This is my first border terrier portrait and what a gorgeous one she is.  I went to photograph Lucy for this so her sweet character is what I really want to capture.

The finished painting, pastel on velour, 12″x16″
My sketch transferred onto the velour and a shot of my desk setup
Starting to layer up the background.  I want to create a plain
background but incorporate the rug Lucy was photographed on.

 

The light is coming from behind Lucy so all her highlights
will be on the right.  It helps to create contrast in the background
to compliment this and add some directional light.
Starting on Lucy here by layering in the darkest areas
and starting to suggest the direction of the fur.
I use some pastel pencils for small detail around
eyes but most of the colour is applied with larger
soft Unison pastels.

 

 

You can see a violet grey pastel I’ve broken in half
to get sharp edges.  Every shard of a pastel gets used
so I’ve no problems in breaking them when I need
better edges.

 

A shot showing my reference photo.  My final highlights on
Lucy will bring out her brightest areas.  I constantly go back and
darken the darkest areas and re-highlight the brightest areas.

 

 

 

Close up of Lucy’s face finished.