Bogey (Finn's Alter Ego)

The main photo of Finn that I used as a reference.

Bogey (Finn’s Alter Ego)

For some time, my son Jeff has been asking me to make a painting for him and his fiancé Kate, depicting an animal in bright, non-traditional colours. I was happy to paint something for them, but my problem was that up until now I’ve only painted flowers and sometimes trees when I’m using acrylics or watercolours, never animals. Thinking about his request, I extended my painting wings recently, and tried two bird paintings. I was pleased with how they turned out and felt it was time to go for it.

Jeff was not very specific about what type of animal to do so I was free to choose something I liked. However, too much freedom is sometimes more difficult, as I couldn’t find a subject that resonated with me. Finally, I decided to do a painting of their much loved King Charles Spaniel, Finn. (His full name is Finn Bogey).

So not only was my first step into animal paintings, a dog that had to be unnatural colours, it was a dog that had to look exactly like the real thing. I decided to make it a bit easier on myself by using a small 12” X 12” canvas. I also decided to title the painting, “Bogey (Finn’s Alter Ego)” in case it didn’t look like him.

The other thing about this project was that it was a housewarming gift for their new home. I didn’t want to ruin the surprise by asking them for a photo, so I looked through all the photos I had and those that other family members could supply me with. Unfortunately, I wasn’t happy with any one photo, as either I didn’t like his pose, or the photo was too dark or something just wasn’t right. I finally settled on three. I used one photo as my main reference, and the other two for details that I couldn’t see in the first photo. After having done that, my advice for others is to find one really good, clear photo and refer only to it. That would have been so much easier.

Jeff and Kate are thrilled with the end result, and have found a special place in their new home for “Bogey” to hang.

This is a slideshow documenting the painting of “Bogey (Finn’s Alter Ego),” as it progressed through the stages from beginning to completion. It is a 12” X 12” acrylic on canvas. The finished painting can also be viewed in the Acrylic Gallery section of this website.