Barney the Basset

Yesterday we stayed in a bed and breakfast in the Catskill mountains, whose proprietor Ben owns a basset hound named Barney.

I asked Ben if I could take Barney for a walk and sketch his portrait. Barney is a five-year-old rescue who was hit by cars three times until Ben offered him a new home.

Barney doesn't usually get to hang out in the parlor and receive such attentions, and he definitely rose to the occasion (as much as a basset can rise). Once Barney settled for a nap, I got out my watercolors and water-soluble colored pencils.


Here's what the sketch looks like as I begin to wet the colored pencils with a water brush. Note how the water alters the dry colored pencil. It darkens, softens, and intensifies the color.


Once I cover the light, warm areas, I add some blue from another brush pen that is filled with fountain pen ink. I am working quickly, because I'm expecting Barney will change position after 10 minutes or so—which he does. After that I work from memory.

Now the sketch is almost done, and if you scroll back up, you can see it finished.
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Materials used:
Caran D'Ache watercolor pencils
Moleskine Watercolor Notebook
Niji water brush filled with fountain pen ink
Waterman fountain pen
The place I stayed is called River Run Bed and Breakfast in Fleischmann's, New York.