Hilly - Australian Shepherd Pastel Pet Portrait

This experiment in painting a black dog was so difficult! After my initial block in, I started to feel like she was looking a little like "Blue" from Blue's Clues...that is to say, too blue/violet. I decided to regroup, warm up the darkest shadows, treat the highlights as a pale grey/blue, and use shades of gray/navy and a little siena for the midtones. Finally, made the background a more neutral taupe. And I was so worried about color, I realized rather late in the game that I wasn't getting a great likeness. Anyway, not a very satisfying outcome, but the best I can do. Lisa, hope you like it!