Starr-y Eyes

As I dive further into my art and particularly into these pet portraits (and other people-portraits that I am not yet ready to share) I am learning a great deal about the importance of keeping my details clear. ​

As I was painting the late Starr for my friend Krystle, I somehow lost the eyes. I made the mistake of not painting those first and then painting around them. In the past, I don't remember ever having to do that, nor have I ever learned that from any of my tutors or teachers. But when I did my first pet portrait at the good ole sip and paint, this was a tip they gave us. 
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Fast forward to my fifth pet portrait, and the reason why they would suggest that became clear. As I'm pushing paint around, getting the right mix of colors, I look up, and the eyes have moved slightly from where I originally put them. And the eyes are often what makes it that person, or in this case, personality. They hadn't moved much, but just enough that all of a sudden she didn't look like the same dog. 

I experienced the same thing the day before with a self-portrait (that is not finished yet). In the original sketch, I captured the eyes perfectly. Then, before I knew it, after doodling around, they had changed ever so slightly, and suddenly, it didn't look like me. 

As I was dealing with this conundrum, I watched a short tutorial. This artist worked in many layers to get the right skin tones, and his works look incredibly lifelike. The artist explained how, in between each layer, he would freshen up the details to make sure they had not gotten lost. He specifically showed doing this with the eyes of his subject. 

I managed to find Starr once again as I corrected the eyes, but it took a lot of time and effort. I can only hope that it has taught me something that I can bring forward into my future works.