"Gwen & Kent" portrait in progress 1

I’m starting on a portrait of a Doberman show dog and professional handler Gwen DeMilta. It was commissioned as a surprise gift for Gwen by a friend. Gwen is a highly-regarded handler who has been well known in the Doberman community for a very long time.

I start by sketching out the whole portrait on pearl-grey Canson paper, a very beautiful art paper. This is the first day's work, starting on Gwen's hair.

And here's the whole portrait showing the figures sketched out on pearl-grey Canson paper, with Gwen's hair finished.