Preparation

It is Juno's big day at Crufts on Thursday and we are in the middle of preparing him to look his best. This is how Juno views the proceedings.

I have a methodical method of getting him ready. First he has his bath, then I trim his hocks, then starting at his tail I brush all his fur the wrong way, then again starting again at his tail I brush it all into place.



Thing about preparation, made me realise that I work my dog and cat portraits in the same methodical way.
I start with the eyes and work outwards till I come to an area I don't understand at that time. I then find an area I do understand and work outwards from that, and so on, until the whole thing fits together.
As an example here's where I'm up to with the graphite Elkhound I'm working on.
I started with the eyes, because if they aren't right I don't carry on, they are the most important part of an animal portrait to me. I then couldn't quite work out the fur direction on the muzzle, so I worked the nose and now I can see how it will all fit together.
I have also left finishing the ear until I can better judge the light tones.
I also bring each area more or less to completion before I move on to the next.
I would be interested to know how other artists deal with pet portraits.

And as for Juno, well I hope he looks a little bit more lively in the ring.