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A black-and-tan adult Doberman and a red Dobe puppy exchanging a gift is a great way to let friends and family know you’re thinking of them this Holiday season. Doberman owners and enthusiasts, you can let your light shine with true Holiday spirit! The warm and loving inscription inside the card lets your loved ones know you care.  Verse inside card: ABOUT THE ART “Starting in the early 1990’s I designed a Doberman Holiday card each year for my own use, and released it for sa

Quite an interesting mix of colors in Annie's nose. Light yellow ocher, dark yellow ocher, cool mauve, warm mauve, grayish pink, orange, rust, chestnut, warm greys, cool greys, chocolate brown, sepia brown. And of course black.  Most of the pencils on the left are the ones I’m using for Annie’s coat. They live on a piece of clean white paper that I move around where I need it (and an eraser that keeps them from rolling). I add another sheet of paper (and eraser) with a differ

Annie’s eyes are finished. I never get tired of doing eyes, because the colors and reflections in them are so interesting.  What do you see in this eye? This is the right eye in the client’s reference photo — extracted from the rest of the photo so you can focus on just seeing what is there. Focus on the colors, the shapes, and the values (value = lightness/darkness). All those unusual shapes on the eye are the reflections of what was in the environment around the dog. Often

Yesterday I shared Annie’s left ear finished and pointed out that a white coat is easy to do on grey paper. Some light-colored pencil strokes for the hairs.…and the shadows between the hairs make themselves.  I continue using the paper color... Carolyn responded to this in-progress picture: “Look at my pretty princess!!! She’s looking pretty!!!” 2 Check out how much grey paper is showing around Annie's eye. I never get tired of doing eyes. Because the colors and reflections i

I'm starting on a portrait of "Annie" for Carolyn, Gloria, and Tammy. This is the 10th portrait I have done for them over the past 28 years. The pencil colors for her white and cream-colored coat, and the pink inside her ears: Once again I'm letting my paper color do the work. A white coat is so easy to do on grey paper. Some light-colored pencil strokes for the hairs.…and the shadows between the hairs make themselves. 🎨 Prismacolor pencil on “Felt Grey” Canson Mi-Teintes pa