About the Commission of Bilbo
Tony Goode, UK, emailed me in December 2014 to ask if I was the artist who had exhibited at Crufts that year. The truthful answer was no—although I had work at Crufts many years ago, it unfortunately was not me that year. However, even though it was not me, I would have loved to draw Bilbo!
Tony and his wife telephoned me to tell me all about their dog and sent over some beautiful photos of him. Tony's hobby is photography, and he had taken many wonderful photos of Bilbo, so I was spoiled for choice in choosing "the one" to use as the basis of the portrait.
Tony decided he wanted a **16 x 12 head and shoulder pencil portrait** showing Bilbo’s eyes, although they requested that his wonderful long fur fall naturally over the edges of his eyes, which is how it usually is on a daily basis.
The main photo we all chose to use was one of Bilbo who had recently come back from the groomers. I used other photos as reference for the strands of longer hair to ensure accuracy.
