Irish Water Spaniel – Boris

Irish Water Spaniel Portrait - BorisPet Portrait of the Week is Boris, an Irish Water Spaniel. Boris is the first really curly coated dog I’ve been commissioned to draw or paint and getting to grips with his coat has been a real learning curve. Rather than Liver, like a Springer Spaniel, or Chocolate, like a Labrador, the Irish Water Spaniel’s coat colour is known as Puce. I really wish my favourite pencil manufacturers had thought to add Dark Puce, Puce and Light Puce to their palette … I lost count of the colours used to recreate the rich plum, chocolate tones and silvered copper highlights.

Produced by combining both drawing and painting techniques, I’ve used watercolour pencils and oil based pencils to create this portrait of Boris.

He’s sporting his Little Monsters collar, because (according to his mum) he *is* a little monster.

Faber Castell & Caran D’Ache pencils on Pastelmat.