SASSY, Yorkshire Terrier
Sassy was a tiny Yorkshire Terrier and beloved pet of Colette and Paul. Her portrait presented a unique challenge because her favourite position and the way she was best remembered was tucked between one of her people and a chair. It is this personality that I try to capture when I create lifelike dog portraits for my clients.
“The portrait looks great!!!! Thank you so much for bringing those wonderful memories back to us.
Her actual registered name is Sarsaparilla Fizz, named after a type of soft drink" ......Colette and Paul
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SASSY
Medium: Size: 8" x 8" Created: 2009 |
In consultation with Colette and Paul I chose a photo reference of Sassy lying outside in the sunshine with a wicker chair arm on one side and Paul on the other.
My pastel portraits do not generally have a background but the portrait of Sassy would not have made sense without the wicker of the chair and the fabric of Paul’s clothing to give it context. Her colours in the photo were washed out from the sun and, with the guidance of Paul and Colette, who know her colours better than I, and some research on the Yorkie breed I used a combination of photos taken in different light conditions to successfully portray her taffy and steel-grey coloured hair.
One of Sassy’s defining characteristics was a little lock of hair (affectionately called a ‘skeezics’) that fell in front of her eye. It was completely covering her right eye in the photograph and I lifted it just enough to let her eye peek through. The resulting portrait is a loving depiction of a beloved pet.