White Dogs Are Tough: Day 4

     I start Day 4 with the knowledge that I need to establish some washes in the background.  I realize that to make Sugar appear to be a white dog in shadow, I will need to darken the background around her.

     Remember, with watercolor, the only way to lighten a color is to preserve it from the beginning, or darken the area around it (darkening the value around a color makes it appear lighter).

Background Washes

     I lay in an atmospheric wash of Burnt Sienna and Ultramarine Blue to form a nice gray.  I then start layering in several glazes in sequence …. Burnt Umber around her legs and feet and an even darker glaze of Cadmium Orange and Ivory Black.  My shadow on the ground is a mix of Sap Green with Alizarin Crimson to gray it down.  I keep this simple so I don’t distract from Sugar’s head, my center of interest. 

     Tomorrow, we'll wrap it up!