Emily-Rose Alcock Art

A few years ago my family fostered a dog from Romania. Everyone quickly fell in love with him and he was adopted into the family. His name is Dexter.

When Dexter first arrived, he was anxious and shy. He’d been neglected. Fast forward a few years and he is the most affectionate dog who loves cuddles. I feel so grateful to those places who are taking in dogs in a less fortunate situation and finding them a better one, even if that means in a new country.

This painting features him resting his chin on my dads leg, something he always does when he wants some love. ☺️

I could paint these beautiful animals all day everyday.

Dexters eyes are so striking and are one of the things I really wanted to capture in this painting.

I layered a sandy coloured watercolour with a red brown, added more sandy colour over the top and then added a white gel pen and metallic gold watercolour to make them pop. The black contrast around his eyes really makes them a striking feature.

I think, that in order to really capture the essence of an animal you first need to spend time looking at their eyes, even if it’s a photo, to connect with them on a deeper level. The eyes say so much about what they are really feeling. The rest of the painting could be a wash of impressionist colour, but if the eyes are truly captured with their essence the painting will echo them.