Bearded Collie (Beardie to friends)  8 X 10 pastel

If you have read the blurb at the top of the blog, you will note that I always intended this blog to track what I’m doing at any given time.  I promised myself that I would post the day’s work whether I liked it or not, because, as I am sure you know, you learn more from your mistakes than anything else.

I’ve been concentrating on landscapes now for quite awhile and realized I hadn’t ventured into other areas.  I have also been thinking of  doing a painting of a Beardie since they have such an unusual appearance and I know three people who own them…one, my sister, who rescues them.

They are wonderful dogs with funny personalities.  They are definitely working dogs and love hearding.

Now, I have to say that I am not really happy with they painting, so I thought I’d post it anyway and critique it so you know my thoughts on the matter.

1.  I just jumped right in and now feel I should have completed a drawing first to make sure I was getting the relationships and shapes right.  As you can see, they have large heads, long bodies and an abundance of hair.  They can be various combinations of Black, white and grey.  They also come in a light brown (or blonde) with white.

2.  I was using very soft pastels which makes small marks difficult.  I will do the next one in a larger size to give myself a little break.  I used pastel pencils for some of the detail, but it’s hard when the first layer is very soft.

3. I’m also planning on a different color for the background.  Although I am suggesting grass and bushes in this painting, I’m not entirely happy with the green.  I’ll have to try some other colors out before I commit to a different background.

4. All in all, it’s a reasonable start, but not up to what I’ve done with other breeds, so stay tuned.