Art Jackpot – My painting of a wild dog: step-by-step

Published by

robertawrites235681907

on

31 de agosto de 2026

My mother suggested I paint an African painted wild dog. She knows they are very endangered and she knows I’ve got some very good pictures of wild dogs as I’ve had a few lucky sightings. TC aka hubby dearest, also liked the idea so I found a good photograph and took on the task. One small problem was my photograph of the dog running cut off one of the paws. I decided I could paint it in.

First I drew the dog using a grid. I am good at drawing using this method and a bit of freehand drawing so the picture came out well. I decided to start the painting with the eyes. I thought they would be the most difficult thing. Boy, was I wrong.

After about four weeks, this is where I had gotten to with the painting:

Picture caption: This picture was after I had applied texture paste to get the furry look and had painted the first coat for the head and chest of the dog.

Picture caption: This picture is after I had applied texture paste to the remainder of the dog’s body and the tail. I had applied the first coat of paint to the body and tail and had started with the legs. The colour still needed a lot of shading to create depth.

Picture caption: This photo is of the dog at a fairly advanced stage of the paining. There is a lot more depth to the colour in the dog and I had started the undercoat which I painted in Burnt Sienna with some cream paint mixed in to lighten it.

Picture caption: At this point in the painting I was feeling quite pleased with how it was going. I liked the burnt Sienna background and thought it brough the colours in the dog out nicely. Next, I had to work in the background. I knew it would be hard as I needed to learn a new technique.

Picture caption: This photo is after I had completed the second coat for the background. I used a technique called scumbling to create the soft and blurred background tones in shades of ocre and browns.

Picture caption: This is the final painting. I used another technique called stippling to create some of the texture between the clumps of grass. The glass was difficult for me as I had to use a scribble like action to get all the different shares into the grass and I am not a scribbly kind of person. It took quite a bit of practice. I was happy in the end. The entire process took just over three months.

If you are interesting in seeing some closeups of this artwork you can watch my YouTube video here:

About Robbie Cheadle

Picture caption: Robbie Cheadle author photograph

South African author, photographer, and artist, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated seventeen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, written and illustrated four poetry books and written and illustrated one celebration of cake and fondant art book with recipes. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.

Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.

You can find Robbie Cheadle’s artwork, fondant and cake artwork, and all her books on her website here: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/

Social Media Links

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/robbiecheadle.bsky.social
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVyFo_OJLPqFa9ZhHnCfHUA
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15584446.Robbie_Cheadle
TSL Publications: https://tslbooks.uk/product-tag/robbie-cheadle/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Robbie-Cheadle/author/B01N9J62GQ
Unsplash profile: https://unsplash.com/@r_cheadle