IRISH SETTER

pugwash · Joined: 04 Jul 2007 Posts: 1380 Location: Perth

Painting of an Irish Setter, sometimes called a Red Setter.
One of the most beautiful of the hunting dogs, but unfortunately not the smartest dog in the world. I had to go to the art shop to buy a few irish setter-coloured pastels for this portrait.

Pastel on Mi-tientes paper.

sunfire · Joined: 01 Mar 2008 Posts: 1430 Location: Toodyay

A beautiful work Clive, very well done, they're always such a lovely looking dog.

Devilbiss · Joined: 06 Jul 2007 Posts: 3214

Nice work Clive.

pugwash · Joined: 04 Jul 2007 Posts: 1380 Location: Perth

Ehank you Daniel. Is that your dog in your avatar Pearl?

thecatsgrin · Joined: 18 Apr 2009 Posts: 2181 Location: Gippsland

Beautiful Clive!

michael whillier · Joined: 26 Nov 2007 Posts: 488 Location: Queensland

Brilliant - even down to that distant look that setters get in their eyes - they are never quite there

M

sunfire · Joined: 01 Mar 2008 Posts: 1430 Location: Toodyay

altheau · Joined: 30 Sep 2009 Posts: 148

Lovely work Clive, they are beautiful dogs.

Great ears he has =]

pugwash · Joined: 04 Jul 2007 Posts: 1380 Location: Perth

Thanks altheau. I'm not sure how long the ears were but the hair on them seemed to go on forever.
Pearl, your son's dog has the biggest grin I've ever seen.

Wenz · Joined: 29 May 2008 Posts: 21 Location: Queensland

He looks so beautiful and serene. Nice work.

*kayty* · Joined: 09 Jul 2008 Posts: 18 Location: Adelaide

Absolutely adore this one. What kind of pastels do you work in? You capture their eyes so brilliantly!

pugwash · Joined: 04 Jul 2007 Posts: 1380 Location: Perth

*kayty* · Joined: 09 Jul 2008 Posts: 18 Location: Adelaide

Wow I better work harder then! I use all soft pastels as well, Rembrandts of course Wink

And although I love them dearly, I struggle to get enough detail. However I've noticed in your drawings, that you don't seem to draw in each hair, like I do, and I think that's where I come unstuck with the soft pastels, you are far looser than I am in your technique and it works brilliantly!

pugwash · Joined: 04 Jul 2007 Posts: 1380 Location: Perth

Kayty, -part of the erason I love pastel is that it stops me from trying to draw every little detail, otherwise a painting would take me weeks and end up like a drawing of a stuffed dog. The idea is to give the dog LIFE. I start off with fairly broad strokes and then refine everything as I go. The trick is, as in most mediums, knowing when to stop. Take this painting of "Bobby"

Obviously I could have added more to this painting. More detail round the mouth, more hair on the chest, whatever. But would it have made the painting any better? Would it have looked more like Bobby?. No it wouldn't. So that's where I stopped. I have a sign that I drew on my studio wall, it says: DON"T OVERWORK IT!

*kayty* · Joined: 09 Jul 2008 Posts: 18 Location: Adelaide

Thanks Clive, I need to work on getting looser with my technique, with everything that I do I want to have it perfect. Even when I was a kid in primary school drawing I would draw the hairs in on my animals when my friends would go for the scribble and smudge approach Laughing

At University, my assignments end up taking far too long because everything has to be perfect. I ride and compete in dressage, and again, it all has to be perfect! So I find it extremely difficult to come away from that and just draw loose. Even if I start a piece with the intention of keeping it loose, I wind up adding more and more detail until its like anything else I do Neutral

I've spent some time now looking at your paintings and trying to see how you do them. Just lovely! I'll start painting again soon after my exams and will pop some of my work up, you'll see where I come unstuck in the soft pastels, trying to get details in my work and then it just ends up overworked and muddy.