Those beautiful Hound Dogs!
What fun Bassett hounds are! When I saw this photograph I was instantly and completely in love!
These three faces tell so much about their sweet personalities too. A painting immediately came to mind-three dogs, white background, special grouping to enhance the composition. Working in oil on stretched canvas, I primed the canvas and laid in a white surface to paint on-hopefully to make the dogs seemingly pop off the canvas. I knew I wanted a white background so I very carefully drew in the images of the dogs. I began with the center dog. Years ago I would have started painting in the body or the ears, maybe the face with the nose. But now I always start with the eyes--well after the background, they come first. Before I would have saved the best for last when doing most of the painting--then painting in the eyes. I was respectful. Now, I see it differently. Now I want to connect early with the animal, talk to them, listen to them. So I paint the eyes in the early stages. Now each time I walk by the canvas I hear a soft bark, a whimper perhaps. This tells me to come back soon--ready to paint.
I moved on to the dog on the right--doing his eyes, of course first, then the rest of him, then to the dog on the far left. Each one was a trip to paint, each one so individual.
I am happy with the way they turned out. I love the white background. Admittedly, I was not sure when I had finished the dogs if I had made the right decision. They are dramatic and a bit mysterious as well!