I drew Malfi’s portrait a few weeks ago. He is a very large bernadoodle, a cross between a Saint Bernard Dog and a classic Poodle. Hi is “huge” according to my client, and very much adored in his family home. His portrait was commissioned by his owner’s friend, Ailbhe. She wanted to capture his image in a monochrome pencil drawing, which suited him really well. There was a lot of curls and details in his fur, which took a while to get through and decipher, but I got there at the end 🙂
I had one photograph to use for my main reference with some additional images, so I can capture Malfi’s likeness.
My client was very happy with the finished drawing:
Hi Ivana! That looks fabulous, thank you so much!…Thanks so much again Ivana, I’m sure she’ll (Ailbhe’s friend) be delighted with it.
Ailbhe, on receiving the scanned image of the drawing of her friend’s dog, Balbriggan, October 2024
The drawing is 30 x 20 cm in size drawn with graphite pencils on paper. I used my favourite Mars Lumograph Black pencils by Staedtler, and I worked on 50% cotton Fabriano paper. I worked in stages, starting with a detailed line sketch of the dog, trying to include all the curls and detail. I moved on to shading once I was happy I achieved his likeness.
I posted the drawing mounted in a neutral coloured mount as usual.
Commission your own portrait by emailing your photos and requirements to me at info@trueimage.ie.
