“Gracie,” mixed media by Kerry McFall, copyright 2013

Gracie and her person, Jeana, were our hostesses while we stayed in Dallas.  Gracie, during the rare moments when she was NOT plotting to steal socks and slippers so we would play Keep-Away with her, was a very elegant dog.  Her coloring was Harlequin – a bit of gold, bit of brown, bit of white.  She had incredibly intense ice blue eyes, so maybe there’s a little bit of Huskie in her family tree, but also a bit of Egyptian Goddess given the perfect thick black eyeliner around them.  One seemingly arched black eyebrow gave her a constantly quizzical look.  Her smooth short hair was soft, her tail was deadly at full wag, and her Boxer or Bulldog nose was always on the alert for the aroma of socks – or shoes might do in a pinch.

Her ears were tall and alert, reminiscent of a Great Dane, and given her size (70 pounds?) that could be a real possibility too.  She did not appreciate being photographed, though, so my first sketch (“Not Quite Gracie,” below) was a composite of several shots snapped as she ran way, and clearly I had the ears and nose too long.  I started over using a couple of photos that Jeana had taken, and finally got the proportions just about right.  I’ve decided I quite like drawing dogs!

“Not Quite Gracie,” mixed media by Kerry McFall