Photograph of an old male, tri coloured shetland sheepdog

Reference photograph by Karen M Berisford

Sam - Shetland Sheepdog pet portrait

TRI-COLOURED SHETLAND SHEEPDOG

This beautiful little Shetland Sheepdog called Sam, was part of a trio of portraits all produced in Coloured pencils. I went up to meet him and his 2 sisters and took my camera so I could capture some quality photographs and spend some time with them to get an idea of their characters. Sam's eyesight had sadly deteriorated over a period of time and he could not see well and so was uncomfortable with a stranger trying to take photographs of him, so I stepped back and took what I could without stressing him too much. Sam passed away, age 15 on the 3rd February 2014 and so this portrait is extra special to the owners who said it was " a lasting memory and fitting tribute to a wonderful dog who gave them so much"

MEDIUM: Coloured Pencils
SIZE: 10" X 12"
SUPPORT: 220gsm Tan Ursus
COMPLETED: JANUARY 2014

THE COMPLETED PORTRAIT

Final pencil portrait of a tri coloured shetland sheepdog commissioned in coloured pencils

close up of coloured pencil detail in a sheltie pet portrait commission

CREATING THE PORTRAIT:

Sam's eyes on the photographs I had taken had a milky white effect to them and so it was decided to recreate the beautiful dark eyes he had before he became partially blind. This was relatively easy using photographs of the 2 girls with those lovely dark eyes too. As the photos had been taken at a distance, the quality of detail was lacking but the Commissionee supplied me with a few photos of their own which were far better and I took the detail and colour from those to ensure the final portrait was just right.

Applying the first layers of coloured pencil to a Tri-coloured Shetland Sheepdog portrait in Coloured pencils

Details of a coloured pencil commission of a Shetland Sheepdog commission

Adding the long thick fur to a coloured pencil portrait of a Shetland Sheepdog commission

The work so far on a coloured pencil commission of a Tri coloured Shetland Sheepdog

Adding in the loose fur details around the ear of a Shetland Sheepdog pencil portrait

Close up details of the completed coloured pencil portrait of a Shetland Sheepdog

TESTIMONIAL FROM THE CUSTOMER:

Thank you for the wonderful portraits of our gang, especially of Sam now he is no longer with us, it will be a lasting memory and fitting tribute to a wonderful dog who gave us so much. Thank you again!

Additional Orders:

Here are the Commissionee's other 2 portraits that I worked on at the same time plus the latest portrait of Jaxx their new boy. All were completed in Coloured pencils

Please click on any of the images if you wish to find out more about the progress of these pieces and see how they came together too.