Shaggy Tucker

This was the first animal portrait I've ever done. This is our dog Tucker (right before his regular grooming) who was in the room with me when I painted this. I had planned on using several reference photos but ended up working primarily from life as he seemed to be very interested in watching me paint instead of napping as usual. I use Primarily Gamblin Oil paints with a small amount of Gamsol for the block in on oil primed lenin panel. I've been painting en plein air and studio for about 30 years. I am inspired by nature and old stuff with character, but not limited to. I like the challenge of capturing the endless variety of lighting effects particularly on location in nature.