A dog commission

This is the third dog commission I have done for this family, but it was the toughest! The photo they sent me of the dog wasn't the greatest, and when I tried a close up, I couldn't figure out where the various parts of the dog were within the black blob that was the head! I don't paint from imagination very well, and really do need reference. So I decided that I loved the girl and the dog together, and did that instead. It made it less necessary to get as detailed with the cockapoo. I titled it Best Buddies, as they look like they really are. The painting is a present for the little girl for her February birthday.

For once, a painting without a lot of fall color!

Of course, there is fall color in it as that is what I do, but no aspen leaves this time. This is an interpretation of the view at the top of Lizard Head Pass, near Telluride. I was there in September when the leaves were at their peak, but the pass has a lot of pine trees too. I really liked the color of the distant trees and my goals were to get that color right and to make the foreground interesting, which is something I find difficult to do. This is a fairly large painting at 29x24.