How to draw a dog portrait in coloured pencils
I love to give insight into how I create my commissions in the form of sharing progress pictures and videos with my clients. Be sure to follow me on Instagram/Facebook @jenniferstarnesart to see what projects I’m currently working on.
Within this blog post I’m going a step further by walking you through a behind-the-scenes process of how I drew this dog portrait in coloured pencils. This portrait is of Basil, a private pet portrait commission for a client in England. Towards the end I will share a few beautiful words that my client left me after she received the portrait. If you are an artist interested in finding out the exact materials I use for my coloured pencil artworks please click here.
Reference photo
I work from a variety of images to establish the most accurate fur colouring and detail. I like to make sure the reference photo shows the eye colouring clearly as this is typically a focal point for all my portraits. The eyes are the window to the soul!
Composition
I begin by choosing the main reference photo and sketching it out. I then create a digital mock up to show my client the double mount options (and frame in this case). Once my client approves the composition, I am ready to begin!
Drawing
Light coloured dogs can be a challenge to draw on white paper. It’s important to add multiple tones to build up an accurate depiction of the fur colour. The eyes and the nose are my favourite parts of a dog to draw as they can be accentuated with highlights and shadows to create strong contrast. I use liquid white coloured pencil to add these very small areas of highlights, such as the lights of the eye.
Mount / frame
I mount all my portraits using a ‘conservation mounting‘ process to ensure the artwork is archival and will last over a lifetime. I fitted the frame my client opted for and sent over photos of the finished portrait for my client to approve. Following a happy approval I package the portrait with a lovely red ribbon and tissue paper so it is an exciting experience to open.
Fine Art print add-on
My client asked for fine art prints of her portrait so that she could gift them to her family. These are giclee prints on bamboo paper.
Client testimonial
“My family were thrilled with Jennifer’s portrait of our much loved and mischievous labrador Basil. The process was so simple and all done via email. Jennifer replied to every query almost immediately and clearly explained what was required, the timescales and costs. She not only did the portrait but also three very high quality prints for my children. I was given an opportunity to make any changes before the piece was finished including options with mounts and frames. The framed picture arrived extremely well packaged and in plenty of time for Christmas.”
Are you interested in commissioning your own bespoke artwork? if so, please get in touch using the contact form.