A Slave to Detail

It's official - I am a slave to detail! This is not a bad thing if I can control it.

It really hit me today when working on Bruno the boxer dog. He is only 10 x 8 and no matter how long or how much pencil work I have done on him he doesn't seem to be going anywhere fast. Mind you my husband doesn't help with comments like "... is that all you've done" or "... press harder with the pencils" ! But it's true - I do feel like I should be further on than I am and put it down to my obsession with detail.

Bruno's brindle colouring is perhaps not the easiest colouring to portray if, like me, you find yourself almost looking at each hair individually. I really can get 'lost' in a photograph and need to train myself not to scrutinize it to death looking for the hairs under hair etc.

Anyway here is where I am with him now ......

Inbetween the many hours I have spent on Bruno and the two chocolate labs (see how they are progressing at www.petportraits-bylaura.com/wip.htm) I am still scratching. Scratchboard cat 2 (temporary name until I think of a good title) is almost finished and ready to be painted. I will be using inks this time instead of acrylics to compare which, I feel, works best. Will keep you posted - until then here's where she is at the moment .....