The Home Team

This painting has been included in the Works in Progress section to show you how a piece is created.



I got the idea for the painting when I went to photograph a puppy belonging to a friend of mine.  The photos are all of the same pup, but he was so energetic and excited, that I thought it might be fun to put several of him together and do him as a litter.

I tend to work from background to foreground, becoming more detailed as the elements of the image get closer to the viewer.  Here, the grass and some of the path have been done, and the glove has been sketched in.  The bat is just about complete, and most of the puppy on the left.

Before I could go any further with the puppies, I had to do something about the grass and the path, which were too bland to suit me.  I added a lot of pebbles, each of which had to have its own cast shadow.  I put in some dark shadows in the grass, and began highlighting some areas and adding some weeds.  Next, I began filling puppy detail.

I did the baseball cap with a blue jays logo, but before I had the piece finished, the team changed their image, so the logo  had to be painted out.  The purchaser of the piece may commission his choice of team logo on the cap.

This is the finished painting.  I have added the new Blue Jays logo on some of the prints, but the original painting doesn't yet have any team insignia added.