Painting a Picture from a Tricky Reference Photo

Brenda has sent me her painting of a friend’s dog that she has been asked to paint.Brenda points out that it is a very poor photo and as the dog has died there is no chance of better photos. As you know I do not recommend that you try to paint from a bad photo as you can never do the portrait justice.Brenda has done the best that she can but is unsure if she should continue and perhaps add a background.My suggestion is that she spends no more time on the image as I can’t see how this could be improved but I would add a background using greys with a little colour in it perhaps adding 169. This would greatly improve the presentation and I am sure Brenda’s friend will love it.