Calla surveying the beach, ink and watercolor, 2012. I posted a few work-in-progress Instagram photos of this during my mini-honeymoon, but never shared the final scanned-in piece. Watching the beach from her perch on the porch was Calla’s favorite activity that week. I’m not sure if it was the view or the smells or the sound of the ocean that intrigued her most, but she was mesmerized. Makes me wish we had a porch at home.

Lucy, 2012. This is another take on the one-eared Lucy, also created on my iPad. For this I used a different app called SketchBook Pro. I wanted to try a program that offers more features—more brushes, more colors, zoom, high-res export files, etc. It took me a while to get a hang of how to use it (computers are so much fickler than paper and paints!). The result is a stylized-yet-realistic and almost animated look. It’s definitely not my normal style but it was fun to experiment. On an unrelated note, I’ve added an email subscription for those of you non-Tumblrers (is that a word?). If you sign up, you’ll get an email only on days that I post new drawings.

Scout playing in the snow, 2011. Ink, water-soluble crayons and watercolor on cold-press watercolor paper. Scout is Maggie’s sister and BFF. This was my first attempt at drawing her. I fear that my rendition looks too much like a German Shepherd, but Scout is more of a wire-haired terrier. Here you can see the progression: photo > ink sketch > filling in the color > adding a background.

Maggie, 2011. Watercolor, water-soluble crayon and ink on cold-pressed paper. It’s not really this yellow-looking in reality, but I’m having trouble taking a better photo without more light. This is my first attempt at drawing one of my friend’s two dogs, Maggie and Scout. Look for more drawings of these two girls in the coming weeks.

(Does anyone have any suggestions for taking better photos of artwork? I never seem to have enough light—even when I take the drawing outside in the sunlight. Mind you, I have a point-and-shoot camera and no fancy lighting equipment. This is probably the root of the problem.)

Calla in Pink, 2009. Water-soluble crayons on some sort of Formica-esque board I found somewhere, framed in an old window that a neighbor was getting rid of. Not sure why I used pink, but I like it. It hangs now in the kitchen nook.

Rosie, 2010. Ink and water-soluble crayons on watercolor paper. Rosie is the younger sister of Daisy, who has appeared on this blog more than once. She is bubbly and optimistic and always in need of attention—the typical younger sibling.

Daisy, 2010. Ink and water-soluble crayons on watercolor paper. Daisy is the same dog from last week’s doodle. Here she is with her momma.

Ajax, ink and water-soluble crayon on watercolor paper, 2010. Ajax is my Uncle Joe’s lovable bichon frise/King Charles spaniel/dachshund mix. The photos in the top row are from Uncle Joe and Ajax’s visit to Oregon, November 2009. Little Ajax held is own alongside his two 80-pound cousins at Short Sands beach in Oswald West State Park. Below, Ajax sits in his dad’s butterfly chair in Palm Springs.