#41: Lucy & Remy

I was recently a guest at a family's home. I had never met the couple and it felt wonderful to be so graciously welcomed along with one of my friends and a woman she knew. We were in the Atlanta area for a Pickleball Clinic and the friend of my friend had made last minute arrangements for us to stay with her high school pal when the original airbnb plans fell through. 

The couple had adopted two large dogs, each having "issues". Lucy was a Greyhound/Great Dane mix who was very timid. Remy was a lab/Great Pyrenees rescue who had some fear aggression problems. The couple has done an amazing job of assimilating the dogs into their lives and they have made great progress in helping the dogs overcome their problems. 

Remy

Lucy

I wanted to thank my host and hostess and decided to sketch the dogs. I pulled out my pad of vellum and my 2HB and 4HB pencils and went to work. After completing the pictures I turned them into a note card to write my thank you note. I sent the top version of the card to the couple. 

What I liked about the pieces:

I was very pleased with the outcome. I really liked the eyes. Lucy has big "doe" eyes and I think my drawing shows a bit of her timidity. I liked the shading that I used in Remy's mouth.

Lucy
8 1/2" X 8 1/2" pencil on vellum

What I might do differently:

I was not pleased with my treatment of the background. The actual sketches, which I did send along with the card, had a monotone pencil treatment. The photos were retouched to darken the corners. I wish I had thought to do that to the original sketches. The background shading shows pencil lines on the lower left side of Remy. I should have gone over it again with a softer pencil and smudged it some more. 

What I learned:

I need to learn more about working the background. I also have decided that whenever I have the need to thank someone I hope they have a pet that I can sketch to include on a Thank You card. The couple was very appreciative. 

Remy
8 1/2" X 8 1/2" pencil on vellum