The Custom Dog Sculpture is Complete!

For those of you who have been following my latest work in progress, you know that I've been working on Rudy the Irish Wolfhound/ Collie mix sculpture for quite some time now.  At the end of my last post he was ready to be painted.  Rudy has a very unique coat and it took many layers of paint to achieve the right look.  After two months of work I'm happy to say that Rudy the dog sculpture is finally complete!  He sits 7" tall and I protected the painted surface with matte glaze.
  

It wasn't easy getting the different colors to blend smoothly, but by using a combination of washes and dry brushing I achieved the right effect. The white blends into the tan, and the tan into the black gradually, with grayish white hairs showing through the black and tan fur.  The painting alone took several days.  I wanted to recreate Rudy the dog as close to the real thing as possible.  Since this will be part of a memorial display it has very special meaning.
 
Rudy was a much loved member of the family with a great deal of personality and I tried very hard to capture that in polymer clay.  He's been very carefully packed up and will head off to his new home tomorrow.
After spending so much time on this piece, I'm not exactly sure what I'll make next.  It will almost seem strange not to be working on Rudy.  I hope the customer will be as happy with the real thing as he was with pictures.  Thanks for following this creative journey through to the end with me!
-Michelle of CreativeCritters