Two Corgis
I have found the texture of fur can be a challenge depending on the medium. With pencils as seen in the drawing of the two Corgis; fur is easy! I find the pencil so much easier to control than wet paint. I have done other pencil portraits of animals and one of my favorites that I don’t have a picture of was of a police officer and his K-9 unit. The German Sheppard’s hair was a blast!
Dalmatians
I have highlighted three medium types in this post: graphite pencil, colored pencil, and oil paint. The colored pencil drawing of the Dalmatians had it’s own challenges. Achieving a realistic look and maintaining the form of the dogs while portraying the high contrast coats on a white paper background was the tricky part with this one. All of these examples were commissioned work, but the Dalmatians were done for my brother-in-law. They dearly love their dogs, and this one was named “Heart” because of the heart shaped black spot right on her chest which was a critical element to capture in this portrait.
DIXIE
Lastly, is another dog portrait done in oil paint. I stuck with my usual style of realism with this one, and the fur and whiskers were quite challenging with a paintbrush! The whiskers in particular require just the right consistency of paint and the perfect brush. My wonderful wife made a couple trips to the art store to get me the right tools. Painting with oils is not as easy to me as pencil and I changed the background color mid-way through the project, but in the end this one turned out great! Overall this was a great project featuring a family’s beautiful beloved Pit Bull.
I am looking forward to developing my oil painting skills in the future with MORE pet portraits like this one. If you want to see more of my fine art drawings and paintings click: HERE
