Schatzie is a sweet old dog who is slowing down drastically in her later years. Her owner is very close to her and wanted something to remember her by after she is gone.

I arranged to meet them on a chilly fall morning to get some reference photos for her project. Despite being an older dog, Schatzie had plenty of energy and simply refused to hold still for very long. Of course I only had my phone to use at the time (have since bought a Nikon D750), but I finally captured a pose I liked. Unfortunately it was slightly out of focus. A different image had all the sharp detail in the face I needed, so it became a  bit of “frankensteining” to get to the final version.

the final pose

the head

Schatzie also had a condition called Hyperkeratosis that caused her nose to be very crusty and dry. I usually prefer to draw what I see, but in this case the owner asked if I could skip that little detail and give her the nose she had when in her prime. Happy to oblige.