September 10, 2008

"Whippet Portrait"

Oil on museum quality, archival ampersand gessobord™ panel - 6” x 8”


I used Will as a model a few months ago and I was fascinated by the variety of hues in his fur. The subtle pinks and blues in the shadows begged for more exploration.  Also, the other piece was painted on linen mounted on a birch-wood panel.  While I enjoyed that painting, the use of gessobord allowed the brushwork to be more pronounced.  Tightening up the composition also changed the attitude of the painting by focusing on his lovely profile instead of his long, slender legs.  I'm not sure which I prefer.  To help you decide for yourself, here is a link to the May 2008 iteration of Piper's Will Power.


Will (a.k.a Ch. Piper's Will Power) and his progeny and canine cohorts can be seen at www.piperspuppies4u.com

12 comments:

Beverly C said...

Masterful. Love the soulful eyes. Shadows are lovely.

Mark Adams said...

Thank you, Beverly. I appreciate the compliments.

JEANNE ILLENYE said...

Mark, What an extremely beautiful subject portrayed to perfection!!! No more words...just sheer perfection! Jeanne

JEANNE ILLENYE said...

Oh, Mark, I just enlarged this image bigger than actual, and again...PERFECTION!!!!!

Mark Adams said...

Thanks, Jeanne. You made my morning.

dominique eichi said...

OH my ! such a beautiful rendition.
Your talent is wonderful .

Mark Adams said...

Thanks for stopping by Dominique. I appreciate the kind comments.

Anonymous said...

Remarkable!

Terry said...

This is one of those paintings that takes my breath away. As elegant and regal as a 40's movie star - He's amazing. Where can we see the long legged version of him?

Mark Adams said...

Takeyce - You're too kind.

Terry - What a lovely comment, thanks. I have added a link to the original May 2008 version of him to help people decide for themselves which is best. Great suggestion, BTW.

Terry said...

Mark, thanks for adding the link to the first version of Will! Its lovely, but for me, the close-up wins, hands down. There is a luminosity and a sense of intelligence here that makes this alive.
I think you're right - the different surface (gesso bord instead of linen) contributes to the success as well.

Mark Adams said...

I agree with your observations, Terry. I have some larger work planned but I don't think I can go back to a soft cloth (i.e. canvas / linen) support after painting on gessobord for the last year. Fortunately it comes in larger cradled sizes, which I can play with.