Cloud portrait

I have a few projects going on at the moment, but I've been wanting to paint this picture of Cloud for a promotional piece and couldn't help starting it tonight. It's small, 8 x 10, on Ampersand Gessoboard. I've got it sketched out here and am going to try using a matte medium to seal it instead of the workable fixative that I usually use. Reason - less smell and no sticky aerosol. Reason for sealing the drawing in the first place - I paint by building up light washes and glazes and the first wash would smear the graphite all over!

This is my reference photo, taken by hubby. It's a good example of how the camera can throw a dogs posture off - the way he's standing here doesn't really look possible, or at least the mind has a hard time making sense of it. However, it's a beautiful profile shot of his little face. So we paint what we like and lose the rest. In the sketch I raised his head just a little so he is looking up more. I'm changing his back to make it look like he's sitting down. Stay tuned...