A Tale of Two Pits – Bella and Doobie in Graphite

Although Bella (the darker dog) is clearly a Pit Bull,  Doobie (white dog) appears to have something else in his genetic makeup.  Either way they are both handsome dogs.   This portrait was a surprise gift from a mother to her son for a 30th birthday gift. The mother, Maxine, requested that both dogs be in the portrait and we both thought that with Doobie being a white dog and Bella being dark gray, that the graphite drawing would be very nice.  The dogs belong to the son, but like many families, the mother occasionally “doggie sits”.   The mother provided several photos, mostly of Doobie, the white dog.  I only had the one shot of the gray pit, Bella.   In one particular photo, both dogs were playing ball.  Doobie was focused on the ball and Bella was focused on Doobie!    Although I liked this shot to use as my foundation I had to change a few things.  Both dogs looked a bit too intense, so both dogs needed to have adjustments to the facial expression.  With Bella, all I had to do was slightly soften the eyes. I also had to move her over a bit as she was slightly behind Mr. Doobie.  Luckily with Doobie I had another picture in which he was facing the same direction, but didn’t have such an intense look.   I love the expression on his face.  It’s attentive and seems to look proud and confident.   I heard the gift was a success and that always makes me happy.