I was out walking my dog the other day and a lady in the park was with her black dog, she said to me that she would love a commission of her dog but it was all black and she didn’t think it would make a good painting. I was currently working on this commission but could not show it to her (as an example) because at the time this commission was going to be a surprise gift and was confidential until after the birthday. But I did explain to this lady that when I paint I see an array of colours and by applying layers of unusual tones a black dog never ends up just shades of black. Here are some examples of my process adding the greens, blues and purples to this handsome black dog called Rocco. This took a couple of weeks to sketch and paint, so pleased that the owner loved it, and what a charming character Rocco was to paint.