Isabella and Emilio (my amazing cousins), my sister, and I had a great time last week at art camp.  One of my favorite projects was an acrylic painting of a Jack Russel Terrier.  We got a huge board, a bunch of colors (except for black), and a photo of our choice to use, and went to work!  I wanted to do a Jack Russell Terrier because I am a huge animal lover, and Cali (our crazy dog) looked a lot like the dog in the photo.

Our art teacher wanted us to use a variety of colors.  I used green to make the grass, but to brighten it up, I added yellow.  The same technique was used for the dog.  Brown, yellow, red, orange, and white were all used to make the dog’s fur look less transparent and more life-like.  That was one of the coolest things I learned the whole week, and I’m going to use it every time I paint!

The face was the most difficult part of the project because there were so many details and specific colors that defined the dog’s features.  The eyes took me about three times to paint before I got the look I wanted.  It was really hard because the dog in the picture had a wary, “don’t steal my stick” look in its eyes.  That look is often in Cali’s eyes, too.  Also, the ears were hard because they were folded over.

This project was very special to me because Cali was my inspiration when I painted.  She is a crazy, adorable, sweet, and loud Rat Terrier mix.  I am planning on framing it and putting it in my room so I can always look up and see Cali, which would make me happy.

It was so cool to see everyone’s paintings at the art show, but one of my favorite’s was Anna’s painting of Oliver.  My favorite part about it is the background because it looks like the night sky.  She also did a great job capturing Oliver’s unruly but cute mane.