Best Friends

20X30 Watercolor commsission from about 10 years ago. It was quite a compositing project. At the photo shoot I couldn't get the boy, cat, and dog anywhere near this pose all together, but I think it all worked out convincingly.

Their dog was really very old and the family definitely wanted to get a portrait with him included knowing that he wouldn't be with them much longer. Considering this, I thought it appropriate to paint the three of them in an autumn theme even though the photos were taken in high summer. The dog was old but still fairly lively like the point in fall when the fall leaves are at peak color just before falling.

I never was very happy with the jeans though they are true to the reference photo. They just look too new and stiff, even oversized. Perhaps, like several of the other watercolors I have painted in the past, I will take a photo of it into Paintshop Pro and repaint a new digital version to my liking.