My First Welsh Corgi Portrait Finished

Good news! My first Welsh Corgi portrait is finished.

I am relieved, as well as glad. More than once, I wasn’t sure I could finish it. More on that in a moment. First, here’s the portrait.

My First Welsh Corgi Portrait Finished

This is Lucy.

Lucy is one of two Corgis owned by my sister.

Lucy has lived a sometimes rough life and was once nursed through life-threatening injuries by my sister. As a result, she has developed a special bond with my sister, and often sits in my sister’s sewing room, patiently waiting for attention.

This portrait is based on a photo taken on one such day. Lucy’s steadfast gaze appealed to me immediately. So did the light and shadow on her and especially the reflected light in her eyes.

My sister granted permission to use her photo to create a portrait.

About the Process

The process is simple because although I experimented with different techniques and tools, I always come back to the basics. Pencils, paper, and patience.

The portrait is on white Clairefontaine Pastelmat and I used Faber-Castell Polychromos almost exclusively. The only other pencil I used was Derwent Drawing Chinese White, which was perfect for adding white highlights.

I tried a number of different methods, including blending with a paper stump, different types of strokes, and even a little solvent. In the end, I returned to just pencils and paper.

As I mentioned above, the drawing process was not all smooth. I wrote about some of my struggles in a previous post, but the biggest problem was time. I began this project in early February, and hoped to finish it by the end of the month.

But one interruption after another delayed portrait work. Publishing a magazine takes a lot of time, and there were other personal matters to deal with, including a sick cat and a bout with stomach flu for me.

Needless to say, the more weeks passed without finishing Lucy’s portrait, the more discouraged I became. The more discouraged I am, the more difficult it is to work on something. Maybe that happens to you, too.

At Last! Finished!

I actually finished this twice. Late last week, I “finished” it and sent an image to Lucy’s owner for approval. She approved the portrait quickly, but I later realized that I hadn’t drawn Lucy’s whiskers. So I added them. This time, I also signed it, so it’s really complete.

The Bottom Line

Despite the difficulties, delays, and discouragement, I’m pleased with the outcome. It’s one of the best dog portraits in my portfolio.

If nothing else, I hope my experience gives you hope whenever your work doesn’t seem to be going as well or as fast as you would like. Keep putting pencil on paper. Don’t give up, and sooner or later, you will finish that piece.

Who knows? It might be the best one you’ve done to date, too!

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