This portrait is worked in only four colours - burnt umber, burnt sienna, yellow ochre and paynes grey.

I always take a good deal of time over the initial drawing, mapping in the main tonal areas and stripping all the visual information down to simple shapes. Sometimes I do the drawing on tracing paper first, transferring it once complete onto the watercolour paper to prevent damaging the fragile surface with any rubbing out. Otherwise, work very lightly.

I block in the main tonal areas with light washes. When this layer has dried I begin on the details - I like to put in the eye relatively early as it gives me something to focus on. Moving around the head, all of the brush strokes are in the direction of hair growth and also reflect the length of the hair.

The darkest darks here are mixed from burnt umber and paynes grey. By very gradually building up the layers of the hair with progressively darker mixes it is possible to achieve a soft furry look, blending hard edges and warming the tones when necessary.

The areas of highlight are pushed back with washes. A few strokes with an opaque mix (made by adding a little white)  for the whiskers and some stray hairs, and the portrait is complete. The final portrait of Zara can be seen in the Dog Portraits Gallery and I am very grateful to Mrs Smales for letting me use it in this demonstration.