Working on Shanti the Pekingese

This portrait is of little Shanti, who was much loved by her human who described her this way. “She was so patient. So gentle. So loving. Such a clown.”

There are times when I’m painting that I forget to take photos of the early stage of a portrait. This can mean either of two things–it’s been going so well it came together more quickly than I realized OR it lingers in what I think of as “the ugly stage” where it’s not looking like I’d like anyone to see it yet.

Shanti’s portrait came together very quickly. So instead of showing how it looked along the way, this photo is of where I painted it, sitting at my drawing table where I am lucky enough to be able to look at the ocean, a very good place to rest my eyes of all those tiny brushstrokes. Sometimes a squadron of brown pelicans flies by, often at eye level. I appreciate my studio quite a lot as it’s fairly recent–and a very big change from painting on my dining room table.