Bonus! Day 31 - Ibizan Hound Puppy

Day 31 - Ibizan Hound Puppy

5 x 7 inch, oil on panel

© 2014 Kathleen Coy

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It's a baby 'Beezer! We started the month with a puppy, I figured we'd end it with one, too. I didn't want the painting to be "too" cute... Instead, I wanted to focus on that fragile puppy awkwardness and underlying strength that holds the promise of greatness...

30 Sighthounds in 30 Days - Day 30

Day 30 - Greyhound

5 x 7 inch, oil on panel

© 2014 Kathleen Coy

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This is Simon the greyhound in his Fall attire, resting during a hike. I was drawn to the reflected scarf color on his chin, and the strong backlight. Lovely Fall colors and texture throughout the painting, too. And guess what? It's Day 30, but I'm not done yet - look for some bonus paintings over the next few days...

30 Sighthounds in 30 Days - Day 29

Day 29 - Smooth Saluki

5 x 7 inch, oil on panel

© 2014 Kathleen Coy

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Dogs teach us so much about living in the now. I wanted to capture the joy on this dogs face as he enjoyed a blissful moment at the beach, feeling the warm winter sun on his face, reminding us of the importance of such things. This is Sadiq. He was rescued off the streets of Qatar by Rescue Salukis Middle East and Dogs in Doha. He now lives in Alabama where he is being fostered, and I believe is available for adoption. 

30 Sighthounds in 30 Days - Day 28

Day 28 - Greyhound

5 x 7 inch, oil on panel

© 2014 Kathleen Coy

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I love the light in this one, and the shades of yellow throughout. The strong diagonal lines lead right to her eyes. The whole painting is dramatic, yet cute at the same time - just like a greyhound. This is Turbo Miss Joy, one of my friend's fosters.

30 Sighthounds in 30 Days - Day 27

Day 27 - Azawakh

5 x 7 inch, oil on panel

© 2014 Kathleen Coy
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My love affair with the Azawakh continues. My first two paintings of Azas showed their stunning physique. Today, I wanted to focus on their striking head shape. This is Amajar, who happens to be the number one male Azawakh in the United States.

30 Sighthounds in 30 Days - Day 26

Day 26 - Greyhound

5 x 7 inch, oil on panel

© 2014 Kathleen Coy

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Growth, expansion, these can't happen without experimentation. I always want to push myself, never want my work to become stagnant. Ever evolving, always thinking of ways to improve. What can I do better next time? What happens if I try it this way? Curse or blessing, this is my brain. Today it paid off in a big way. This is Lizzy, a much loved and missed therapy dog who passed away recently. The light and shadow playing on her dark brindle coat, the shifts of warm and cool colors, are fascinating to me.

30 Sighthounds in 30 Days - Day 25

Day 25 - Afghan Hound

5 x 7 inch, oil on panel

© 2014 Kathleen Coy

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Today is a bit of a milestone for me - according to my database, this is my 400th painting. What better way to celebrate than a dog with a beard?? I'm becoming quite fond of painting Afghan Hounds...

30 Sighthounds in 30 Days - Day 24

Day 24 - Sighthound Crosses

5 x 7 inch, oil on panel

© 2014 Kathleen Coy 

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This is Kira and Gypsy - Kira is a Saluki/Greyhound + Deerhound, and Gypsy is a Whippet + Greyhound. Out of all the incredible photos of these two, this one spoke to me the loudest for my project, and was the inspiration for an impressionistic piece - an attempt to capture the light and air, the movement of the dogs, and the ocean. 

30 Sighthounds in 30 Days - Pharaoh Hound

Day 23 - Pharaoh Hound

5 x 7 inch, oil on panel

© 2014 Kathleen Coy

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I love Pharaoh Hounds, and was excited to have the opportunity to paint my first one for this project. There's some yummy palette knife texture in this piece, which I haven't done much of this month. Very happy with my first attempt at a PH. 

30 Sighthounds in 30 Days - Day 22

Day 22 - Greyhounds

5 x 7 inch, oil on panel

© 2014 Kathleen Coy

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This is my favorite pair of greyhound brothers - Bully and Nelson. It was a challenge to place two dogs in this small format, but I wanted to see if I could do it. I love how they sort of merge into each other - it symbolizes their strong bond perfectly.

30 Sighthounds in 30 Days - Day 21

Day 21 - Italian Greyhound

5 x 7 inch, oil on panel

© 2014 Kathleen Coy

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This little guy is Gustavio, and he happens to be a celebrity. His dad is artist Dean Buhler, and Gustavio was the model for one of my favorite hound paintings of all time, so you can imagine how happy I was when Dean sent me some photos for my 30 Days project. You can see Dean's painting of Gustavio (and the rest of his work) by clicking here:  "Sphinx." 

30 Sighthounds in 30 Days - Day 20

Day 20 - Greyhound

5 x 7 inch, oil on panel

© 2014 Kathleen Coy 

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This is Jayne, and she has the distinction of being the only hound in this project that I've ever actually met. Jayne is a Heartland Greyhound Adoption alumni, and her mom organizes the local meet and greets for the group. HGA has a special place in my heart because it's where we adopted our greyhound from, which is why I'm donating 10% of the proceeds of this project to HGA when it's finished. 

I love the warm light in this piece, Jayne's pretty face, and the wonderful texture of the leather collar. This painting is one of my personal favorites.

30 Sighthounds in 30 Days - Day 19

Wire-coat Ibizan Hound

5 x 7 inch, oil on panel

© 2014 Kathleen Coy

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The smooth-coat Ibizan was featured on Day 8. Today we have the wire-coat. Ibizan Hounds have a wonderful, bouncy style of hunting, and this 'Beezer is captured in mid-bounce. I'm grateful to have such wonderful reference photos submitted for this project.

In case anyone wants to watch an Ibizan bounce, I found this video on youtube:

30 Sighthounds in 30 Days - Day 18

Day 18 - Sloughi

6 x 6 inch, oil on panel

© 2014 Kathleen Coy

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The Sloughi hails from Morocco, and is another sighthound breed I was unfamiliar with before this project. This lovely girl is Ocerico Brentina, and I'm told she is one of only several hundred Sloughis in the US. Her coat color is called "sand with black mask," and looks soft as velvet to me. 

30 Sighthounds in 30 Days - Day 17

Day 17 - Greyhound

5 x 7 inch, oil on panel

© 2014 Kathleen Coy

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It's been a little over two months since we adopted our greyhound, and I can't imagine life without him. I'm so happy to know firsthand the greyhound stare, not to mention those incredible shoulder blades and fabulous feet. This handsome hound is Harley, whom I've wanted to paint ever since I saw his photo on facebook a couple years ago...

30 Sighthounds in 30 Days - Day 16

Day 16 - Azawakh

5 x 7 inch, oil on panel

© 2014 Kathleen Coy 

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I'm a little obsessed with the Azawakh - they are so streamlined and sleek, even compared to a greyhound. I didn't exaggerate the waist here, it really is that slim. The Azawakh is from Africa, and could be the oldest breed known to man. 

30 Sighthounds in 30 Days - Day 15

Day 15 - Greyhound

5 x 7 inch, oil on panel

© 2014 Kathleen Coy 

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I loved the dramatic light in the reference photo for this piece. I lightened the shadow side of his face a bit, as it was almost black in the photo (while the lit side of his face was a little too white.) The camera tends to do that in certain lighting situations, so adjusting for these things can help make a more realistic painting when you can't paint directly from life (and I've never known a dog that can pose for hours...) This handsome boy is Gooch, short for Gucci. And with that, we are halfway through the 30 day challenge... 

30 Sighthounds in 30 Days - Day 14

Day 14 - Saluki/Whippet mix

5 x 7 inch, oil on panel

© 2014 Kathleen Coy

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This is Serafina, a Saluki/Whippet mix, and I think she's one of the prettiest little things I've ever seen...

30 Sighthounds in 30 Days - Day 13

Day 13 - Afghan Hound

5 x 7 inch oil on panel

© 2014 Kathleen Coy

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What is it with me and long haired dogs in the wind? This was my biggest challenge of these 30 paintings so far... I didn't even know where to start! I decided not to do any kind of drawing first, instead jumped right in making marks with the paints, looking for big shapes and refining as I went along. This approach helped keep me from getting bogged down with the details of all that hair. In the end, I'm extremely pleased with how this one turned out...

30 Sighthounds in 30 Days - Day 12

Day 12 - Italian Greyhound

5 x 7 inch, oil on panel

© 2014 Kathleen Coy

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Italian Greyhound fur looks like velvet to me. This little sweetheart is Mona Lisa. It's always fun to paint a dog curled up asleep, and I especially loved the way her head was tucked in...

30 Sighthounds in 30 Days - Day 11

Day 11 - Greyhound

5 x 7 inch, oil on panel

© 2014 Kathleen Coy

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I could not wait to paint this one! This sleepy girl is Prada, and the position of her head and the lines of the cushions, and her collar make a variety of very distinct shapes, which creates a lot of visual interest in a painting. 

30 Sighthounds in 30 Days - Day 10

Day 10 - Saluki

6 x 6 inch, oil on panel

© 2014 Kathleen Coy

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A Saluki in the wind. This pretty girl is Mikaelah. Day 10 means I'm a third of the way through the challenge...

30 Sighthounds in 30 Days - Day 9

Day 9 - Greyhound

6 x 6 inch, oil on panel

© 2014 Kathleen Coy 

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I'd never had the chance to paint a dog giving the 'stink eye' before, and there was no way I was going to pass it up! This is Jack, whom I'm told really is a very sweet boy.

Here's a photo I took about two thirds of the way through - you can see Jack (stink eye and all) sitting on my easel from (and autographed by) Karin Jurick:

30 Sighthounds in 30 Days - Day 8

Day 8 - Ibizan Hound

6 x 6 inch oil on panel

© 2014 Kathleen Coy

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This beauty is Raine. Ibizan's are one of my favorite sighthounds, with their big ears, green-gold eyes, and fabulous orange-pink noses. Raine also has freckles in her ears. What a doll! 

30 Sighthounds in 30 Days - Day 7

Day 7 - Greyhound

6 x 6 inch oil on panel

© 2014 Kathleen Coy

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This handsome boy is Vinny. I do love these senior dogs. In hindsight, I wish I would have taken some progress pics or video during this painting because it came together really nicely. But here are a few close up shots: