Sharla and Lulu - in progress

In progress..

More than halfway...

Today, I am working on this painting for a dear friend who has recently lost her beloved pet.  One of my closest high school friends, it is important for me to capture these two in a painting to cherish.  Pretty new to this oil portrait work, I seem to start differently on different pieces.  On this one, I started as I start every graphite portrait - with the eyes first.  Additionally, I work top left corner to bottom right - it is easier to keep off the paper when working in graphite, since the oil left from my hand will alter the way the paper takes the medium.  Now, I guess it has just become a habit.  I want to get all of the important parts right before adding in the surrounding landscape.  I chose to work on this primed background, since there will be a green landscape behind the figures and this underpainting will add energy to the paint.  The beautiful coat of little Lulu has so much variation in the color - it has been a little challenging to get it just right!  I actually think I am close to finished on this, but as it is now dark, I just could not get accurate color on my photo of it.  So, I will wait for daylight to post the finished painting.  It is always a good idea to wait for the fresh eyes of morning to look over a painting.  I may find something else to tweak before I get that second photo.  Painting number  450 in as many days.