Beetle

Beetle

U.S. High Point Field Trial Cocker in 2012 

5" X 7" pen and ink

2013

Cockers in Color

 Sunny

Snook & Smudge

8" X 10" pen and ink

2010

 Sunny, Snook, and Smudge are field-bred English cocker spaniels, all hunting dogs, all in competition, and all titled. Sunny, the grande dame, mother to Snook and Smudge, has three American Kennel Club hunting titles and was recently awarded Field Champion, a top honor in the hunting dog world. Snook and Smudge also have earned titles, but they have a ways to go before they catch up with their mommy. 

I used three different colored inks on this trio--chocolate brown (or "liver" in spaniel speak), sienna (or "tan" in spaniel speak), and black. I'm thrilled with the way it turned out. Unfortunately, my laser printer doesn't print color pictures, so I had to make the greeting cards and bookmarks in black and white. Not bad.   

 Here are the two photos I used for the drawing. They were great photos of fabulous subjects. I loved doing this drawing.

I'm excited about drawing in color, so I'm off to find a good source of colored inks and hope that my next commission will be multi-colored.

Bird Dogs

Scout

5" X 7" pen and ink

2009

Tia

8" X 10" pen and ink

2009

Scout, a golden retriever, and Tia, an English cocker spaniel, are both bird dogs. They hunt duck, quail, and pheasant. I watched a demonstration by Rose, Scout's sister, last weekend, and she is impressive! She heels, sits, waits, and then fetches -- all on command. She responds to voice, hand, and whistle signals -- all with alacrity. She finds the birds (dummies, in this case), she brings them back, she releases them, and then she begs for more. It's amazing to watch a dog who is so enthusiatically committed to her work!

I should add that this working relationship is much like the one I have with my dog, Kinsey, only in reverse. Kinsey gives the commands -- voice, paw, eyebrow -- and I hop to with alacrity. I'm sure my eagerness to work on Kinsey's behalf gives her great pleasure, too.