petsmart the day after I finished this painting, and you wouldn't believe how soft their fur is! Wow! So cute and cuddly...)

I found the black part of his fur to be the most challenging - in the photo, it is so black and dark that you really can't see much detail and he gets a little lost in the foliage... So I tried to lighten it up a bit and add some "highlights" in order to suggest form and highlights, while keeping it dark enough to show the inky color of the real fur.

And finally, just touching up little details, deepening shadows, and finishing things off...

(Fueled by Cherry Herbal Dr. Enuf, the beverage of champions...)

Scratch in some little whiskers and highlights on the fur and leaves with an exacto knife, sign it,

 and - voilà- it's done!

I will have prints and cards of this little guy available soon on my website and on Etsy.

 Meanwhile, if you're interested in commissioning a portrait of your own furry friend, please contact me!

Thanks for being patient before the secret was out! I've got one more trick up my sleeve, but you will have to wait a while to see it! Meanwhile, I hope you have a lovely week...

IF: Propagate

Many of you have seen this before, but I'm trying to get involved in the fantastic blog, "Illustration Friday," so here's my entry for this week's topic, "Propagate."

I have the original of this painting available in my Etsy shop, and prints and cards available on my website. Please stop by and check them out!

Watercolor Wednesday...

Since my latest project is top-secret, I thought I'd show you (again) these watercolors, the ORIGINALS of which I have just added to my Etsy shop...

"Busy Bee"

Original Watercolor by Beth Stone

5"x7" on Arches 140lb. CP

"Love in a Mist"

Original Watercolor by Beth Stone

5"x7" on Arches 140lb. CP

"Koi Pond"

Original Watercolor by Beth Stone

8"x10" on Arches 140lb. CP

As I mentioned, I have just loaded the originals of all three of these paintings into my Etsy shop where they are available for purchase. Each is signed and framed in a dark brown wooden frame with white mat. (Pictures of frames on Etsy.) So stop by and check them out! I also have prints and cards of these available both on Etsy and in my Web shop.

Hope you're having a lovely week...