This piece of artwork of Piper, a Shetland Sheepdog was a commemorative portrait. The photo I had to work from was very distorted with pixelated smears. It took much longer than expected to intuit the missing details. I looked at other photos and asked the owner which one looked like her. Fortunately, there was a picture that assisted me in her facial mask.
Rembrandt Pastel chalk was used for this dog portrait over a pastel pencil layout on BFK Reeves 100% rag paper. Working with pastel on a dog portrait allows a layering that gives some depth and dimension to the beautiful, luxuriant coat of Piper the Shetland Sheepdog.
It was a challenge and a pleasure to finally complete this dog portrait for a long time friend, Canadian poet, Ted Dyck. When Ted wrote me in December about the effect of the pandemic on his life, his words inspired me to format his message to me in a visual poem. He begins with his daily trip to the local cafe for ice cream.

— Ted Dyck, PhD
Editor, TRANSITION
Publisher, WorDoctor Press
Visualized and edited here by CK
Thanks for stopping by my kitchen
Have a good week wherever you may be.
Peace
That’s a beautiful portrait–I’m sure he’s thrilled with it!
Thanks so much for your kind comment. I hope so! I’ll hear soon enough. 😄