Border collies are beautiful, intelligent dogs, and a lovely subject for a pet portrait. Read more about my creation of a border collie portrait in pastels here.
Border Collie Portrait- About the Breed
First, a bit about the breed. Border collies were originally bred to herd sheep and still commonly do this job today. Why are they called Border Collies? Because they were initially bred on the border, between Scotland and England.
While people usually think of the border collie as being black and white, they do come in a wide variety of coat colours. With all colours, the traditional ‘classic’ markings are a white blaze up the face, white chest and forelegs, a white collar around the neck, white hind feet and a white tip to the tail, these markings are often referred to as 'Irish Spotting' although they can vary greatly.
Border collies do actually come in quite a number of different colours. Ranging from the more common black and white, to slate tricolour merle and lilac land white. They can also have a range of eye colours, as you will see in the border collie portrait I have done.
Heterochromia is the formal name for the eye condition which causes a lack of pigment in the eye. It does not affect dogs' eyesight. Border collies are one of the dog breeds in which heterochromia is most common. Other breeds that can have it are huskies, dalmatians and great danes.
To read what the Kennel Club has to say about the border collie breed, click here.
Border Collie Portrait- About the Artwork
So.. on to my border collie portrait. I had been wanting to draw a border collie for a while. I love the contrast of colours and coat textures. With the long flowing hair around the ears, to the shorter hair on the face, I thought they would make a lovely fun pet portrait to create.
I did this piece in an 8x10 inch size, which is the perfect size for a head and shoulder
pet portrait. I wanted to create something that had a great sense of light (which I feel brings the subject alive). With this border collie portrait I was working from a lovely photograph. You can read more on the subject of taking photos specifically for a pet portrait here.
It is very important for you to have a lovely photo for your pet portrait artist to work from, I say the better the photo the better the portrait. Photography, especially pet photography is a hobby of mine, I just love to have nice photos of my Miniature Schnauzer, Monty. I am keen to pass on the knowledge of how to get good photos on to people, as I feel it is important to have high quality images of our pets, not only for pet portraiture, but as a method of recording their lives with us.
So, what do you think of this piece? I would love to hear your thoughts, especially if you are a border collie owner yourself.
Border Collie Portrait - Commission your own!
As a pet portrait artist, I not only create border collie portraits but portraits of any other breed of dog or other animals, including cats, horses and even gerbils. To commission your own portrait all you need is a high quality photograph of your pet.
Simply get in touch via one of the methods on my contact page, then we can get the process of creating your own portrait started. If you wish to commission a portrait as a gift for the border collie owner in your life, you can either do the process yourself, or purchase a pet portrait gift voucher from me.
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