This client had a very very funny dog for me to paint. First of all, his name is Mr. Cooper, Acquisitions Manager. Apparently when he was a puppy he would try to fit all his toys in his mouth at the same time. Also, he sits unlike any dog I've ever seen, balancing on his rear end. Also, he has a signature facial pose- head tilted with his mouth slightly open and bottom teeth showing. Overall, he is a very special beagle!
Unfortunately, Mr. Cooper Acquisitions Manager was not making it easy on my client to provide reference photos.
She was luckily able to snap a photo of him sitting like a weirdo, though. But without his famous head tilt or mouth ajar.
She finally was able to send me this photo of him with his mouth open! Not the best photo for a painting reference, but I got the idea.
So I ended up finding this photo with a google image search, and I used it as a reference for his head with the tilt, and improvised the mouth open. I think Mr. Cooper Acquisitions Manager turned out pretty darn cute!
I'll be sure to get a better photo in the sunlight and add him to the Pet Portraits section of my website as soon as it stops raining! Hopefully now you have a little understanding of problem solving when working with reference photos.