A boy and his dog …. and a lollipop

After working on three rather large (for me) architecturals, I felt the need to do something else. I debated between using the last linoleum block I have, an animal portrait, or something floral but in the proper ratio for the print company.  The boy and his dog won out.  Its reference photo has been sitting on my table since I did the portrait of my daughter and ding-dong dog in July and I decided to do it now.

A boy and his dog

I am still playing a little bit with the ink on Brandy the dog.  I made her darker (and truer to her color) this time and perhaps lost some definition, so we’ll see. I’m pretty happy with my son’s part, but of course his face has its own issues.  I find portraiture to be one of the most difficult things for me to do.  Our brains are so hardwired to see faults in a facial depiction, that finding a good balance is hard.

I’ll bet that sucker was good at the time, though.  He had quite the nose for candy, especially if it were hidden.