Bud-Z again …
Here’s the latest of Bud-Z. I started this one yesterday, but I could only work on it so long as my back was still bothering me. I’d paint a little, leave it, return a few hours later, and so on. At this point, I’m going to call it finished.
I photographed Bud-Z while he was outside on the deck. Something caught his attention, and he looked like he was ready to pounce into action. My hope was to capture that feel. It was also very sunny out, so the deck looked bleached out and there were lots of shadows. The above is how I started — that is, with a pencil sketch and then working on the background and some shading. It’s what I mainly did yesterday.
Today I added more detail, but I also managed to change the angle of his snout which was annoying/disappointing, and I was unable to correct it. Frustrating, but so it goes. I also ended up using gouache in areas of his neck fur because I struggled to get it as I saw it.
While I am enjoying the process, I have a bit of a dyslexia issue which can be a source of frustration/aggravation when it creeps up. It’s something that doesn’t just happen with groups of letters, but I notice it can happen with shapes and shadows. I can get stuck as I wait for my brain to process something because I just don’t see it as I should. It’s humbling stuff. I try to recognize if it happens when I’m tired, trying too hard, or what. I cannot find a pattern to it. Rather, it just happens and it leaves me like I’m stuck in a record scratch and need a shove to push the needle forward (I’m dating myself with that reference). The good thing is that, at least for now, I’m being patient and not beating myself up too much about it.