Patriotic Golden Retriever in a Flag Bandana

Start with the tongue. The golden retriever is grinning open-mouthed straight at the camera, pink tongue flopped over the lower jaw, and the rest of the portrait is fur — wave after wave of cream, butter, and warm tan, all the way to the edges of the frame.

Around the neck, a stars-and-stripes bandana provides the only saturated color in the piece: hard red, hard white, hard navy, against a muted dark green backdrop. Best for dog people who want a long, almost meditative session of layering golds, with one tight burst of patriotic color at the bottom to land on at the end.