Border Terriers have a face that takes a moment to understand and then becomes impossible to forget. The distinctive otter-shaped head, the wiry double coat, the small dark eyes with their expression of absolute determination — these are features that reward close attention. The breed is less immediately striking than some terrier varieties but more characterful on closer inspection, and that quality — character that reveals itself gradually — is something portrait art captures better than photography.
Coat colours and how they render
Border Terriers come in four main colours: grizzle and tan, blue and tan, red and wheaten. Each has a particular quality in portrait art.
Grizzle and tan — the most common colour — has a mixed, weathered quality in the outer coat that gives painterly styles a complex surface to work with. In oil painting the grizzle tones separate into warm and cool elements that create unusual depth. In watercolour the mixed tones produce a portrait with a natural, earthy quality that suits the breed's working origins.
Blue and tan Border Terriers have the coolest coat tone in the colour range. The blue-grey of the outer coat contrasts with the warm tan of the face markings in a way that oil painting and impressionist styles both handle well.
Red Border Terriers — where the coat is a clear, warm red — produce the simplest and often the most striking portrait results. The clean warm colour suits oil painting and watercolour equally well, and the even tone lets the face carry the portrait without coat colour complexity.
Wheaten Border Terriers have a pale, sandy colouring that suits watercolour and pastel styles. The soft, warm tones of the wheaten coat in these styles produce a portrait of unusual delicacy for such a robust little dog.
Recommended styles for Border Terriers
Oil painting handles the grizzle coat complexity with real depth. Watercolour is the natural choice for wheaten and red Border Terriers. Sketch — the wiry coat and strong facial structure translate naturally into expressive pencil work. Vintage suits the breed's long history as a working terrier with historical warmth. Impressionist's mixed tones give the style a great deal to suggest in a grizzle coat.
Photo tips
The wiry outer coat of a Border Terrier strips away to a new coat periodically, and the portrait quality varies between a dog in full coat and one that has recently been stripped. A dog in full coat — with the wiry outer layer at its fullest — produces the most characterful portrait. The otter-shaped head is best captured at eye level from a slight three-quarter angle that shows both the width of the skull and the shape of the muzzle.