Casey portrait in progress 3 - Why I chose white paper

I rarely work on white paper. I decided to use white paper to capture Casey's pure white coat. Sometimes I choose a paper color that makes the background color, and create the figure on that paper color with colored pencils. In this case I am creating the background with colored pencils and leaving the white paper to create Casey's body. You can see where I’ve outlined Casey’s chest with green pencil to create the edge where green grass will make Casey’s white coat stand out.

Leaving the white paper untouched like that is called “negative space”: instead of drawing or painting Casey’s white coat, I draw the background color, and leave a negative space where the white paper is showing.

Here's a close-up of Casey's face finished. Captured the shape of butterfly wings with his ears.

🎨 Prismacolor pencil on white Canson Mi-Teintes paper, 11 x 14 inches.

“Casey” (GCHS Ch. Marrics Just In Case With Grand Oaks).

Commissioned by Doug Eicher.

From reference photos taken by Doug and a show photo by Lexi D Photography (Alexandria Darienzo).