Whippet Portrait- Creating a portrait of a whippet in pastels

A blog post on one of my recent portraits a whippet called Forest!

Whippet Portrait- The photo

Forest the whippet's owner had taken a range of fantastic photos, and we decided on exactly which photo to use and what composition we wanted to go for. We decided on 10 inch square portrait, using the greens from the photo (it was taken in the garden) for the background. This would make him stand out nicely! I really like square portraits when the photo is suitable, I think they look quite modern and classy.

Whippet Portrait- The process

How do I create a portrait of a whippet? Firstly we get the general shape mapped out. I love the sculptural sleek shape of whippets, they are one of my favourites to draw. Once we have that, my first layer of colour is using pastel sticks, generally going darker than the final colour. You want to go dark to light getting in a full range of values. It is this that makes a portrait look 3D.

I then do my next layers using pastel pencils. These allow for more detail on top of the block colour provided by the pastel sticks. I keep building the colours until we have out final effect! I do like to do the eyes and nose early on in the process as these are the most important parts.

Whippet Portrait- What does the final portrait look like?

So I'm sure you are wondering what Forest's final whippet portrait looks like?

whippet portrait- the finished portrait of a whippet in pastel

Here he is! Doesn't he look lovely!

If you're interested in comissioning a portrait of your whippet? Send me an email and we can discuss your requirements!

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