When the pen hits the paper, I only lift it three times…
I start with a cheap ball point pen. I put that down and pick up a thin Sharpie Marker next and do loose sweeps and doodles. When all the lines are sketched and I am confident with the rendition on paper and the likeness in the photo, I pick up the regular Sharpie marker and add tonal definition. Once the black and white is finished I add accent with colored Sharpie makers or blend-able fabric markers. This was drawn from one photo which captured the great happiness and expression of Ruby. This is Jen’s dog. She mentioned that she would like a pet portrait done and it took a couple months for us to get our schedules in sync. The next phase will be getting a painterly image on 12×12 canvas. That will happen this weekend. Usually my pet portraits are finished in 2 weeks, adding cushion for those moments when reality bites. This rendition was done while curled up on the couch looking at my laptop photo of Ruby. Jen gave me about a dozen photos of Ruby and that helped me get a feel for her disposition. This is one of many dogs I’ve drawn whose owners wanted a likeness as a memorial tribute.
Jen’s Ruby in Sharpie by Jean Drayovitch