Central Zola Done

Greetings Readers,
          Definitely unpacking my woollies was the right thing to do as today ( Sunday ) it has not stopped raining, and is quite chilly too. Blue hates it is as well so has decided that a quick nip outside for a wee and a poo if needed is the way to go....I love to her pieces but she can be such a poof at times !
        
        Have been working away steadily on Zola and am calling this part of the portrait completed, however I have just realised that the light parts on both of her ears need tweaking and that will be done by next update. So on to the smaller poses now and the first to be done shall be Puppy Zola, and I have such a cute photo of her to create that.
      My next project is also going to be started soon too, and this will be a double portrait of two Spaniels.

Image of the Week

Greetings Readers,
                  Spring seems to have lost its way, as we are now being forecasted with possibly more snow this coming week ! Having said that I am not really surprised as March can be a very mixed blustery kind of month, so back to the woollies for a while methinks.
                This is my chosen image for the week, something I created some years ago, however the very first one I did in this style was with a red waistcoat and matched the Bassett's colouring a treat. It was drawn on a piece of Stonehenge paper, which as a rule I always check for possible flaws/scratches, but for some reason did not that time and as I came to do the cushion noticed that there was an indent that went the whole length of it and a few shorter ones. Those of you who work in CPs will know that is is a problem as the last thing you want is that unless you want it there for a reason like whiskers, shortish hairs,texture etc. As most of the work was done there was nothing that I could do about it except put it away as a reminder to check my paper every time. So this picture was born out of a disaster but for a change I thought get a little creative as we artists do and for the decoration on the waistcoat and bow tie used silver pen for the texture and spots. I think it turned out quite well and have to say that I do like it as it marked a beginning of experimentation of adding in extras to a dog portrait instead of just a normal head and shoulders style picture.

Zola..Part three

Greetings Readers,
             We still continue with this spate of mild weather, although not much sun yet,but it is all good as I have seen daffodils.crocus,snowdrops, and little violets appearing everywhere...Spring is but a breath away!

            This part of the portrait is almost finished, and I have to say that I am really pleased with it. I love the play of light on the right of her face and feels that adds so much depth to it, and of course she is a lovely looking dog too. What about that collar eh, a funky one for sure and as the original photo is in colour this is actually a very pale pink, so leaving it almost white really makes it stand out.
          
            A word about paper here, I have been for a while now using Fabriano 5 paper for my graphite drawings, and although I love it for CPs, I don't so much for Graphite. I know a lot of other artists rave about it, and also other paper like Mellotox, Bristol smooth and other very super smooth surfaces, but for me I need that little bit of extra tooth. For many years now I have been using
Winsor and Newton medium surface paper, but on the back side which gives just enough "tooth" for my pencils to grip but also has a certain amout of smoothness too it as well. The right side is great as well, especially if want something with a little more texture to it.The other thing is that Fabriano is white and I find that quite glaring where W+ N is a very soft off creamy white and I feel much nicer. My pencils glide over it with ease and it will stand up to erasing where needed with out damaging the surface, however as we all draw differently this may not suit everyone, paper is about personal taste, so try a small bit before you invest in a lot of it.
        

Zola Part Two

Greetings Readers,
                 I have woken up this morning to find a lovely post written about me by Zola on her blog, what a sweetie she is and I am so chuffed because she has also put Toffees picture on there too, who is one of Zolas best pals and drawn by me last year...so thank you very much Zola/ Vikki.

       Ok here is the next update on Zola, really coming together now, however I have tried to tweak the picture in my photo editing software program as the previous one looked so washed out and I do think that this is closer to the original. Hopefully my big camera is back from holiday today in full working order and I will be able to use that to take the next lot of photos. I have to say that I much prefer to scan my artwork as taking photographs is affected by the light quality immensely, and I am not the worlds greatest photographer, but my camera is a digital slr and although it has all the bells and whistles I just use the basic settings, any adjustments that need doing get done in my photo software program.It is a shame really as I would love to take the time to get to know it properly, so perhaps in due course this something I shall do.

Introducing Zola...The Rhodesian Ridgeback.

Greetings Readers,
          I hope all you UK dwellers are enjoying this bout of early Spring sunshine we are having, which is a welcome change from the dull flat grey skies that normally occur in February.
          This is a new piece of work that is on my drawing board, and will be a montage piece to the size of  20 x 16 inches, in Graphite. Zola is a Rhodesian Ridgeback, living in the South of France with her human Vikki, she has a blog chronicling all her adventures and you can read about it here
 Zola Ridgeback.  This is the central head and I apologise for the awful quality of the photograph as it was taken with my phone camera, as my big one seems to be taking an unscheduled holiday for some reason, and it is way too big for my scanner. Hopefully the next ones will be a bit better. We spent quite a bit of time with emails back and forth deciding on which poses were the best to show Zola's personality as she is still very much a youngster with lots of energy and enthusiasm for life and loves nothing better than meeting up her with pals on the beach for a game of chase. She also has a range of jazzy collars in different colours and styles, and the one she is wearing on this pose is a pink one with a skull and bones motif of it.
         For those of you who would like to know about this fantastic breed I have included a wikipedia link for you to use Rhodesian Ridgeback.

Image of the Week

Greetings Readers,
               Due to feeling unwell last week I did not get much done in the way of fine art, as I had already started a new drawing which I buggered up three times, so thought it best to do something else instead, so doodled with my pens, creating wonderful patterns in various styles, and debated in my head about why I am so disorganised !
               The image you see above is a collection of German Shepherds done over a period of time and have all lived together at some point in their lives. Treacle first on the left, is a jet black german and a puppy at the time of drawing, Juke second left is a big gorgeous long haired golden male and again still a youngster at the time of drawing. Jake One Ear is third left, long coated black and tan and a real softy, who has crossed the Rainbow Bridge, as is Elsa the last one, a gentle beauty with a typical german markings. I was lucky enough to meet and photograph two of these dogs, and also another one, a female pup named Tia, yet to be drawn. As they were all drawn in Graphite placed together they look great and creates continuity with a theme. Out of all the breeds I have drawn over the years, Old English Sheepdogs tops the list as the most I have done and German Shepherds come second and I hope for many more to come.