Jack Russell Terrier Pup - New Drawing "Bliss"

Just finished "Bliss", an ink on scratchboard drawing of a napping Jack Russell terrier (JRT) pup. When I was looking for subject material to use as a demo for a scratchboard class I taught in May, I thought this image would be perfect. The original drawing is available - as soon as I get it framed, it'll be at the Auburn Old Town Gallery where I show my work. Click here for the drawing specs and price.

The reference photo is one I took a few years back at a JRT show in Dixon. I happened upon two girls sitting inside a portable pet fence with a litter of puppies. Each girl had a puppy wrapped up in her lap. Too cute to pass up! I didn't ask the pup's name, so I don't know much about it, but while I was working on the drawing I was referring to it as "she" and the title "Bliss" just came to me at some point during the drawing's progress. Drawings and paintings definitely do take on a life of their own and I get very connected to them while I'm working on them.

Even though the backgrounds of the photo and drawing are dark, I think you can see that I made some changes to the background of the drawing so it would read better. Oftentimes what's obvious in a photo doesn't translate well to the drawing, so I make adjustments. I pretty much stuck with the same shapes on the right side, but made some changes to the wrinkles of the fabric on the left side and removed the lettering. These complex backgrounds are time-consuming, but I really enjoy the challenge of creating texture with subtle shades of grey. For a demo of my scratchboard process, check out this page of my web site.