Acrylic painting Archives - Yvonne’s Artwork

The Plight of the Galgo

As you may know I love Greyhounds, I had two beautiful rescued Greyhounds, Daisy and Otis, who I have loved, and sadly lost recently. The story of the rescued greyhound is very similar to another breed, the Galgo, a Spanish hunting dog, very similar to a greyhound, part of the sighthound family, they are used for coursing in Spain. These elegant, beautiful dogs are calm and gentle, like their greyhound relatives, but in Spain they were not viewed as a family dog, but as a “thing” that is disposable. Every year thousands of Galgo and Podenco dogs, another sighthound hunting dog, are disposed of horrifically. It is believed that the more suffering the animal receives in its death, the better luck next season for the Galgueros. This mentality sees the dogs suffering the most inhumane deaths. Thrown down wells, poisoned, beaten, starved, burned or hung from trees, the higher in the tree the quicker the death for the better performing dog, the others hung from low branches, forced to support their own weight on tiptoes, until they tire and hang themselves. This is known as Pianoing. This noble breed is mentioned in ancient history, named “the Spanish greyhound”, and is thought by some popular writers to have descended from Egyptian dogs brought to the Iberian Peninsula the Phoenicians nearly 3,000 years ago.They were protected, with heavy penalties for the abuse or death of a Galgo. Over time these dogs worth has dwindled in the eyes of their hunter owners, it is a travesty that such a wonderful dog has been allowed to suffer brutality and inhumane acts of violence. In Spain they were not given any acknowledgement in the eyes of the law. As a result thousands of dogs have disappeared, unaccounted for. In today’s society Spanish Galgo rescues are pushing for change. A new law, as of January 5, 2022, amends the Civil Code to “provide that animals may no longer be considered ‘things’ but ‘sentient beings’ and family members, and that animal owners are now required to provide proper care to ensure their animals’ well-being in accordance with the characteristics of each species.” I support and sponsor dogs through Galgos Del Sol, a rescue in Murcia, Spain, run by an amazing woman, Tina Wales Solera, and an army of volunteers, Thanks to social media the word is getting around the world about this breed, and its ability to make a perfect pet. Education is the key for the future, teaching the children about respect and love for this beautiful breed. Hopefully they, and future generations will once again regard them as the noble breed they are. I wanted to create the image as a more ethereal version, so here it is black on black with an swirling mist, as the Galgo seems to be invisible to many in Spain, and they disappear without being noticed or recognised. Several animal photographers are bringing the Galgo to the eyes of the world, via social media, with exquisite photographic images. Travis Patenaude of StinkEye Photography, allowed me to use his reference image for this painting. He assists rescues in Spain, and helps with the rehoming of Galgos into the USA. As their popularity grows, Galgos are now being adopted throughout Europe, UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Scandinavia. The public opinion of Galgo and greyhounds has shifted, seeing them as worthy, loyal and perfect companion animals. They have waited many years for this, now they are being given a voice.Once again they can be a noble breed.

My favourite things

My favourite things would definitely be these four characters, Shadow, Daisy, Otis and Charlotte, so I decided to paint their portraits and hang them together as one , as we were redecorating the Background colour was chosen to go with ours new décor. The background is “Atelier Permanent maroon”. The first step was to prime and grid the canvases. Then I sketch in the images. I use a pastel pencil as the graphite pencil can transfer to the paint, and the pastel is much easier to erase. Once my sketches were completed I under painted the canvasses using a burnt sienna, this will help give the white a slightly warmer tone, I find it useful to see where I have painted White areas too, and not missed areas of canvas leaving just primed areas. I use a watery paint to do this and paint the shaded areas in. Once the underpainting is completed I can complete my portraits. Firstly blocking in my subjects then painting in the background. I have demonstrated here with the first portrait of Daisy, the first layer of the background is painted, it needs at least two to cover properly, and I have started to paint the lighter areas of her. The following images of Otis and Charlotte show the blocked in areas, plus some detailed work, Shadow’s face is almost complete, his eyes and the black areas of his body need to be completed. When the portraits were finished I felt I needed to address each character individually, by including their favourite things. For Charlotte it is her ball. She is ball mad and has toy boxes full of them, Her favourite game is to push the ball under something, pool fence, couch, then ask you to come and get it out from under where ever she decided to put it. Once retrieved she immediately pushes it under again… and so it continues. Daisy, being a greyhound was very driven for anything fast moving, her favourite spotting moments were if she saw a rabbit or chicken, she would just stop and stare, in her younger days attempt to chase, but once she had spotted something on her walk, the next few walks she would put the brakes on in that spot and wouldn’t move until she was sure it wasn’t there. Living near orchards and paddocks this made for a long walk. Daisy’s painting shows rabbits and text saying “I Love Mum.” Otis was a very happy boy on his walks, or runs, but he had problems with his toes dislocating and had to wear special greyhound boots, called “Honey boots”. To get ready for a walk meant having his boots on, this lead to a roll on the couch, and the game of the paw of more. Boots finally on he would sprint off into the car. Otis also loved the warm sunny spots in the house and garden so his painting shows a boot and the sun. Shadow‘s favourite thing is easy… It is his Dad. He is a sensitive soul but absolutely adores his dad, he is a very loyal boy, and a wonderful companion. He missed the greyhounds when they died, but needed a dog his own size that would play and tussle, that is why Charlotte came into our family. Charlotte is an American Bull dog, Shadow is an American bulldog, Neapolitan mastiff cross. I hope you have enjoyed the process of making these portraits. My Acrylic paintings are much more detailed and more lifelike than my watercolours. They take anything up to 3 weeks to produce, depending on size. If you would like to see more Acrylic painting examples, have a browse through the gallery section for Acrylic paintings.

Painting Chrome and Paintwork

Making a motorcycle come to life I love the challenge of painting chrome and paintwork. So many reflections, so much detail, I love the challenge of realistic painting, it has to be done over time, carefully, examining the photos for every detail. This was my husbands bike, a Harley Davidson Ultra Limited, this painting was his Christmas present and was painted over a 6 month period. It is Acrylic on canvas block. It is a large painting, and even though canvases are primed when you buy them, I do prefer to add a couple of extra coats of gesso primer before I start. Making a start Once the sketch is completed I start blocking in the backgrounds. I use 3 colours for this one, that will compliment the bike, an Atelier red-black, burnt sienna and Atelier brown-black. I begin by blocking in the chrome parts of the bike with a couple of colours that will form the main reflections, Australian sky blue and unbleached titanium for the pavement reflections. By doing this it gives me the areas to focus on first as they are the most complicated, and require the most concentration. I have to keep reminding myself, “paint what you see, not what you think you see!” The headlights, driving lights and tops of the forks are starting to take shape, I add more detail and depth into the reflections, plus just a touch of colour for the indicators. Slowly the images start to take shape, at least with Acrylic it is easier to correct if you go wrong. I can now start to work down the bike to the forks and front fender. I have airbrushed in the windshield for now, and then I can make a start on the mid section of the bike, the engine guard, foot boards and highway pegs. Basic blocking in helps to map out the areas of chrome, refining and adjusting depth of reflection. It is starting to get complicated Now the fun really starts, the engine bay is mostly black with some chrome, but there are nuts and bolts and chrome reflections that seem to melt into each other. I don’t use “Black,” I use a mix of Blue-Black and Burnt Umber, maybe a tiny bit of Prussian blue. It takes a lot of concentration and patience to paint this part. The air cleaner took nearly 4 hours alone, and the engine guard with the highway peg took about the same! I did block in some colour for the paintwork to see how the colours looked against the chrome, as its easier to adjust my palette now, rather than later. I continue working on the exhaust system and the chrome at the back of the bike. Wheels are my least favourite part to do as there is so much detail to paint, and so much that can look wrong. At Least this bike isn’t like mine, a HD Softail Deluxe which has spokes! Adding colour is always fun. I was worried that I would have trouble getting the paint colouring correct, the bike’s colour changed at various times of the day. It was a mix of Permanent Orange, Red gold, Yellow, crimson, burnt Sienna and Red-Black. The paintwork has a gold fleck in the paint which was very yellow in the photographs. I paid great attention to detail in the shading and shapes formed by reflections on the paint, it was hard getting a smooth finish with just a brush, but by working in several layers in managed to get the look I was after. Almost finished, the end is in sight! The seat and passenger seat are painted in blue black and Australian sky blue mixed. Highlights of white are added to the Australian sky blue to create a sheen, with hints of white for the glossy highlights on the seams and edges. The tyres are painted using a warm grey, mixed from Blue-black, a hint of burnt umber and unbleached titanium. And there you have it! One finished painting of a beautiful machine. The floor under the bike was airbrushed using orange and a bit of yellow, with an ellipse of brown black under the tyre for shadow. Once the paint has cured It is varnished with two coats of Atelier Gloss varnish.

Daisy, watercolours by Yvonne Chapman Brooks

Greyhound love

For the love of a greyhound Its no secret that I love Greyhounds. It started 11 years ago when I fostered my very first greyhound, Daisy. It wasn’t going to be a long foster as this little girl completely stole my heart. She was tiny, small in stature but very thin at just 19kg, she had been in the regional prison rehabilitation programme where inmates took responsibility of a dog, she did well, and found a forever home….except it wasn’t, it was short lived, one day while her “Dad” was at work, Her “mum” took her back to gap and said she “couldn’t be doing with her” and left. Daisy was in a terrible condition, extremely thin and withdrawn. GAP took her back and found her a foster home, but she was reactive to cats, so they looked for another, that’s where I come in. A new beginning Daisy was just 3 years old, she was extremely thin, withdrawn and very quiet. I took her to the vet the day after I fostered her, as her teeth were so rotten you couldn’t get near her for appalling halitosis. I doubt she had ever had a decent thing to chew on or ever been to the vet for a dental, it was awful, her gums were so infected and ulcerated that she could hardly eat, the vet started her on steroids and long term antibiotics before we could even contemplate a dental. I rang GAP, I said what do you do about Daisy’s teeth, she’s in awful pain, they said, “Nothing until she is adopted” My response….. “She’s adopted, Im taking her, Now, what are you going to do about her teeth!” they agreed to pay for her medication and dental work, but it should never had got to this point. Fast forward and Daisy stayed with me, she is adorable, she was very quiet, obviously some trauma there, as I would find he standing in the middle of the room just like a statue for hours, eventually she would move and sleep. it took nearly 2 years of affection, good food and lots of love to finally find her true personality, then she began to be a dog, a loved pet and to live a pampered life. Greyhounds in my art I was very taken with the greyhound, a dog whom I had never really considered before as a pet, but I am so glad I went past the Greyhound’s as Pets (GAP) stand at our local agricultural fair, and talked about fostering. They were elegant, quiet, sleek, athletic and smart. I was hooked, this little girl had me wrapped around her tiny paw, and I began to look at her as my muse. I painted her in so many different ways and gradually the colourful images that I paint today. she opened my eyes to a whole new world of dog lovers, almost like joining a cult, the greyhound world of rescue is HUGE and they welcomed us and my art with open arms. I started painting for various rescues, the first main one was “Saving Wilma” on Facebook, a rescued Greyhound who was rescued from a horrific life around the same time as I rescued Daisy, these are some of her portraits below. “Wilma” Acrylic on canvas, “Goodnight Sweetheart” and “Rainbow Bridge, it’s a beautiful place.” painted after she died. I painted portraits for fund raising and it went from there. I began to get asked for commissioned pieces and most of them were Greyhounds. Too many to count Over the last 11 years I have been privileged to be able to paint so many wonderful hounds, every one of them gorgeous and loved. I have used mainly watercolours, but some in acrylics too. I love painting them, they are my favourite, but then every painting I do is a loving tribute to a much loved soul. Daisy is nearly 14 years old, a miracle considering her heart suffered greatly as a result of her poor dental health, She has one tooth remaining, and she is on heart medication, lots of heart medication, and is so far managing to love life, albeit at a much slower pace. She has out-lived Otis, my other Greyhound who died in September, and when her time comes I probably won’t have a greyhound again for a while, as we make the most of Shadow, our Mastiff cross. But I will always be a greyhound Mum, a lover of this amazing breed of hound, who’s love is for ever etched in my heart. Please look at my art and enjoy every portrait ever painted, as well as on my Facebook page… there are many …. sooo many, each one a pleasure to do, If you are interested in getting your pet painted please reach out and contact me.

Yvonne’s Artwork

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The Plight of the Galgo

My favourite things

Painting Chrome and Paintwork

Greyhound love

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