How to Paint a Black Dog
Expressive pet portrait workshop
Paint a Black Dog with Confidence
An expressive pet portrait workshop that teaches you how to paint black dogs with confidence, depth, and personality.
Introductory price • Regularly $249
Why are black dogs hard to paint?
If you’ve ever tried painting a black dog, you’re not alone in feeling stuck.
What often starts as excitement quickly turns into frustration. The painting feels flat. The color turns muddy or overly blue. Details pile up too soon. And somehow, the life and expression you saw in the reference never quite makes it onto the canvas.
Most artists aren’t struggling because they lack ability or talent. They’re struggling because they overcomplicate their process, and misunderstand the best order of layering and color mixing.
Without a clear process for building values, edges, and subtle color shifts, it’s easy to overwork your painting and lose confidence along the way.
It's Not About Talent— It's About the Right Process
Black dogs demand simplicity more than complexity.
When you understand how to establish strong darks first, create interesting edges, and mix color thoughtfully, black fur becomes one of the most rewarding subjects you can paint.
This workshop focuses on teaching you how to see differently—how to simplify what feels overwhelming and make deliberate choices that lead to expressive, believable results.
Once you have the right process, everything starts to click.
Clip from How to Paint a Black Dog oil painting workshop.
INTRODUCING
How to Paint A Black Dog
Expressive pet portrait workshop
How to Paint a Black Dog is a focused, expressive pet portrait workshop designed to remove the guesswork from painting dark furry subjects.
You’ll follow a complete start-to-finish demonstration, learning how to create your painting in intentional layers—starting loose, building layers with purpose, and finishing with confidence.
This is not about copying a reference stroke for stroke. It’s about learning how to interpret what you see and translate it into an artistic, expressive, professional-looking painting.
Introductory price • Regularly $249
What You'll Learn In This Workshop
- Lesson 1: Setting the tone with a loose, unified underpainting.
- Lesson 2: Mapping proportions and massing in dark shapes.
- Lesson 3: Building the Value Story with Lights, Darks, and Color Nuance
- Lesson 4: Sculpting Expressive Eyes with Shape, Value, and Edge Control
- Lesson 5: Integrating the Background & Creating Lost Edges
- Lesson 6: Refining Form, Color Transitions, and Artistic Choices
- Lesson 7: Finishing Strokes—Polish Without Overworking
- Lesson 8: Final Touches, Assessment, and Signing with Confidence
This workshop is for you if:
- You want your pet portraits to feel more expressive and professional
- You struggle with black fur looking flat, stiff, or muddy
- You tend to overwork your paintings or get lost in details too soon
- You want a clear process instead of guessing your way through a painting
- You enjoy loose, painterly results over hyper-realistic rendering
This workshop assumes basic familiarity with painting materials and is best suited for artists with some experience who want to improve their approach.
What’s Included
- Full start-to-finish painting demonstration
- Clear explanations of color, value, and edge control
- Lifetime access—watch and rewatch anytime
- Paint at your own pace, on your own schedule
Plus!
My complete Materials List which includes my favorite brushes, paints, and supplies.
How To Paint A Black Dog
Expressive Pet Portrait Workshop-
4-Hour Paint Along Demonstration
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Self-Paced Workshop
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Lifetime Access
FAQs
Your questions answered!
I paint in oils, and the full pet portrait demonstration is in oil. However, I’ve had lots of acrylic artists take my classes and see amazing results.
As long as you’re familiar with how your paint handles differently, the methods I teach — like brushwork, layering, and edge variety — all apply beautifully.
Just keep in mind you might want a drying retarder for acrylics, since the paint dries much faster than oils.
You get lifetime access — which basically means forever!
You can revisit the lessons anytime you want to refresh your skills or rewatch a section you loved.
Whenever you’re ready!
The workshop is available immediately after purchase.
It’s a pre-recorded workshop, so you can start the moment you press play and go entirely at your own pace.
A list of everything you need is inside the workshop!
Once you purchase, you’ll find a complete materials list waiting for you so you can get set up and start right away.
If this is your first purchase with Jen Brandon Studio, you’ll be prompted to set a password during checkout. The email and password you use at the time of purchase will be your login information to access your course library.
Immediately after purchasing you’ll be directed to your course library where you will see your workshop listed. You’ll also receive an email with a link to the login page.
Comments are enabled for workshop-related questions.
We also offer email support for all of our customers. Simply reach out to us with your questions at support@jenbrandonstudio.com and we’ll be happy to help however we can.
Why Learn from Me?
I’ve been a professional expressive oil painter for over 20 years. Over the course of hundreds of custom pet portraits, I’ve developed a clear, repeatable painting process that helps artists paint with confidence instead of frustration.
My approach emphasizes intentional brushwork, strong value structure, and expressive results—helping you create work that feels alive, confident, and uniquely their own.
I’ve had the honor of helping thousands of artists learn to paint looser and more expressively, no matter what their subject matter. I’d love to help you do the same!
Ready to Paint Black Dogs with Confidence?
If you’ve been avoiding black dogs—or feeling frustrated every time you paint one—this workshop will give you the clarity and tools you’ve been missing.
You don’t need more talent.
You need a better process.
Introductory price • Regularly $249