Whenever I’m trying out new tools, I find it helpful to use a familiar and beloved subject.
By Shari Blaukopf
I draw my dog Alice constantly because she’s always at my side. When I’m at my computer, she sleeps in a bed on the floor right next to me. She has another bed in my studio, too. It’s no wonder that she’s one of my most revisited subjects. Alice just turned 11 but has been modeling for me since puppyhood—that’s a lot of drawings. Since I know her sleeping form so well by now, it provides the perfect opportunity for me to experiment with new tools and techniques in both traditional and digital media.
I strongly encourage you to find a live subject you can return to often—one with whom you can become very familiar—so that you can experiment with comfort and ease when you come across a new tool or technique. It doesn’t have to be a dog. I have no doubt that cats and parakeets, goldfish and guinea pigs would also make excellent subject matter. The key is to find a subject you love so you won’t mind returning to it again and again.
Let sleeping dogs lie.
I usually draw Alice after a long walk, when I know she’s tired and unlikely to move. Nevertheless, I try to capture her general pose quickly, in case she jumps up, hoping for a treat. For this pencil drawing, I started with a loose contour of her head and curled-up body, adding pressure to my pencil where the weight of her body sinks into the pillow. I then added the pillow and a few lines for the checkerboard floor. I finished with shading to define volumes for her body and the bed.
Naturalistic color is optional.
I enjoy using colored pencils and water-soluble pencils, especially when layering expressive colors. Here, I used a red pencil for the main figure, adding some dark blue to emphasize key shadowed areas, particularly near Alice’s eyes. A few highlights in yellow create the focal point around her head.
Draw with your brush.
It was nearly dinnertime, and Alice was watching my every move, wondering what could possibly be more important than mealtime. Since I had to work quickly, I mixed some gouache and drew the contours of her body and the bed with a small brush. Then I switched to a wider flat brush for the large areas of fur—working mostly in a middle value—before adding lights and darks at the end. Because of how quickly it dries, gouache is ideal for quick sketches like this one. That day, I rewarded Alice with some extra food.
If your model moves, don’t stop.
Alice moves often, stretching her paws, getting up and changing positions, sometimes twitching as she “dweams of a wascally wabbit.” Since my sketchbook is a place for experimentation, I don’t give up—I simply adjust. Some pages of my sketchbooks contain several drawings of Alice in various positions, and some have just details of her head and paws.
Record the Light.
Sneaky Alice isn’t allowed on the furniture, but one day I caught her sleeping on my son’s bed. Her dark shape made such a great contrast against all the luminous folds in the bedding that I let her lie there while I recorded the moment in gouache. I used alternating strokes of warms and cools to capture the morning light streaming in from a window on the left.
Capture a Moment in Time.
I use my sketchbook to record all kinds of moments, both good and bad. When Alice had a cracked molar removed, I spoiled her with a few extra treats, since I knew she was feeling a bit miserable after surgery. I drew her during her afternoon nap with my favorite Pilot fountain pen, which is always filled with permanent black ink.
Change Things Up with Toned Paper.
Alice is mostly a golden lab, so warm-toned sketchbook paper suits her likeness perfectly. Here, I used a black charcoal pencil for the contour and shadows, adding some white chalk for the highlights.
Experiment with Digital Tools.
I do a lot of drawing with Procreate on my iPad. When I’m trying out various brushes in the app, Alice is my favorite test subject. As you can see, I record which brush I’m using, Copperhead, Oberon, etc., so I’ll have a reference the next time Alice curls up next to me and I want to “reach” for the same brush.
This article appeared in the 2025 March/April Artists Magazine. Download the full issue at Artists Network.
About the Artist
Shari Blaukopf is a Montreal-based painter, teacher, author and art blogger who loves to travel and share her love of urban sketching. She’s a Signature Member of both the American Watercolor Society and the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour. Her book, The Urban Sketching Handbook: Working with Color, is available in bookstores and online retailers.
