Pet Portrait: Dixie

Dixie, German Shorthaired Pointer

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I've been teaching myself basic video editing skills in order to put together process videos of my completed pet portraits. It is difficult to learn a new skill, especially when you’re so accustomed being talented. It’s a privilege for things to come easily, but it’s also a detriment. The drawback is that when things get hard, like when you’re developing a new skill, you give up easier if the results are not immediate. Remember, a new skill is something to keep adding to, over time. It doesn’t need to accomplished or perfect today.

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I drew this portrait for my Uncle Joey. This is a photo of him with his first grandchild Luke. He lives in Alabama and he is an Orthopedic Surgeon. It so interesting to see how much he loves this dog because when I was growing up he and his family were never as passionate about their pet dog as my family was. But, he's developed a very close bond to Dixie through his love of hunting.

He even saved Dixie's life! Last year, he was out with Dixie mountain biking. She ran ahead of him and when he came around the corner, he found he impaled by a large sharp stick. At the speed she was running, she couldn't stop in time. The stick pierced Dixie through the chest. As a surgeon, he could tell this was a death threatening injury. The stick may have punctured her lungs or heart. Using his medical knowledge, he took off his socks, pulled the branch out, and stuffed his socks into her bleeding wound. The socks helps to slow the bleeding as he took off on his bike, carrying her over his shoulders. Once he reached he car, he rushed to the nearest animal hospital where Dixie went into surgery. It's an unbelievably true story!

I used these two images as references for the drawing. The difficult part of this drawing was that the image of her pointing was taken from her right side, but Uncle Joey requested the drawing be of her left. So I had to used this third image as a reference for Dixie's left leg.