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With portraits it’s important to get every little nuance accurate, so that person looks like themself. But no face is perfect and sometimes there are little flaws in the reference photo that does not make them look their best. It’s an art in itself to know what to edit in a portrait. I once did a portrait of a woman, and her husband asked me to remove the lines on her neck that I had included. “Let’s be kind”, he said. Learning from that experience, when I did a portrait of

1 At the beginning I sent this Photoshop layout to show the clients how Cooper’s portrait would look, fading out at the base of the neck. Brandon wrote: “I know it’s right in that fading area, but one of the most distinctive features that I always appreciated about Cooper were the hair whirls on his chest.” 2 I sent Cooper’s photo back with this area circled and asked: “Is this the area you mean? Do you want anything below that included? The shoulders on either side of the ci

Some of the challenges a portrait artist has to solve: “hair whirls” on Cooper’s chest, and seeing what’s under a bow-tie. 1 When I began working with Rina and Brandon, I sent several layouts for Cooper’s head study portrait (made with Photoshop) from 3 favorite photos. This was the one they chose. Brandon asked that I remove the bow-tie, and make the fade-out at the bottom of the neck lower to include Cooper’s unique “hair whirls”. I’ll tell you about the hair whirls in my

This progression of a day’s work in the studio helps show how I construct a canine portrait. Three scans of today’s work…creating the nose, lips, and muzzle of a copper-colored dog. The captions describe my thought processes. 1 To begin, I added the back corner of Cooper's lip, and that was where I started bringing in some of the more pink and peach tones. Outlined the dark edge of his lips and nose, so I could add that central “split” that runs up the front of a dog’s nose,

The “soundtrack” to a portrait…. Yesterday I shared how I read the client’s words about their loved one before I start on the eyes. Another thing that helps me connect with the loved one is the music I listen to in the studio.. Having the right music playing is very important while I’m working, the “soundtrack” to that individual, as it were. On Apple Music I have thousands of songs in a variety of custom playlists I’ve created. I choose the playlist that seems to fit the es

I always ask my portrait clients to tell me about their loved one. The day I work on the eyes in a portrait, I start out by reading what they wrote. Before I started working on Cooper today, I read what Brandon and Rina wrote about him. I hold that in my attention - in my mind and heart - as I’m working and try to get the essence of him in his face, especially the eyes. Below is what they shared about Cooper… From Brandon: “Cooper loved being outdoors and was happiest out in

This portrait was commissioned by Rina Carrillo after the loss of Cooper, her partner Brandon Hedrick’s dog. When Rina contacted me she wrote: “Honestly, we thought we had months left with him too. It just came so suddenly :( He was a unicorn of a dog, and thankfully has left an impression on us all that we will never forget.” 1 A scan of my outline drawing, done with colored pencils on “Flannel Grey” paper. This initial line drawing is the “skeleton” of the artwork, I’ll th

Most people know me for my 35 years in Dobermans. The only other breed I've owned was a McNab, a herding breed developed in northern California (where I'm from). In my opinion, Dobermans and McNabs are the two best dog breeds in the world. McNabs have temperaments very similar to Dobermans, with the addition of strong livestock herding instincts. Both breeds were developed by one man (Louis Dobermann in Germany, Alexander McNab in northern CA) to be the ultimate dog for a spe

My Doberman fans rarely get to see me portray a fawn Doberman. I sometimes get disappointed comments from owners of fawns and blues that they never see those colors depicted in my artwork. So this one’s for you, fawn lovers. A portrait from the past: Marit Marino’s fawn Doberman “Snuggles”. Snuggles is from a photo by Cheri McNealy. I created the flower wreath from my own reference photos. Snuggles was done with Prismacolor pencils. The background was done with watercolor. I

☘️ Happy St. Patrick's Day! ☘️ Here are two small leprechaun drawings I created years ago for a client to use as small figures in an ad. People who know me personally may recognize that I posed for the leprechaun myself. With some exaggerations to my features to make me look more “leprechaunish”. I posed in a pair of sweat-pants pushed up to the knee and a suit jacket. Prismacolor pencil on “Felt Grey” Canson paper, 10 x 13 inches each. The originals are available for $125.0

So many people loved the in-progress pic I shared recently, I thought you’d enjoy seeing the finished portrait “The Kiss of Hearts”, of Marlaina and her beloved blue Doberman, Sky, which I created for her in 2019. Sky’s registered name was CH. Kettle Cove Lanikai Blue Sky. The theme of the litter she was from was "Hawaiian Islands". I wanted to capture the feeling of Sky and Marlaina on a tropical Hawaiian beach. This portrait was done on “Cream” Canson paper, with a waterco

October 1 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-

Titan's portrait is finished. Here’s what Alicia told me about this amazing, one-of-a-kind Doberman: “A funny story I like to tell and is remembered by many is Titan’s first container search at a scentwork trial at Durham Kennel Club. When he walked into the building for the first time and stepped into the ring, he completely ignored the two neat rows of white boxes and made a beeline for the wall of mirrors. After tilting his head this way and that, he began admiring the inc

Here’s a problem that crops up with every single portrait. When I have finished a portrait to the best of my ability, I send a high-resolution jpg of it to the client so they can zoom in and check details. I ask if there is anything that needs to be adjusted. Sometimes a client requests a small change like darkening under the chin or remove a spot that I thought was part of the dog’s coat but was a piece of dirt in the photo. The client is usually right-on, the changes improv

Detail of a work-in-progress I shared in 2019…. a portrait of Marlaina B. and her beloved blue Doberman, Sky. Sky’s registered name was CH. Kettle Cove Lanikai Blue Sky. The theme of the litter was Hawaiian Islands. I wanted to capture the feeling of Sky and Marlaina on a tropical Hawaiian beach. (The reference photo was taken at a busy marina in San Diego, CA.) I chose this “Cream” Canson paper because it is the color of sunlight. The mediums I’m using - watercolor and colo

Before I could finalize Titan's portrait, there was another decision the client had to make. Alicia had ordered a 16 x 20 portrait. I always work on a full sheet of Canson paper, which is 20 x 26 inches, and trim it down at the end. I marked out the edges of the 16 x 20 when I drew the initial line drawing on a sheet of “Sky Grey” Canson paper. Then I ended up working out to the edges of the paper with the folds of fabric. I knew I was going well outside the 16 x 20 size, bu

Even when a portrait is “finished” there are changes to be made. An artist may think a portrait is finished when they complete the depiction….but is it? When I finished Titan’s portrait I stood back and looked at it taped up on the wall from several feet away. That’s always the last step when I complete a portrait. Sometimes I see things that need a little adjustment. Usually that’s just a few additonal pencil strokes…a few minutes work. But this time I spent a couple more da

After I finished Titan’s paws, I drew the toy. The well-loved tug toy. Then I finished the shadows under the toy and paws on the fabric. Whenever a figure is resting on a surface in art, there will always be a shadow that "connects" them to the surface. Otherwise it will look like they are "pasted on" the surface, or sometimes floating above it. I could have cleaned up the toy, but I thought it would be better to show that it was well-loved....yet another indication of the p

Completing Titan’s paws… Drawing a hand or paw is as complex and detailed as the features of a face, in my opinion. Upper pic - Going around the edges, building all the edge colors, before filling in all those weird abstract shapes that make up the paw and wrist. FOR ARTISTS: I fill those containing edge colors of the paw first, so I can establish the values (lightness-darkness) of the paw colors against that blue-grey paper. Then work inward, filling in the abstract shapes o

In this pic you can really see the difference between the tightly-detailed pencilwork of the paw, and the loose pencilwork of the fabric. For the fabric I'm making use of the blue paper. In Titan’s rust areas I’m covering the blue paper. For Titan’s paw I completely cover the tooth of the paper. In the fabric I make use of the tooth: those tiny “hills and valleys” of the paper texture that show through the pencil pigment (see closeup in next pic). In his paw I don’t want any