This is Maude, a wire haired dachshund, who lives on the other side of Chichester. Her owners didn't have many photos of her so as part of the commission, I took my camera and we encouraged her to pose in the comfort of her own home. She was very compliant (especially when bribed with a few treats!). I chose a dark cream Ingres pastel paper size 12x16" and sketched her features in graphite. Then using a white and cream pastel I blocked in the areas that had the most light, then took a brown and black pastel and blocked in the darkest areas. I like to concentrate on the eyes early on in the painting as they are crucial to finding a likeness. The first few layers of pastel were smudged into the background and the process repeated, this time adding browns, ochres, oranges and greys. Once happy with the general look I reached for my pastel pencils to put the finer details of the coat and individual hairs to complete the portrait.
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