Scruffy

Scruffy is a good description for the look of this dog (which belonged to a friend of mine). Before I get started on a painting I usually determine what it is that most grabs me about my subject. Other than the intense look of the dog (as they peer through the screen door anticipating a treat) was the dog's hair. To capture this I used mostly palette knives to really dig in with thicker paint to get the texture and the depth of the hair!