A gift for my niece's birthday--a portrait of her nutty chihuahua Rosita, post cancer surgery and minus two teeth. This piece is tiny--4"x4" and painted on a wood panel so the size and surface were a challenge. Wood is relatively non-porous so whatever you do sits on the surface as opposed to canvas or paper that will absorb paint in a little. It's more difficult to use my usual wash blending techniques as a wash will dry with a hard edge, so I needed to do more dry brushing than usual. There isn't much room for detail in something this size with the exception of the eyes, which are relatively ginormous. I was using my other niece's excellent photo so there was great reference to work from and I got a little lost in all the eye detail. Can't imagine doing this head much bigger. I'd get sucked into those eyes and never make it back out!
