My McNab, Harley

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 specific purpose in his life. 

This is a portrait I painted of my beautiful McNab, Harley, when she was around two. Both of Harley's parents were working ranch dogs on the “Lost Coast” of northern California. Doberman people who knew me in the 1990's may remember seeing Harley with me at dog shows. Harley lived to 16. She was the best dog anyone could ever wish for.

"Harley"

Roeckl’s Harlequin CGC Therapy Dog

(1990 - 2006)

FOR ARTISTS:

This drawing was done on grey Canson paper, and as I often do, I created the white part of the dog’s coat with white and pale grey pencils, using the grey paper color for the shadows between the hairs. For the background I made an underpainting of dark green in the upper half and light green in the lower half with a watercolor wash, then created all the detail of the grass and ferns over that with Prismacolor pencils. 

🎨  Colored pencil and watercolor on grey Canson paper, 16 x 20 inches.