My customer is the young girl in the photo. Her name is Bonnie and she is so much more than a customer to me she is my friend. This portrait she commissioned was an "in memory of" for her childhood pup and a gift for her Mother.
Chatty was an energetic sweetie and companion. She had no regard for her size. A lot of chihuahuas don't but she loved her family so much bigger than herself. She also chose her family. Bonnie's mother was to pick up a different puppy altogther the day Chatty came home. This little girl was jumping to her "chattering" and doing whatever she could to get her attention. Hence her name, Chatty.
I cropped the photo to get the best composition reference to incorporate flowers. The lighting was great in this photo! I didn't have any trouble with values.
This sketch was a lot of fun. I love a change in pace every once in awhile. I usually do a bright color wash background. This portrait was an 8x10 which involves a bit more color pencil work that usual to keep lines defined.
This is AH-Mazin'! I used up an entire white color pencil. I honestly tend to lose pencils before I acually finish them off. I use white color pencils the most because they art like a blender. they can soften a color and smooth a pastel streak.
"Chatty" 8x10 Original oil pastel and color pencil portrait
The details.
That face! Sweetie.
She just pops up in the foliage all pretty.
I adored this piece. The illustrative quality of this dog's story was the very reason I love working pets. I also love story illustrations with oil pastel and color pencil too. I hope to have more of it in the future. Thank you, Bonnie, for letting me honor your fur family's memory.
