Chocolate Labrador Drawing

Hey all,

What a week this has been, firstly I get a bad case of deli beli, and spent more time in the loo than I would like and then we lost our Internet connection, so spent a day or so getting that sorted out, which thankfully is done now, along with myself feeling a bit better, which meant I could munch on a mini magnum ice cream lol !

For the last few weeks I have been working on a 16 x 12 drawing in graphite of a chocolate Labrador, which is now finished and I have to say am very pleased with. I did have a debate with myself as to what paper to use for this, as usually for Graphite I use Winsor and Newton medium surface paper, but on the wrong side, as I find it suits my style really well. I have never been one to use graphite on super smooth drawing paper like Bristol, (prefer some tooth ) but did feel that I should try a different surface for a change, so my last horse drawing was done on Fabriano 5 watercolour smooth, which I did kind of like. For this picture I opted for the winsor paper, and realised just how much I loved working on it, and am glad that I chose it for this drawing, so I think I will stay with this for graphite and keep using Fabriano and Stonehenge for my CPS.

New Wip

Hey all,
Well I have finally managed the time to start a new wip, and this is another of my two favorite horses. It will be in coloured pencil to the size of 10 x 8 inches,and is very similar to the graphite one I did a while back. I am hoping to get some colour down in the next day or so and you can use this link to view http://sitekreator.com/pencilwizard/on_the_drawing_board.html.

Wet Thursday

Hey all,

After all the glorious sunshine we have had, today dawned cloudy, wet and a little cool, but one should not complain really, as to be honest we need the rain. Going out for my early morning walk with the mutts through the woods I noticed all the plants shooting up, and how green everything is, and I wondered how many shades of green there was around me.....I can tell you alot, from yellow green to lime, ochre green to deep darkest emerald, so many hues and what a challenge it would be draw a small piece of this overgrown woodland. Not that I have time to undertake that at the moment, but perhaps something to think about later on as a project. Another thing I noticed was that fresh damp smell you get after a downpour, especially when it has been really hot and dusty, and of course the mutts tend to go a bit nutty too , probably because of the new smells and it being a bit cooler.

I am way behind with everything as usual, especially personal stuff so working really hard on catch up, but also because I am tied up with a few more commissions, one of which is proving a challenge to do. This is a 16 x 12 Graphite drawing of a Chocolate Lab, but as she is very elderly, suggesting the grey hairs around the muzzle and face is quite time consuming, but I am enjoying it, and once I seek permission from the client will post it up on the website. The other one is of a small Jack Russell, friendly little soul, and again will post when it is done.

Like most Brits I am fan of the Paul O' Grady show on at 5pm Channel 4 weekdays, it always makes me laugh and at times cry, because at regular intervals he has 4 or 5 homeless dogs come on who are looking for a forever home. Last night was a mixed bag with a cute darling puppy, to a greyhound and a great dane, who was really neglected and had not been on grass for a long time. It beggars belief at the cruelty shown to these animals, be it by misunderstanding and ignorance or delibrate neglect and violence, and having the dogs on his show highlight the needs of all the dogs in different areas looking for that loving family. You can log on the site and get a little update on them all
http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/P/paulogrady/homelessdogs.html

Busy Busy

Hey all,
It has been a week since my last update and apologies for that, sun, fun and sea has kept me away from my computer, as we have had days of wall to wall sunshine, which means too nice to be spending time indoors at the puter. It has not affected my art though as I tend to take it downstairs with me and work outside or at the dining table where it is cooler, much to hubby's annoyance as I am so untidy lol. On the bank holiday last Monday I went to a May Day event, and set up my stall, which was great because it was in the grounds of a castle, with live music, all sorts of Morris dancers,and lots of other fun stalls selling goods from handmade cakes, to crafts, jewellery and loads more. The sun was out and it just bought all the people out in their droves, so I was kept on my feet for most of the day, chatting, networking etc, which took a toll on them as I ended up with swollen ankles and some nasty bug bites which were really uncomfortable, but I am not complaining as I had a fantastic day and also sold two pieces of work. One was a mandala picture and the other a fantasy drawing, and to be honest was well chuffed as my fantasy/imaginative art does get interest but not many sales, so I went home at about 6pm a very tired but happy bunny.

Two Lions

Hey all,

May is now here and hopefully lots of long warm and sunny days, the winter seems to of dragged on forever, and I am looking forward to kicking off my boots and slipping on my sandals.

I thought I would post this picture up here, as it is a drawing I did a some years back, and then, it did not look like it does now. At that time I was still struggling with my style/technique of drawing and was working on a textured paper with a very light touch, so not getting much depth of colour and tone. I have always liked this and probably more so because it was worked from a photo taken by my self whilst on safari in Kenya, so has a very memorable place in my heart. I thought it would be great to try and rework over this, and give it a bit more life, so using my range of Derwents and Prismas I have used a mixed palette of peach beige (fantastic colours for lions ), brown ochre, burnt ochre, sepia, light umber and a bit of yellow ochre with some jasmine, some greys and beige sienna. The picture itself was alot bigger but I have cropped it, for more impact which works better, the framed size being 16 x 12 inches.