Gryphon - Yourkie, Part III (Preliminary Sketch)

Even if Gryphon reminded me of a little jester, he was nobody's fool.

In Carol's words: Gryphon had opinions. He didn't approve of large dogs, children or small dogs who weren't Yorkies. On occasion, if we had a Yorkie in foster care, he would allow them to come into his laundry basket (dog/man cave) but he wouldn't allow non-Yorkies at all. He only played with his cousin Kaleb who was a Maltese/Yorkie. 

There's an underlying love story with Gryphon. Carol was, of course, his beloved human mom, but Shelby was the love of his life.

Le Baiser by Auguste Toulmouche, 1886 (Pierrot et Colombine)

Shelby

Carol: He adored Shelby to an amazing degree, although she was twice his age. If she were eating, he would stand guard by her and not allow other dogs to push her out of her bowl. He took over our laundry basket as his headquarters and strongly defended it against intruders but always let Shelby in. Sometimes she would stay with us for days or a week at a time just to be with Gryphon and I used to catch them snuggled together in the laundry basket, kissing each other. They always seemed annoyed and embarrassed when I would catch them.

Gryphon (top), Shelby and Kaleb

This being said, I thought it would be fitting to use Shelby's portrait composition and apply it to Gryphon's, all while respecting their own personalities.

Shelby is alive and well, and belongs to Judy, Carol's best friend. They often share the guardianship of their dogs and their portraits. Gryphon will also be hanging with Beauty, Fleury and the fabulous Fuzzi.

I will leave the sketch alone for the day, but it's going very well.