Jimmy....er.....Durante?

Encouraged by everyone's kind comments (Thank You!), here's another attempt at sketching one of my dogs. This, of course, is Jimmy. I think I got the eyes a bit more balanced this time, however, I think it was at the expense of poor Jimmy's nose! It is rather long and large for a Cardi, hence the reference to Durante :-) This sketch didn't take nearly as long with just one dog to worry about.

Now, I have been sketching my whole life or at least a good portion of it. I was afterall an art major in college, however misdirected that may have been. It certainly did not earn me a living. Back in 1999, I had a very bad riding accident, with my left wrist taking the brunt of the fall. It required surgery to fix and it was never quite right again. Of course, I am left-handed! For the first few years after the accident my wrist hurt every single day, and my handwriting, which was always messy, deteriorated. I didn't even bother to try sketching. I also got sidetracked with owning a house, agility came along, and free time I once used for sketching, turned to other things. I am not sure why the urge to sketch has returned but it has. Hopefully with a bit of effort, I can regain a bit more precision. Practice, as they say, makes perfect.

Here's a sketch of my sweet boy Dylan that I did prior to screwing up my wrist. I think this one got him about right....

While digging out Dylan's picture, this page fluttered out of my old sketch book. It goes even further back and was inspired by my reading of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. This is my interpretation of Gandalf's Shadowfax. I basically grew up on horseback and I drew horses throughout my childhood. I had ALOT of practice getting them right!