Gryphon - Yorkie, Part IV

The many faces of Gryphon

Carol had described Gryphon as not photogenic. Having photographed many dogs for Kismutt, I realized that some dogs were difficult to shoot. No matter how many shots I would take, none seemed to represent the subject well. Like humans, some dogs are photogenic and some are not. It has nothing to do with how beautiful they are. Also, there is the matter of the type of hair and colour. Black dogs are naturally more challenging to photograph, but dogs with lustrous hair, no matter what the colour, catch light in all its variations making the dog appear different in every shot. This is the case with Gryphon. Combine this with the fact that he seemed to be uncomfortable in front of a camera and we have somewhat of a challenging case. From the head shots above, one would not think that it's the same dog, but all of them are Gryphon.

None the less, Carol is giving me excellent guidance and we will have Gryphon immortalized in the most accurate way possible. This shot, she tells me, best represent his colouring. I also like the elements in the background, it plays well into my Entertaining Animals'/MacKenzie-Childs theme.

This shot of Gryphon is good for his position. It defines the shape of his body and will show the colouring on his back. Not to mention that he has a lovely expression, proud and alert.

So here we are, the preliminary sketch has been refined with a less chubby version of Gryphon. I also integrated little toys in the form of two parrots and a monkey. Not so much that he played with toys, but he was rather a collector of toys. The wallpaper pattern in the shot above will serve as inspiration for the pattern in the area rug.

Family duties are pulling me away from Gryphon for the weekend, but I will come back on Monday, ready to start painting.