Cocker Spaniel Pencil Pet Portraits
Reference Photos
Commission of 'Moo'- Cocker Spaniel Pet Portraits
Dr Tracey Riche, UK contacted me in 2014 to ask about commissioning a Cocker Spaniel pet portraits of her gorgeous dog 'Moo'. Tracey commissioned my husband Nicholas a number of years ago to create two portraits of her previous dogs in pastel, however Nicholas only paints portraits in oils on canvas now, so this time Tracey opted to have a pencil portrait.
Tracey asked if I could draw the main pose from the first reference photo which you can see at the bottom of the page, however she really wanted the portrait to portray Moo with dry hair, so could I use the the dry ears from the second photo. The third reference photo shown is my amalgamation of the two photos in Photoshop. I can manipulate photos in Photoshop when clients want either an amalgamation or to use combined photos in a portrait as this can really help my client understand how the finished drawing could look. I am proficient at Photoshop, having used it for over 15 years, although make no mistake, none of my portraits are digital!
The final scan above shows the portrait along with a detail of Moo's face. You can also see some photos of the portrait with my pencils to help give the portrait scale. You might also notice that in the photos below, Moo is wearing her collar. I had initially drawn the collar in, however Tracey asked if i could remove it and so you can see in the scan above cleverly it has now been drawn over :) I am always happy to make amendments where I can when the client needs me to. You can also see photos of the portrait framed in the Honey Knots frame which really works well with my pencil drawings along with photos of when Tracey and Moo came to my studio to collect the portrait. I always love meeting our clients and the kettle is always on for them :)
