I often get so wrapped up in a painting that I forget to turn my phone camera on. For my latest portrait, I didn’t capture the whole portrait painting process, but I did capture a time-lapse of some of the initial stages of painting a portrait. The progress below shows the beginning stages of painting Gunner, a handsome 2 year old Labrador Retriever. Gunner’s portrait was commissioned as a birthday gift for his human!

I typically begin my portraits with a pencil or charcoal sketch and then cover the canvas with a toned ground. I feel this helps me judge my colors and tones more accurately. Next I begin looking for an adding the dark and light shapes to give Gunner form.

At this stage I’m ready to bring in some details to really bring Gunner to life on the canvas.

Gunner, Labrador-oil-LAcciai-web2

Detail has been added and Gunner’s 16×20 portrait is finished!