Title: “Melvin”

Artist: Helane Freeman

Medium:  Oil and Acrylic bothSize: 40″ x 30″ x 1.5″

Price:   NFS

Artist’s Thoughts: I thought that an oversized painting of our little dog, Melvin, a purebred black-tri Corgi, would match his rather large and happy personality. Because they’re the preferred breed of royalty (Queen Elizabeth II owns several), I wanted to give Melvin a regal feel, so I shot the reference photos from a low perspective. I chose to emphasize his inquisitive look, sitting with his weight shifted to one side, his head slightly tilted and his front paw raised, ready to shake your hand and say hello. The background has a subtle spotlight feel to it, making Melvin the “star of the show.” He’s also a canine fashionista, so I painted him wearing one of his favorite handmade scarves on his collar; green is his favorite color!

To create the painting, I started with a well-lit, staged photo shoot for loose reference material. Then I painted a fairly tight, but still loose block-in of the composition with acrylic paint. The final layer and the detail work is oil paint. After I photographed it at high resolution for reproduction purposes, I added a final coat of varnish as a finish. I like to use both acrylic and oil paint, because it creates a larger and richer color spectrum for the finished piece.

NPDDArt2021