Marle - I is my first pet commission, and one that I was immediately drawn to — both as a memorial to a dog that had passed, and also my affinity for boxers and boxer-mixes. This little dog had such a big personality that I just couldn't say "no" when one of the women who works at the local coffee shop asked if I would be able to create a commission of her boyfriend's dog — whom he had been friends with since childhood.

I began with an initial pencil sketch, paying particular attention to the curves and contours of the face. I also worked to establish the tilt and flop of the ears as well as the position of the eyes in the head as the dog's skull curved back from the bridge of the nose.

After this, I used the sepia India ink to add in the texture and detail, paying particular attention to the jowls and darker area of the facial fur. After working with the sepia ink, I moved on to using colored ink for some of the finer details and areas that I was concerned might blur out or mix with the darker fur of the watercolor. This strategy also allowed me to give different densities of black throughout the piece.

After finishing Marle, I washed in the background, choosing a light blue suggestive of sky and a light green to suggest grass and give Marle more of a grounding. Overall, I was quite pleased with how this piece came out and both my friend and her boyfriend were absolutely thrilled!