DEMONSTRATIONARTIST’S HINTS AND TIPS
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- they reflect the sky. They’re also
fluid and transparent. Looking into an
animal’s eye is a bit like looking into
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colour – they are layers of different
colours and often have flecks of
colours such as amber, gold or green.
To achieve this layering, I paint the
eyes as a series of glazes, making sure
each layer is completely dry before
applying the next.
If the pet you are painting is being
depicted in bright light, the eyes
will have significant catch lights
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There are two types of catch lights - primary and secondary. Generally
the secondary catch light will be
darker and less well defined than the
primary. If the lighting is low, there
may only be a secondary catch light,
but regardless of how low the lighting
is, there will always be some form of
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I’ll often dab the wet paint gently
with a cotton tip when painting in the
secondary catch lights to give them
extra transparency.
You can see that Sandy has both
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distinctive very pale blue (almost
pure white) primary ones. If the
animal is looking up, there will be
more sky reflected in the eyes than
an animal looking straight ahead
or looking down.Animal eyes will
almost always have a brow shadow.
Again, this is rendered by use of a dark
glaze, which is applied last of all.
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of the most important aspects of a
successful pet portrait is selecting
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from. Reference photos need to be
a clear and accurate representation
of the animal’s character. I have
millions of photos of Sandy, but I
chose this particular one because
of the beautiful serene look on
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background. Sometimes clients are
very definite about which picture
they want painted, but, if given a
choice of several, I’ll always go
for the one that has an interesting
pose, expression or lighting.
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to paint, but by rendering the hairs
that are light affected, as different
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brown hairs into the mix, you will
achieve a realistic effect.
Similarly, do not paint white
animals with white paint. Depending
on whether the animal’s skin is
pink or black, and the amount
of light shining on the animal,
their hair can be rendered as
shades of yellow, grey or blue,
with only the brightest highlights
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is the one my college art teacher
WDXJKW PH DQG WKDW LV WR /22.Never assume that something is a
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whatever look the way they do.
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are the same colour or shape (even
if they are the same breed). The
whites of an eye (if showing) are
not truly white. A great way to
truly ‘see’something is to turn your
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will help eliminate all preconceived
ideas of how things look.Hazel is proud to be represented
by Huon Art gallery, 9 Wilmot
Street, Huonville, Tasmania.
She is happy to accept
both wildlife and pet portrait
commissions.Contact details:
Ph: 0408 690 890
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://www.hazelhowieart.com
Facebook: Hazel Howie Artn