Now who could resist those puppy dog eyes?

In December I was commissioned to do a pet portrait of Ace, the black lab puppy, as a Christmas gift. My experience with labs is they have so much energy it would take a miracle to get a decent photo. But not so with Ace. Look at those soulful eyes!

I don’t always think to take photos as I work, but the progression of a drawing sometimes amazes me. Looking at the portrait after my first day sketching it out and laying a bit of color, even I wonder how the drawing could ever turn out to look like intended. But as more layers of color are added and sections are completed, the better and better the drawing looks!