Painting Adele – Alaskan Malamute Portrait

Early in 2019 I had the absolute pleasure of of the opportunity to draw Teyha, a stunning Alaskan Malamute. As with all my portraits, the process started out with a good quality photo of the subject. Animals can not be expected to sit for a painting, so having clear reference material to work from is vital.

Reference photograph of Adele the Dog — Reference photograph of Teyha the Alaskan Malamute.

Once I receive the chosen image, showing the subject in good light with clear details – the eyes, nose, tongue and gums, I sketch in a simple, but accurate line drawing. As a right handed person, I draw from the top left hand corner down to the opposite bottom corner. Often starting on the ears, I begin to block in areas of colour before working up layer upon layer, becoming more detailed with every one.

As each layer of pencil is applied, more and more details emerge. Layering colours in this way helps to bring life to the image, creating texture in the fur and depth in the eyes.

The final portrait took me 3 weeks to create. It was A4 in size and now take pride of place in Teyha’s owners home.

Illustrated portrait of Adele the Dog — Illustrated portrait of Teyha the Dog