Charlie

 

8/6/25 Charlie (reference photo by Katelyn This)

Charlie is the last of five dog portraits I’ve made for the same family. They’ve all been a joy to draw.

I’m taking a break from pet portraiture for the rest of the summer, and when I get back to it, I think I’ll change it up. I took up this fundraising project in December 2023 mainly because I love drawing animals. But the other motivation was to get practice in realistic portraiture, especially with colored pencils. I’ve learned a lot from nearly a hundred portraits, and I feel confident that I can do this on request. While each portrait is still challenging in certain ways, the task in general no longer challenges me.

Although I want to keep supporting animal organizations this way, I need to keep being challenged, too, or I’ll get bored. I’m at that point now, so my next task will be to figure out how I want to change. A new medium, style or approach? I have some ideas.