Bone Aparte with a Tennis Ball

This is an Acrylic painting I did for my grandson's birthday. Napoleon Bone Aparte with Tennis Ball is the official title.

They have a Portuguese water dog who loves to chase balls.

This is my first attempt of making a painting with Acrylic paints. I had used acrylics before but never to paint a "real" portrait.

I used it because I wanted the paint to dry quicky. That's a quality and a fault. It makes it difficult to blend and shade. I think there are additives that allow you to manipulate the paint but I did'nt have any.

The portrait is based on a formal portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte which I modified to make the uniform flashier.

I had a couple of photos of the dog as well.

I kept the theme of the background but simplified it. I think that worked just fine.

I wanted the dog to look in far distance dreaming of great ball chasing.

Everyone was delighted with the painting. It is hanging in the Dining Room.

These 2 images were my reference images. The Napoleon portrait is by David. I painted the ball orange at first but it looked off. I changed it to green and it was better. It's tricky to make a face full of tennis ball look formal.

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