

Wishes portrait finished!
When you read Alicia’s words about Wishes you’ll understand why this quiet, watchful pose was so deeply meaningful: “Dobermans are...
Kevin Roeckl
Jun 182 min read


Wishes portrait in progress 11 - Big dark shapes
The lighting from the window on Wishes’ chest is finished. And her feet and forearm are finished. Now I have a lot of big dark shapes...
Kevin Roeckl
Jun 121 min read


Wishes portrait in progress 10 - The challenges continue
I thought when I finished Wishes' head the rest would be easy. But the values in this piece are going to challenge me all the way...
Kevin Roeckl
Jun 93 min read


Wishes portrait in progress 9 - The rhinestone collar
Wishes’ green rhinestone collar finished. The captions tell how it came about. It was not in the original reference photo. 1 In her photo...
Kevin Roeckl
Jun 53 min read


Wishes portrait in progress 8 - A happy ear
I’m very happy with how Wishes’ ear turned out. 1 If you've been following my “swatches map” you will recognize the swatches-map for...
Kevin Roeckl
Jun 42 min read


Wishes portrait in progress 7 - The heart dog
Here is a post about how much a portrait of a loved one can mean. I emailed Alicia asking if she had gotten the 5 “in-progress pics” I...
Kevin Roeckl
May 311 min read


Wishes portrait in progress 6 - Using my "swatches map"
I had to create a “swatches map” to understand those tricky and deceptive values in Wishes’ face. I first showed you my swatches-map in...
Kevin Roeckl
May 284 min read


Wishes portrait in progress 4 - The passion behind the portrait
Wishes’ eye is finished. Wishes whole heart and soul was about watchfulness. All of that is captured in her eye. Below is part of what...
Kevin Roeckl
May 152 min read


Wishes portrait in progress 3 - Mood lighting
This is how the portrait looks now. Wishes begins to emerge from the dark grey paper. The values (how light or dark a color is) have to...
Kevin Roeckl
May 91 min read


Wishes portrait in progress 1 - A very challenging piece
Wishes' portrait will be a challenging artwork. It’s not a complex piece, but it is a challenging one because of the values. (How light...
Kevin Roeckl
May 18 min read


Zelda portrait in progress - start to finish
January 10 I’m starting a portrait of Zelda, a Top Twenty Doberman. Commissioned by Doberman breeder Susan R. as a gift to Zelda's owner...
Kevin Roeckl
Apr 519 min read


Portrait of Breeze
I want to share this sweet portrait of “Breeze” I created in the late 1990’s. This is an example of a simple background scene being...
Kevin Roeckl
Mar 311 min read


Zelda portrait finished!
I’m often amazed at the eloquence with which my client writes about their loved one. Diane’s words helped me capture Zelda’s strong and...
Kevin Roeckl
Mar 185 min read


Zelda portrait in progress 11 - one little tweak...
Three posts ago I described how I exaggerated the highlights on top of Zelda’s nose in order to make it stand out from the green...
Kevin Roeckl
Mar 182 min read


Zelda portrait in progress 10 - How to make a grassy lawn
The figure of Zelda is finished and now I’m putting in the grass around her feet. 1 Starting to fill in the grass.... 2 These are all...
Kevin Roeckl
Mar 134 min read


Zelda portrait in progress 9 - Fire in her eyes
Fire in her eyes, and the music I listen to in the studio, the “playlist to her soul”. (Read the captions) These 5 pics show how I...
Kevin Roeckl
Mar 74 min read


Zelda portrait in progress 8 - Glitches with studio time...
As I worked my way forward on Zelda’s body to her shoulders, I wanted to do her head next. Her ears are finished, which was my first day...
Kevin Roeckl
Feb 281 min read


Zelda portrait in progress 7 - Back after a long break
Resuming work on Zelda, the portrait of the Top Twenty show Doberman, after a VERY long break for health issues. Now working on her...
Kevin Roeckl
Feb 201 min read


Zelda portrait in progress 6 - First the ears...
When I shared this in-progress picture with Diane today I wrote: “I started working on Zelda’s head today. I re-read what you wrote about...
Kevin Roeckl
Jan 231 min read


Zelda portrait in progress 5 - Keeping it correct
Continuing to build Zelda’s musculature and the shapes of her body, the muscles and bone — her structure. A correct Doberman should look...
Kevin Roeckl
Jan 201 min read