Rocky by sue clinker

Sue, another remarkable painting, his coat colour and texture look so natural. I am curious about the background, it appears graded dark to light from top to bottom. Is this just an effect of the photo, or have you painted in a background. I ask, because it is always backgrounds which lead to much indecision on my part and a fear of ruining an otherwise good painting.

Hi Ian Thank you for commenting. No, I didn't paint in a background and must admit I hadn't noticed the graded colour before - I photograph my portraits and I think this must have picked up glare from the daylight bulb lamp on my desk. I sympathise regarding backgrounds but since discovering Fisher 400 paper I'm getting braver. The paper accepts watercolour well and I've used simple washes to add interest to a few of my portraits now - I'm not good with paintbrushes but the paper is very forgiving! I put the wash on before starting the portrait though just to 'play safe'