I drew this portrait a few weeks ago now and it features a lovely lady sitting with her favourite pet dog Fudge. He is a cockapoo and my client described him during the commissioning process:
Yes, that’s our crazy cockapoo Fudge! My mum adores him but he’s quite a handful!
Alison describing Fudge, September 2024
The drawing is smaller in size at 25 x 25 cm. I used graphite pencil on paper. I wanted to include the book in the portrait as my client’s mom loves to read and Fudge would often accompany her during this time. The photo my client provided me with was of her mom sitting in the garden with her book on the table and Fudge on her lap. Both are smiling and looking very happy and content. I wanted to capture this moment in the portrait.
The drawing was commissioned as a birthday gift for the lady in the photo by her daughter. Alison contacted me a few weeks before her mom’s birthday and I was able to finish it just in time for her to give it to her mom just a few days ago. Alison was very happy with the drawing when she received a scanned image of the finished portrait:
Hi Ivana! Thank you so much for forwarding that on – it’s amazing! I really think it’s fabulous and thank you for all the work you’ve put in to it…I love it! It’s perfect! You’re so talented, thank you so much!
Alison on receiving a scanned image of the finished drawing of her mom and pet cockapoo dog, Dublin, Ireland
I used Staedtler Mars Lumograph Black graphite pencils for the portrait. I worked on hot pressed Fabriano paper with 50% cotton. It is a great surface to work on and allows a lot of layering. This means I can work from a light line sketch covering the drawing with many layers of shading. I inserted the finished drawing into a neutral coloured mount before posting it off to the client.
