Year 8 Artist Profile – Pet Portraits by Grace S

Year 8 Langley Prep Pupil, Grace S, set herself a challenge to paint her families dogs using acrylic paints. We are really impressed with her dedication and determination. Grace spent her break times completing the paintings! Here is what Grace has to say about her work.

“I decided to set myself a challenge to paint our black Labrador in acrylic paint. This was a big challenge because it is black on black colours, and trying to get the right shades was difficult. I came in almost every break time and worked into the paint layer by layer!

I copied from a picture that took time to take. I had to try and get her in the right spot so that you could see the detail in her ears, eyes, nose, and the direction of the fur.

I painted these for a family member, which meant a lot to me. When I felt like I should give up, I reminded myself that it was important to me and that if I kept going, it would stand up to my expectations and goals. I had to keep going, and it took a lot of time and patience to complete because of the shading and the finer detail.

To make the dog stand out, I did the background in a bright blue. I also tried to dilute the paint in water to help with the shading and the layering. For example, to make it change from the head to the body, I made the face around the edge slightly lighter than the shoulders and the start of the body to ensure that it doesn’t blur into one.” – Grace S, Year 8