Art With A Pencil

Monday Updates

2012-01-23T10:00:00.000Z

Greetings Readers,
               I hope you all had a good weekend, and for UK dwellers I sense that Spring is not far off which means more sun and warm climes, and I for one cannot wait to get out that and grab some.

               As you can see above I have made quite a bit more progress on this picture and it is really beginning to come together now, however it is taking a little longer than expected due to various reasons. In the original photo that is 6 x 4 size the dog was looking to the left, but I reversed it at the owners request so when he hangs on the wall he will be looking at their other dog who is looking to the right. I did scan in the photo at a very high resolution and converted it to grayscale but even so the details of his face are a bit washed out, so I am using the original photo and that means I have to convert everything to the opposite side ! I am loving this a lot and should have it finished within the next few days.

Chocolate Lab

2012-01-16T10:00:00.000Z

Greetings Readers,
                  What a funny week it has been, we have gone form some really nice mild weather to very cold temperatures in a matter of days, so on my visit to the beach today it was very chilly and a matter of hats,gloves and a scarf...poor Bluebell was not impressed as I did not put her coat on !

                 This is a new picture that I have started, of a Chocolate Lab being drawn in Graphite but the eyes done in CPs. Not much I can say about this in terms of pencils except that I am using a range of Derwents from H through to 2B and a mixture of prismas in jasmine,yellow,cinnamon,burnt ochre,
burnt umber,raw umber for the eyes. It is at what I call the "ugly stage" so lots more work needed before I am entirely happy with it.

                I have noticed a few more new followers, and like to thank you all for doing so and your comments, always appreciated.

Chow Cross

2012-01-10T09:07:00.000Z

Greetings Readers,

I managed to sort out to use the schedule facility by reading the help pages for Blogger and apparently once you have set it up you are supposed to publish it, although it wont go live until the set time/date, so we shall see !

This is Digby who I think is a Chow cross, a lovely laid back dog but can be nervous at times when approached by people. This was worked from one one of my photos taken at a long distance across the ring at a local dog show, but I do so love that open smiley face...he is definitely laughing! No wips for this either, but the range of colours vary from jasmine,burnt ochre,goldenrod, peach beige,cinnamon,burnt umber,raw umber,flesh/light,carmine,and a mix of greys. Size of this one is 10 x 12 on Fabriano Artistico paper.

Cross Breed Terrier Ty

2012-01-05T10:00:00.000Z

Greetings Readers,

I made this post some days ago and scheduled it to go live on Wednesday, but for some reason it has not, although I took into account the time difference etc.....any ideas ?

I also apologise for how the previous post looks, a bit untidy to say the least, however checking the preview it did not appear like that, so methinks I will need to put a little more thought in to how I lay out the pictures/text in a post.

This is a little cross breed called Ty, however I am not sure what sort of mix he is, but going by those funky ears, he might have a little bit Papillion in him.Unfortunately I did not do a wip of this dog,so it is just this single picture that I can share with you which is from one of my own photographs taken at a local dog show earlier on in 2011.

Colour palette for the fur consisted of blue grey,black grape,black,chocolate and a range of cool greys. Around the mouth area I used caput mortum, french grey and some beige to get that dirty chin look, and for the tongue, flesh colour pink,carmine, cinnamon and blue grey. The eyes were a mix of dark brown, terracotta and burnt umber.

I used for the first time Fabriano Artistico which is a little creamier in colour than the Fabriano 5 which is my usual choice, and I am still undecided about it, so more experimentation is needed. Size for this is 12 x 10 inches.

Canaan Dog Portrait.

2012-01-03T09:05:00.000Z

Greetings Readers,
            I hope you all had a good Xmas/New Year and have recovered form the excesses of too much food,booze and telly ? Where 2011 went I shall never know, time just seems to fly by these days, or perhaps it is because I am getting older and less inclined to worry about it !

       This is Chefa that I worked on about a month ago, and the breed is a Canaan Dog, one that I had not seen before at the dog shows, therefore not knowing much about them all. There is a quirky little story behind this, because I had already met this dogs owner before some years ago at another show where she had been with her other two dogs, a pug cross called Darcy and another Cannan called Megan. She kindly allowed me to take some photos of them and they did come out really well, and as I always do I uploaded them to the computer and burnt them to disc for reference. However I do keep some of the better ones on my desktop that I think will make good pictures and one of these was Darcy, who was quite striking with his big brown soulful eyes. It was him I recognised straight away as he strolled into a dog show earlier this year with his owner in tow looking very laid back and cool ! It was great to watch the show and have a chin wag, plus take some more pics of Mr Darcy.

On to Chefa, the one thing that struck me mostly about this dog was how much like a fox she is in colour and the shape of those ears, very upright and pointy. I always start with the eyes, almond shape for this breed, working left to right building colour by layers, however if the eyes do not come right first time I tend to bin it and start again. I know I have said this before many times on previous posts and will probably continue saying it, but they are "the windows to the soul" the centrepiece of the whole portrait, getting them right is very important to me. I used a mixture of polychromos and prismas pencils in the following
                                                         colours.

                                                                 For the Eyes, burnt ochre, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, and
burnt umber with some black
For the Fur, A base colour of yellow ochre and jasmine, and then built up with burnt ochre, cinnamon,peach beige, burnt sienna, terracotta and burnt umber.
The nose and mouth area were done using equal amounts of black cherry, burnt umber and some black. As a rule I don't like to use black on its own for the very dark parts so will mix it with other dark shades like black cherry/grape, chocolate,
burnt umber and sepia. At other times I might use indigo blue,tuscan red or any other very dark colour that will give that depth of tone without appearing too dense.
As always there is a range of greys used and I particularly I like french greys from prismas, the cold greys from polychromos and one of my long standing favourites blue grey from derwents artist pencils. However as I go along I might add in some random colours too, which will add that little extra something.
Below is the finished picture which I was really pleased with and another first time breed drawing to add to my list.

Merry Xmas and a Happy New year

2011-12-23T14:26:00.000Z

Greetings Readers,
        Sadly I don't have any Xmas art to show you this year, so this morning I managed to get a quick shot of Blue on the beach this morning, whilst being blown about by the wind and rain. No matter what the weather is we always have a good time there and in the Summer months are rarely away from it. I do so love watching her running around having fun, chasing seagulls, digging and rolling in the sand and is a far cry from the skinny little scared wretch we took in some years ago.

        Thanks to all my readers and the comments, it is always a pleasure to get and read them, onwards and upwards to 2012.

          Wishing you all a very Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year....have fun and make it a safe one.

Toffee

2011-12-20T08:27:00.000Z

Greetings Readers
        It has been a while since I lasted posted, and I really needed to take a little break from some of my Internet activities including my blog.It has been a very eventful six months of which I will talk about in another post, as I want to make this one about Toffee the gorgeous Golden Retriever you see above. What a handsome boy and a real joy to draw. I was asked to do this by a blog pal, for her very good friend as a Xmas gift, which she has now received and I am able to share with you. This is one of those pictures that I started and was able to work straight through without too many adjustments, in part because I had such a good reference photo to work from, and who could not resist that lovely looking face and expression ! I used a mixture of Prisma and Derwents artist range, golden brown,jasmine, raw umber,peach beige,rosy beige and cream for the fur, a mixture of dark brown, burnt ochre, burnt umber for the eyes, beautiful cinnamon,blue grey,medium flesh, a tad carmine for that lolling tongue. The very darkest of darks I used a mix of black cherry, black and some burnt umber thrown together with a palette of assorted greys on Stonehenge Paper, white and you get Toffee ! There was a few other colours too, but as they were quite small amounts of each I tend not to take too much of a note of those, as they are random and used as I fancy. The size was 12 x 10 mounted in off white.

    Toffee does not have a blog but my blog pal who asked me to do this does and you can read all about her here Zola    she is a stunning,youthful, bouncy Rhodesian Ridgeback living in the South of France, and you will see more of her here in the near future.

   I do have a quite a lot more finished pieces to share with you all and I will stagger them out over the coming the weeks, going to try and use the schedule setting for a change and see if I can my postings a little more organised !

A little break from Blogging

2011-11-09T07:12:00.000Z

Greetings Readers,
            I have struggled over the past few weeks to keep my blog updated over the past few weeks, and have decided to take a break for a while. I have quite a lot of personal stuff going on at the moment, which really needs my undivided attention.

       As the Internet expands, I am also thinking about where the future lies in blogging and I am not so sure that it is something that I wish to continue with on the long term. I am wondering whether to set up a website somewhere, preferably free hosting to showcase my work which would be quite easy to keep and would not need regular updating with blog posts.It is something that I will ponder on in my break and hopefully come to a decision.

    Thanks for all the recent comments, and new followers that I have picked up over the past few weeks, all your input is much appreciated. I will return in December to make my end of year Xmas posts and any other relevent stuff. In the meantime be safe and happy...see you on the flip side.

Sunny Autumn

2011-10-25T13:26:00.000+01:00

Greetings Readers,
       Another week has flown by and I really do not know where the time goes ! I have come to the conclusion that this must be a age thing, because in my younger days I never thought about it that much, but now it is a whole different ball game, the weeks all seem to roll into one and before I know it, I am at the weekend again !
       Forrest the Briard is finished now and I did do some tweaking and am happy that it came out as well as it did, gosh what a big hairy dog he is! I used quite a lot of different colours in his coat from blue greys to black grape and a mixture of browns, plus a few other shades. Having seem him in a few dog shows I have to say that he is a favourite with the judges and tends to come in the top three in his class.
        The weekend weather is looking good and I am off to another dog show, this one with a Halloween theme, so hope to come home with lots of doggies in spooky,scary,colourful, and pumpkin type outfits in the dressing up class.

Updates

2011-10-18T07:28:00.001+01:00

Greetings Readers,
               A week has gone by since my last update, however that is because I have been super busy with pictures and a lot of other stuff too and at times something has got to give. Having said that I realise now that I am crap at managing my time which seems to be the case with a lot of artists so am thinking I need to set myself a little schedule and stick to it !
               In my previous post, I had put up two wips drawings of very different dogs and asked if anyone could guess what they breed are and I can now reveal one of them who is a Briard, a very large, hairy and beautiful boy. This has taken some doing as the size is 16 x 12 and I am using lots of different colours to depict his fur, however it is not finished yet and still needs quite a bit doing before I am fully happy with it. It has also been photographed as it is too big to fit on the scanner, and I do not take the best photos of my art so feel it does not do it the best justice.
              The other dog needs more work before I shall post an update on that and will reveal the breed next time round.
               Weather has changed quite a bit here in the UK and it seems that we are now fully into the Autunm as I notice the leave fall and turning of colours. The grass is heavily dewed or getting its first frosting so am having to put away my beloved trainer sandals that I live in constantly for as long as possible in favour of socks and a pair of boots. Roll on Spring 2012!

What Breeds are these ?

2011-10-06T16:01:00.000+01:00

Greeting Readers,
Firstly I would like to thank everyone for visiting, joining and making comments, they don't go unnoticed and are always appreciated....cannot believe that I now have 208 followers !
On to my new recent drawings which you can see on the left,two very different breeds and can you guess what they are ? For those who follow me will probably know, so answers on a postcard pls ! The top one is 16 x 12 in CPs and a lot of work, where upon the second is not so much so being short haired, and smaller 12 x 10 inches. I will reveal all in my next post plus a little bit of extra information concerning one of these.

Flat Coat Done

2011-10-02T05:47:00.000+01:00

Greetings Readers,
What a scorcher of a week it has been, and as much as I love the heat, it has been a little too uncomfortable for me at times, but as with all things it is not set to last so we are heading towards more normal temperatures for this time of year mid week.
This is where I am at with this picture, which I am just about ready to call to done, but shall let it sit for a few days and then look at it again to see if it needs tweaking at all. Its is always good to do this, because after a few days of not seeing it, you view it again with fresh eyes, however knowing when to stop is just as important because too much fiddling could ruin it as well. I am really happy with this piece and think the combination of eyes in colour against the monochrome looks great.

Tuesday Update

2011-09-27T07:50:00.000+01:00

Greetings Readers,
It has been another busy week and I am almost finished with this drawing, which I have to say that I am very pleased with. It has been a while since I used Fabriano 5 for Graphite and my first attempts were appalling, preferring something with a little more "tooth" but as they say practice makes perfect and now I can honestly say that I love using it. I do use this paper for CPs as well and that works fine for me too, but have to admit that Stonehenge is my first preference. I hope to have this one done by Wednesday and then it is on to a great hairy Briard dog...should be interesting !

Sunday I went off to another dog show, I think probably my last one for this year as the weather will start to change, however we are still basking in late summer sun and it has been truly glorious. Sunday was no exception and I met up with various dogs again all shapes and sizes, and I came home smelling of all sorts which gave Bluebees the hump. She is such a funny gal, does not like to come with me, but sulks for the day when I am gone and then tells me off when I come home...perhaps she thinks that I am being "unfaithful" to her !

Today is my birthday another year older and wiser.....I often think about that word wiser, and ask myself am I ? I think we all do as we get older, and the decisions that I made in my colourful youth might not be the ones that I might make now, however having said that it has moulded me into I am now, and I can honestly say that is a good thing. There are still things that I need to come to terms with and accept and that brings to mind this ever truthfull prayer.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference

Flat Coat Retriever

2011-09-19T15:13:00.000+01:00

Greetings Readers,
September already where do the months go ? The sun is still shining and we are having a spate of lovely autumnal days, with just a few showers thrown in, however that is not bad as I am still sitting in my living room with the back door open, it is that mild.
As you can see above I have started another new drawing this time a Flat Coat Retriever, a youngster and looker methinks. She is being done in graphite on Fabriano but I have chosen to do her eyes in CPs which adds that little bit extra interest. I have not done many Graphite drawings on Fabriano 5 paper before as I tend to opt for something with a bit more "tooth" to it, but that paper is more cream in tone, where I wanted something pure white for this one. It is also being done from my own photo that I took of her a while back at a local dog show.

Cool Saturday

2011-09-17T13:16:00.000+01:00

Greetings Readers,
It has been another busy week, and I am feeling a tad knackered on this damp Saturday morning, however it is all good as I achieved quite a bit including finishing this picture which I am very happy with. Next up is a beautiful Flat coated Retriever which I have not done before, and it will be in Graphite again. The one thing I noticed about these dogs is that they have quite long faces/noses if that makes sense and I do recall hearing a lady referring to one as a "flat top" ! Not sure if that is a compliment to the breed or not.

Tuesday Update.

2011-09-13T09:29:00.000+01:00

Greetings readers,
              Have you noticed I have changed my usual start sentence from my usual "hi all " to the one above, much better methinks !
              This is where I am at so far, and the next update should see this done and ready to be mounted. I have had to tweak Angus a little more as I was not entirely happy with what I had done, and it still needs more, but it is coming together nicely now, but overall I am very happy with it.

          Just a quick word about the new Blogger interface, to say that after using it for almost three weeks now I quite like it. It is cleaner and I am able to see more detailed information about each of my blogs on the dashboard ,and I love the new compose post editor too, so all in all its good...kudos to the Blogger Team.

More on the Westies

2011-09-12T09:37:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
Greetings from a wet and windy Uk on a Monday morning ! Never mind it is not going to last, apparently it is going to clear this afternoon leaving us with some warmish sunshine, which will be nice.
Ploughing on with this now, and you can see that I have started to render the dog on the right. As Westies are all white it can be quite difficult to do this breed as they tend to look a lot like one another, and these are two are no different when their coats have been shorn. To create them a little differently I have used two very different photos with Angus on the left with his fur longer and a little more scruffier, and he is almost a bit smaller than Penny, so have placed back in the picture. Penny on the other hand is stockier and more rotund, and am doing her with her coat quite short, creating two very different dogs with very different personalities.

West Highland Terriers

2011-09-09T07:21:00.001+01:00

Hi all,
       Bit behind with my updates again, just another week of feeling not so good and a bout of tonislitis to boot. I am sure the weather has something to do with it, as the UK has turned autumnal very quickly so it has been a mixture of high winds, rain and feeling a tad cool! Having said that in past years Sept and October have been very nice with temps in the 20s and that really nice pukka indian summer feel to it, so here is hoping next week will be a little better, with me included.
      The Rottie is still being worked on, but I have also started another drawing of a couple of Westies. This is going to be a pair and I know them very well, the one you see above is called Angus and he is 13 years old, a real sweetie and despite his age, going blind in one eye and dodgy back legs he has these spurts of energy where he runs around like a 1 year old for about 10 mins and then is out of puff for the rest of the day. I have to own to being a little bit in love with him because he reminds me so much of my beloved Monty in his last months of life, plus I can pick him up sit him on my knee and love him loads. His companion is a female called Penny and a very different kettle of fish, she can be snappy at times,and one has to be careful how you approach her to give her a little stroke, especially on her back as for some reason she is very sensitive there, but she is still very sweet and loving, and as both of these are rescues one does not know what has been in their past. Size of this one is 12 x 10 in Graphite.
     I am using the new Blogger interface which is kinda of nice, although the damm spell check does not work, it always seems to play up, but this style is nice and clean, and fairly easy to use. I shall continue on with it and see how it pans out.

Write A Post,Help A Dog

2011-08-30T08:56:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
Reading these posts from my bloggy pals Jeanette (illustrated life) and Sue (pencilpix) I thought I would do a post too and pass it on hoping some of you may do the same. As most of you who read this blog will know that I have a little rescue myself, who came to us a real wreck...skinny,underweight,scared of everything no house training at all, filthly and very nervous of men. With love and patience, good homecooked food,lots of playtime, walks and a huge help from my beloved PooPoo, she is now at the age of five a totally different dog. Having said that there are still some things that I think she will never get totally over and we just accept that and go with what we have....We love her just as she is.

With apologies to Sue (Pencil Pix) I've lifted the following from her site as I think this is a wonderful idea. If you could all make a post on your Blogs think how much food Pedigree will donate to the dogs shelter. What a generous gesture from Pedigree.

Please hurry as the offer ends September 3rd.

Here’s how it works:

The Write a Post, Help a Dog program is aimed at raising awareness of the more then 4 million dogs that wind up in shelters and breed rescues each year. As well as to help get them all food (our goal is 10,000 lbs of food in the next two weeks) for the more than four million dogs that wind up in shelters and breed rescues each year.
For each blog post mentioning the Pedigree Foundation from now until midnight ET on September 3, Pedigree will donate 20 pounds of its new dry Pedigree recipe food for dogs — its best recipe ever — to a shelter, because every dog deserves leading nutrition.
Feel free to mae your post more visually appealing by using either or both of the two images seen in this post.
The Pedigree Foundation — a 501 (C)(3) nonprofit organization is committed to helping dogs by providing grants to shelters and rescues and encouraging dog adoption. This year the Foundation has already raised more than $376,570 against its goal of $1.5 million to carry out its work to fund grants that not only help shelters operate, but to further shelter innovations.

The Pedigree Foundation depends on charitable contributions from individuals to carry out its mission to help dogs find loving homes. In addition to writing a blog post, here’s how you can help:

Donate online at http://pedigreefoundation.org/donate.aspx
Apply for a shelter grant from the Pedigree Foundation by completing a form atwww.pedigreefoundation.org
Purchase Dogs Rule Gear at www.dogsrulegear.com where the proceeds go to the Pedigree Foundation to help loving dogs find a home. SPECIAL OFFER: Get 10 percent off Dogs Rule Gear by using the promo code BlogPaws10 from August 22 – September 30.

Once you get your post up and ready please feel free to grab the link code to include it in your post and add your link to the list so it is easier to keep track of all the posts plus it makes it so easy for your friends to learn about the event and see the progress we are making towards our goal of 10,000 lbs of food.

This is a Blog Hop! 22 entries so far... you're next!

1. To Dog with Love	2. Two Little Cavaliers	3. Boccis Beefs
4. www. houstondogblog. com	5. Lis Careys Library	6. DogTipper. com
7. Grouchy Puppy	8. Keisha the Spaniel : )	9. Saving Pennies for a Rainy Day
10. Kyndall @ Say No To Recycling	11. 4 The Love of Animals	12. Julianne @ Just a Simple Life
13. Write a post, help a dog	14. Laineys Pawtique & Bakery	15. Blog for Paws
16. Non profit organizations weekend on Empire Avenue	17. Brando and Bogart	18. Adriel Hampton on Tumblr
19. Write a Post, Help a Dog	20. Write a Blog, Save a Dog	21. Write a Post, Help a Dog
22. Help Feed Some Shelter Dogs This Week

You are next... Click here to enter
This list will close in 12 days, 3 hrs, 31 min (9/8/2011 12:59 AM CST)

Another Rottie

2011-08-27T11:47:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
          It has been a week since my last update on this blog, but I have not been idle, my pens,pencils and ink have been furiously busy tangling away on artiinspirations and it has been much fun with lots more to come.
         This another Rottie drawing that I started some time a go and forgot all about, and decided to get it out and finish it. Having done two previous pictures of the same dog, one a full frontal in CPs and a small one of this pose in Graphite, I thought it would be nice to do it again in CPs. She is stunning to look at and I was very lucky to get some superb pics of her, so this is 10 x 8 on Fabriano.
         I also wanted to say thank you to everybody for their kind comments on my previous post, this week has been much better, but with experience I have learnt that I could go for a week or longer without too much pain, and then have a week completely knocked sideways, it is as with most things manageable with a mixture of rest, meds and exercises. Yesterday I had my first lot of treatment and did get some respite overnight but this morning the pain and uncomfortability is back with a vengeance and my left leg is literally a dead weight. Having said all that it is early days yet and we shall how things go along.

Manic Week

2011-08-21T08:41:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
It has been a rough week and I have kinda got lost in time too, due to the amount of pain killers that I have had to take, mixed with lots of sleepless nights and bouts of nausea, it has not been good. The Arthritis is bad enough and sad to say not getting better, but down to that and an old knee injury which in turn has affected my hip, I am not having a good time. Ever since I was a child I have walked everywhere, which some of it was dictated by lifestyle, but also because I enjoyed it....it gets you out into the fresh air, gets you fit and is gentle enough for the most unfit of us to do. Last year I after a lot of work I managed to walk on average about 2 miles a day, sometimes more....I was always knackered and if I over did it paid for it big time the following days, but god it felt good. All my frustrations,depressions, anxiety were in the wind and I felt mentally refreshed, and my little Bluebell always accompanied me getting up to no good making me smile along the way. Now for the past month or so that has had to stop, because walking is aggravating my hip which in turn is affecting my knee, my left leg just seems to drag along and is very unstable, so much so yesterday on a visit out I resorted to using a walking stick to aid my balance. Good news is that I start treatment this week and am hoping for some much needed relief, especially at night. Apologies for the miserable post, I don't like going off topic usually, especially in relation to my health, but I just needed to vent today.

On a lighter note I did have being some creative art, which you can view on my other blog....kinda of need a few new followers other there, so if any of you fancy it, you would be most welcome.....here is the link artiinspirations

GSD Finished

2011-08-14T15:55:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
Yesterday I went to a local dog show where I had a great time and met up with some old friends. The day dawned grey and wet and for a while I was doubtful if it would clear and if we would have any sunshine, but I was not let down, because by about midday it was beautiful. Always a bit of worry if it is too hot and humid as I always think the dogs get a bit agitated, understandably so but a coolish temp of about 21/22 degrees and a breeze is ideal and down on the seafront you are more than likely to get this. I saw a pair of beautiful Bedlington Terriers who were so sweet, but funny looking at the pure version of my beloved Bluebell ! A harlequin Dane came along who I met when he was still a pup and now three years old in his prime and absolutely stunning to look at, also the owners of the above GSD who is called Juke at just a year old with enormous paws and a hefty a weight is going to grow into a very handsome boy.They also bought along their 13 week old pup called Tia another GSD and a real sweetie, which they hope to at the right time mate with Juke. A super silver grey standard Poodle, a wonderful Parsons Terrier who again I met as a puppy and now just over a year old and so funny...just love him. A little jack cross/chi decked in pink and a real floozy with all the dogs, but not intimated by size or breed ( she was very small) a very handsome boxer and a gorgeous jet black Belgian Shepherd, along with lots of other breeds in various colours,shapes and sizes. All in all a really good day. I came home knackered but happy and spent the rest of the day with a large glass of wine in hand watching the box.

Google +

2011-08-12T15:19:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
        Just a quick post today about Google + which I imagine that quite a few of you heard about over the past few months. Having just nabbed myself an invitation I have set it up and am playing around to see how I like it. I do love google and all that goes with it and use most of the tools that comes with this account and to date am pleased with everything so am hoping that + might be the same, however it is early days yet. On reading a few reviews it has been likened to FB which is something I really don't like, and despite having an account don't use. Twitter is cool as is a few other social networks that I visit on my travels in cyber space, but as is with all internet stuff ,the downside is that you kind of get addicted, but as an artist trying to get exposure in this ever growing world that might be seen as a good thing.
    I do have 150 invites here to give out and what a better place to share them than on my blog, so if you fancy giving it a whirl click the link below...It would be great to see a few more arty friends around and I shall keep an eye out for noobees !
    Google +

    If the link does not work let me know and I will see if it can recitfied.

Sunny Tuesday

2011-08-09T15:10:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
Kinda of stuck for a blog title and did not want to repeat myself with same titles, so as it is weather wise a lovely day here in the uk, thought that would be apt. It is a shame that I cannot not apply that to the rest of the country with the awful rioting and wanton destruction of peoples property...without getting in to it too much, perhaps bringing in the army as a backup to the police would be the next best thing!

As you can see above another update on the GSD, and I am feeling a lot happier now with how it is looking. I widened the nose on the left as it was just too narrow and so did not look right and applied a few more dark tones in places to bring the right ear out. It is strange that sometimes that a piece of art that tests your patience and skill is the one of the ones that you end up loving.

Update on the GSD

2011-08-06T08:13:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
Another little update on the GSD, but I have to say that when I scanned this I realised that it was not looking how I wanted it to. I could see straight away that there were parts that needed tweaking, and although the reference photo is "usable" it is not the best to work from. I did nearly bin it and start again which I really hate doing, but I will stick with it and tweak where needed.

Arti Inspirations

2011-08-03T15:27:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
I know that I said I would not create another blog again, but on further thinking because I find myself veering into new creative adventures I feel more comfortable keeping it separate from this blog.To me what I do here is fine art portraiture,pet portraiture,wildlife etc created in pencil/pencils and that is how I want to keep it. For the more new creative stuff that I am doing as in stones,wood and my extreme love of Zentangles/zendoodles/zendalas I am going to blog about all that here http://artiinspirations.blogspot.com/.
I will be adding a link to my gallery on picasa for this,and links some my other favourite bloggers who work in this type of style as well. So I hope you will come over there and follow my creative endeavours and hopefully it will become as popular as this one.

Juke GSD

2011-08-03T14:55:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
Behind with my updates a little this week, had a few minor setbacks health wise but am getting back to normal now. Another GSD has landed on my desk this one called Juke and is about approximately a year and a half old so really still a pup yet. I don't know this dog very well suffice to say that he is a beautiful pale colour all over but with some traditional dark facial markings leading from his shoulders down his back to the tip of his tail, a real stunner to look at. The portrait is just head and shoulders 12 x10 in graphite.

Doodle/Zentangle Fish

2011-07-27T15:38:00.002+01:00

Hi all,
       Hmmm strange things happening today as this is the second time I am making this post as the first one just sort of disappeared......blogger gremlins out and about perhaps ?
     Well I am back to normal now as my router turned up this morning, and after a quick switch around with computers and stuff I am good to go.
      As you can see above I have finished the doodle/tangle fish I started some time ago, and although I am not happy with the finished piece I am itching to get started on something more bigger. I just love working in black/white with pens, and find it to be very creative and relaxing much like doing mandalas, the juices start flowing and my imagination kicks in with the weird and wonderful.

Back online today ?

2011-07-27T08:03:00.001+01:00

Hi all,
Well my new router is set to arrive today I hope. It should of been here sooner but like a lot of things these days it did not. Feeling a little bit frustrated that I cannot get online properly and do all the things that I need to, but thank god for my Android phone which let's me do smaller things.
Went to a dog show at the weekend which was great lots of super pooches all shapes and sizes,plus I caught up with some that were puppies from last year...will put some pics up later on.
New work to show another German shepherd in graphite and a few other bits.

posted from Bloggeroid

No internet

2011-07-23T08:54:00.001+01:00

Hi all,
Just a quickie today to say that I have no internet as such because I am swapping providers. This post is being made via my phone so I am able to do a limited amount of stuff. Should be back to normal by Monday...I hope.

posted from Bloggeroid

Zentangle

2011-07-20T10:40:00.001+01:00

Zentangle, a group on Flickr.

Hi all,
This is my first post for things that I love and inspire me,which today is Zentangle love. Being a member of quite a few groups on Flickr I am always amazed at the beautiful different types of art that I come across, and I just love Zentangle. I could not just pick one type and share it with you all, as there are so many that I love, so instead am sharing the group works with you all. If you love to tangle, go have a look see at the wonderful art being done here, I promise you will be inspired.

July Stones

2011-07-18T11:10:00.000+01:00

Hi all,

Have finally finished these few stones now, although the picture is a little blurry. I really liked doing these and got quite creative with the colours and design, especially the longish ones as I made the dots quite prominent and that it turn makes it very touchy/feely. I don't always dive in straight away with the paint blind, I make lots of little sketch's with my ideas,patterns and expressions for the faces and will be doing a few more soon.

Thanks for all your recent comments, much apprecaited and as given me some food for thought.

Zentangle/Doodle Fish

2011-07-17T13:46:00.025+01:00

Hi all,
Back online today and regaining some normality thanks heaven ! The router turned up and after a quick switch around of puters and stuff everything is running smoothly. I really do ask myself a lot how on earth did we cope before the age of technology, as I can still remember the days when I did not have one and would borrow hubby's for a quick surf like a scared teenager playing with a new toy. Blogs,flickr, google,yahoo,seo,search engines,msm,hotmail etc....all those words and anything associated with it were just alien to me and in some ways life was so much simpler and less complicated. Now it is computer everything, and that in turn has opened up a whole new world for me as I imagine it has for a lot of people, so I reckon I will still be doing this when I am at least 80 !

Well I managed to get finally get this finished and although I am not entirely happy with the work I like the idea behind it. Working in this style, with pens is something I really adore doing and cannot wait to get my teeth into something larger and perhaps more elaborate as this one is just a small sketch book size. There are elements of doodles and zentangles in here which I think work well together, and the creative process is just so and relaxing, much like the mandalas.

Thistle and Butterfly

2011-06-30T08:16:00.001+01:00

Thistle and Butterfly, originally uploaded by KatherineJFT.

I just came across this beautiful piece of work by Katherine, who is such a talented CP artist. I just love the vibrant colours and almost fantasy feel of it, an instant fave for me.

Alfies Posse

2011-06-28T07:48:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
         I hope that you UK dwellers did not suffer too much in that dreadful heatwave that we had yesterday ? I have just been away for a short trip to spend some time with me mum and yesterday I returned travelling by train, and I cannot tell you how glad that I was to get in, drop everything grab a long cool shandy and a shower...don't get me wrong I love the heat, but not like that, it was way too much for me.
     The picture above is the one that I blogged about in my last post and here it is finally finished. This does not do it just justice as I had to photograph it and I am useless at that when it comes to art, with the size being 16 x 20 inches, just too big to put on the scanner.I know the dog personally a labdoodle, hence all that nutty curly fur, and a bit of ladies man when it comes to girlie dogs. He is adorable, full of fun and mischief, but also quite nobel looking which I hope was caught here in the picture with his two human grankids.

Pug Cross rework

2011-06-19T06:12:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
Another busy week has gone by and the decorating/sorting/cleaning up are in the final stages which I have to say I am very pleased about. Yesterday was aimed at downsizing again, and we went through boxes of stuff being very harsh on what to keep and what not, and although it was a little painful for me to part with some things it really needed to be done as I am a bit of hoarder. Over the years we have lived in properties of various sizes, and collected huge amounts of stuff which at the time was all well and good, but now we feel it is no longer needed so has been given away or donated to charity shops. As we are now in a good sized I bed bungie, which is an ideal size for us to manage given the ongoing health issues, I feel a lot happier and in a round about "cleansed" of toot. The idea of living with what we need rather than what we would like is quite refreshing and in the current financial climate makes good sense to us.
The picture you see above is of a Pug cross called Darcy and what a beautiful little dog he is. As most of you know going to the dog shows throughout the summer is something I have being doing for many years and have collected a huge range of photos and met some great dogs/people, this dog being one of them. It was back in 2008 that I met this little fellow and just took a few shots of him but for some reason did not manage to connect with his owner. To my surprise and delight at a local show a couple of weeks ago he comes trotting in owner in hand, looking exactly the same although a little grayer around the face. I recognised him straight away ( always the dogs first and owners second ! ) and finally was able to spend some talking with his owner, a lovely lady called Anne. It was done some years ago and I got it out of storage giving it a rework and touching up the colours which is a more truer rendition of this cute little mutt.

Dog Show Saturday

2011-06-14T08:43:00.000+01:00

    Hi all,
        I know I have neglected my blog again, but I am still tied up with getting sorted in my new home and any art I have been doing has been aimed at one specific large picture which is almost completed now, and that I hope to show later on this week. I did not get anything done on Drawing day either as I was in the garden cutting back trees and bush's which seemed to take forever. When you have health issues doing any kind physical stuff can be very tiring, so having a break in between bouts is the best way to go but obviously takes longer.
      I did manage to get up to a dog show at the weekend and took some lovely shots of these dogs above, and they are most defiantely on my list to do...arent they just gorgeous ? I have a soft spot for the bottom one as he is a Bedlington Terrier and as most of my readers know Blubees is a cross from one of these cuties. These dogs are also part of an obedience/dance/heelwork group and have to say that they put on a great display.

Back to normal.....?

2011-06-04T10:04:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
    Well it has been a while since I have updated my blog, but if you have read my last few posts then you will know that I have recently moved and as we it know it can be a stressful experience ! The move itself went ok but there has been much work to do at our new home which has really taken time and is still ongoing, but I do have my desk up and running, but still no new artwork to show yet ! Not all my equipment is unpacked just the immediate stuff I need to finish off some ongoing work, but once that is done I can to get grips with getting organised a little better. All things being equal I hope to share that one picture with you next week some time as it is a special picture on a very large size,16 x 20 to be exact.
        Today is also the universal Drawing Day which just gets popular every year, use the link to read all about it or grab a pencil and join in. I hope to get a little sketch type zentangle done myself today which I shall show here on my blog and perhaps in a few other participating places.
        The photo above is of my little werewolf Bluebell who found herself a little spot in the garden jungle to rest in...so funny watching her as she flattened the grass around her and settled down for a little sleep, as she would not come into the new place for most of the day. Have to say that she loves this new garden as there is so much going on in there as we have a few trees for her to play hide and seek around, which in turn brings lots of little birds to watch and Frogs. Yesterday was a saga as she had found a frog in the garden and having never seen one put her paw on it for close inspection, I got the shock of my life as it started squealing and I myself have never heard anything like that. She had not hurt it but obviously froggy was very scared of her and was hopping acrosss the garden in attempt to escape. It was a very high pitched squeal almost like a baby, and as I cannot stand for anything to be hurt I managed to pick it up and give it my neighbour who has a lovely big pond. Apparently this one was a Marsh Frog, smallish and green in colour but a few weeks ago we came across another one that was big and orange in colour, very vibrant actually...thank god she did not see that one !

Blog Break

2011-04-26T07:16:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
Hope all you UK dwellers have enjoyed the Easter Sun we have had, it has been lovely and must say most welcome after such a long winter. Bluebell has spent a whole lot of time at the beach playing in the water and hunting in the scrub adjacent to the river, so much so a half hour walk is taking more like an hour plus ! Yesterday was bath day for her as she came home with stiff fur all down her legs and her belly.....another nasty smelly patch of something for her to roll in !
This will be my last post now for at least a week or longer, as moving day is imminent and we still have much to do,and plenty to do when we arrive at our new home so will catch up with ya all later.

Sketchbook fun.

2011-04-16T07:32:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
Thanks for all your recent comments, much appreciated as always. In between bouts of packing and clearing out I kept a little sketchbook handy so I could just doodle around with some pens when I had a few minutes spare. This is a sort of tangled fish theme and obviously not finished yet but I have had fun doing it and methinks it has given me some ideas for a larger piece. I will develop it when I can and post up another update if possible.

Fish and Paper Weights

2011-04-06T08:04:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
      What a week so far, been busy clearing stuff out and making a few runs to the local recycling center...cannot believe how much stuff we have acquired in the past few years ! We have been quite harsh on what to keep and what not, as some of the stuff has been in the shed and not seen the light of day for a while and some of it was just bunged in there for storage, and at one point it was almost impossible to access them without wading through loads of stuff ! As I have gotten older I do find myself needing less in the way of material things, as long as I have my art stuff and books then I am a happy little soul !
       Packing is underway,which is the worst part I think, but on reflection because we have downsized so much that this will be the easiet move we have ever done and the last ! I expect everything to go to plan and should be in our new home by the end of April, but will be offline for a few days whilst we sort out the broadband etc. I am not very good with disruption and cannot wait to get my "artspace" sorted so I can knuckle down to some serious work, as most of my gear is packed now apart from some pencils which I am using on a current piece that really needs to be done before we go. However I did manage to snap a photo of few stones just recently finished which you can see above...just love working with that glitter paint!
      As moving time draws and things speed up, with limited time available posts will be when and if I can, so I hope to catch up with you all properly then and thanks for staying with me.

Spam Comments

2011-03-29T07:48:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
           We have finally hit the jackpot here in the uk as for the past week we have had some lovely sunny warm days, so much so that I was able to put Bluebells bed outside for her to sunbathe on. She is a funny little soul as she does love the sun and as soon as it is out she is up and gone around the back to the garden and will stretch out to catch some rays ! The photo above was taken last week when we went to visit a friend, and this is Blue and her best pal Pearl playing out in the garden. These two have been friends for ever and the last two summers were spent play fighting all day, going to the beach,sleeping,eating and drinking and a fine time was had by all. Sadly Pearls family moved some miles away last year, but still close enough for us to jump in the car and go for a visit.
           For the next month or so my blog posts will be few and far between as I am moving for definite and in the process of packing up my home yet again. I will miss living here as it has been great being so close to the sea that I can walk to it in under 10 mins, but for many reasons this move is more about practicality than anything else. So we are moving inland just a bit, closer to facilities and other things required for our needs but not too far away that we can still have a day out at the beach, a win situation all the way methinks. There will be no art to show for this period as well, as I just wont have time to create any, but I shall make up for that later on.
        I woke up this morning to find that my blog had been hit by a host of spam comment's from online casinos etc which is a real pain in the ass and most un welcome, so they have promptly been deleted and marked as spam. In my years of blogging I have never encountered much spam at all so was wondering if this was just me getting it or any of you as well ? Be warned it will not be tolerated !

Spots and Dots

2011-03-17T07:26:00.000Z

Hi all,
I have just realised that it has been a week or so since my last post, and I don't have any excuses for that except I have been tied up with some personal stuff and finishing off these stones for a friend. This is my last lot for a while now as it is for all my other painting stuff as I must be disciplined with myself and spend time with my pencils. These stones have been done with lots of different colours,including my new glitter paint which I love, and have gotten really wild and funky with some of the patterns on these,using flowers and multi coloured spots and dots. I have lots of new ideas whirling around in my head, but that will have to await a while now. As I sit here writing this post I cannot quite believe that I am going to say this, but it looks like we will be moving again! More on that later.

Irish Setter done.

2011-03-07T18:46:00.000Z

Hi all,
As you can see left, I have now finished the Irish Setter, and what a joy she was to do,just love that collar ! Having the pencils back in my hands felt sooo good, and I am raring to get started on the Mastiff. I would of had done a little this week, but I have been busy painting stones for a friend of mine, they are all bugs, of funky colours and patterns and once I have photographed them will post some up.
We finally had some good amounts of sunshine today which was nice, albeit the wind was still a tad chilly, but even so we made the most of it. Last week walking along the beach we came across a dead rat, a very large one which Bluebell thought it would be great to roll in not just once but twice which led to her having a bath each time, which she hated ! We avoided that spot for a while, but as she so loves this particular place because it is great for hunting we went back on that trail today, but with no rat thank god, so it was a lovely afternoon, with a hot cup of tea and jam donuts for afters. I think Spring is finally on the way yipppee !

Irish Setter 2

2011-03-01T18:56:00.000Z

Hi all,
Another post today methinks I am on a roll ! This is where I am at with this picture which is almost done now. I do love doing some of these funky collars on dogs, and with a dog that has a lot of white in the chest neck area, or is quite pale can help break up a very large section of grey/white fur.
I have so missed using my pencils and am enjoying this one a lot, so trying to get ahead of myself a little I am already thinking of my next picture. I do have one semi done that needs to be finished and that is Neapolitan Mastiff, but I think it is time to do some wildlife. Looking through my portfolio of completed drawings I have a lot of dogs and cats but very little wildlife. I do think that is because taking photos of dogs at the shows is really accessible,and cats are not a problem either but getting the wildlife requires a trip to the parks and zoos. I do have some shots of lions that I took last year at Port Lympe and a few of the Gorillas,Rhino and hoof stock so they are also on my list to do at some point. I have contacted some one on flickr in regard to a few Cheetah pictures which is my all time favorite big cat, and they have kindly allowed me to use a few for a picture I have in mind, more on that later.

Irish Setter

2011-03-01T11:41:00.000Z

Hi all,
Another week has gone by and I have been busy sorting out some of my art equipment and having a little tidy up lol...well sort of ! Having had a much too long break from the pencils I have been itching to pick them up and get on with some drawing and as you can see on the left the current subject is an Irish Setter with these beautiful tones,of orange and red. I did not take this photo her owner did and it was done outside when we had all the snow so her colours are coming across very vibrant and bright. I have tried to tone them down a tad to a more natural colour and hopefully will work towards that end. The size is 10 x 8 and is on Fabriano paper, but I am not sure it is the 5 satin/smooth type as this one tends to feel a little bit more textured so am wondering if I have picked up the wrong sort ? Having said that it is ok to use so not is all lost, the pencils are mostly Derwents drawing range as they have some really super shades of red like Ruby Earth,Sepia Red,Mars Orange and the much loved Terracotta.
The picture is showing some dirty smudges on the top left corner, but these are on my scanner which needs a bit of a clean.

Another few days of Painting

2011-02-23T18:31:00.000Z

Hi all,
Well I have had another week of painting and have created a few new rounds, however I am not so pleased with this top one as I am with my first one. This started out as completely different, and somehow ended up here, but the scan does not do the colours any justice at all ! Also I am not sure where the middle bit was going either, think I just got a little carried away lol. The second one is alot smaller and is Birch wood,very simple and uncomplicated , but again the colours look a little numpty,so perhaps I might photograph them next time. The last picture is another Zentangle/Zendoodle with a bit of shading. The top one is not finished yet,needs a little more decoration,which I will get done tomorrow.

Thanks for all your comments much appreciated as always, it is so nice to see what my blogger epals think of my humble efforts in this experimental art of mine.

Wood Round Finished

2011-02-20T12:05:00.000Z

Hi all,
As you can see I have now finished my very first wood round and have to say that I am so pleased with how this turned out. I say that because I am not and never have been any good with acrylic paint, so this is quite an achievement for me really. Having said that I have learnt some things as well,primarily to keep my pencil marks for the initial pattern quite light as the paint does not always cover these so well if they are dark, and to work fast if mixing two colours together because it dries so damn quick ! I do have a little spray bottle handy to combat that if needed.
In my mind this is a bright funky mandala that does not have any specific meaning as such, and could be hanged on the wall or somewhere else via a ribbon which I will attach. The outer edge has been rimmed with orange glitter paint of which I have a fair few colours of and absolutely love. This has yet to be glossed so looks kinda of flat, and once this is done it will brighten the colours plus add protection. I am still undecided about the back yet, so perhaps an inscription of some kind might be ok ?

I have more to come and am already working on another one inspired by the sun and sunflowers, but again in a mandala style.

Wood Round

2011-02-16T19:17:00.000Z

Hi all,
Thought I would share with you my first ever painted wood round, and although I am loving it so far there is still much to do on it, in the way of adding extra decoration. These are MDF and gessoed first to seal the wood and then sanded back a bit to get it a little smoother. The pattern I just made up as I went along free handing so the proportions may not be 100% correct, but I am not too fussed about that to be honest. I am still undecided whether to do this one as a double sided, or just paint the back in one colour or even leave it white with a written inscription. I suppose like most things it will come to me when I least expect it ! I have to say that I love the orange colour it is so vibrant and warming, and works well with the blue, and have also added some metallic bronze in the yellow parts. However I will own up to not being the worlds greatest or methodical colour mixer and tend to throw some together and see what comes out of it, as I did with this orange.

For all you dog lovers out there I have not forgotten my portraits and will be starting a few new ones soon, and as always will share them with you.

Zentangle Star

2011-02-11T08:15:00.000Z

Hi all,
Continuing on with my experiments of wood, zentangles and pen I produced this little star yesterday. I ordered a pack of these from ebay a few weeks ago and thought it would be fun to zentangle one side and paint the other, or something like that anyway ! These are quite small 2 1/2 inches across with a hole drilled for hanging, perhaps a ribbon or twine to match the painted colours. I quite like working with the wood, very different surface from paper,but quite flexible I find in what you can do with it. I have some larger mdf cut rounds which I have gessoed and prepared to create some mandalas, and other things as well, very much in the experimental stages I must confess.

I have created another art card in my Valentine theme, and for the first time I have used my glitter paint which I love ! I applied it with a brush, but realised that you could not brush it on like paint, you kind of had to push it around to fill the area you wanted. It did take a little while to dry, but once done maintained its sparkly aura.The rest of this was done with sharpies and a pilot drawing pen, however I dont think it is finished yet as I am not happy with those flowers just sitting there like that, so will fill the space up with more patterns.

2011-02-07T19:24:00.000Z

Hi all,
       Have to say that I am so fed with the winter, gosh it has been long one, and we are so looking forward to having some sun. This week has been very windy,gale force in some places but very little sun,just flat grey skies,however Spring is not too far away methinks as I have seen some early bulbs starting to come up.
     This week has been another light one,nothing too serious, so a few ATCs, done in Zentangle style and a funky fish which is yet to be finished with a bit of sparkly paint. The love one is not something I would normally do but as Valentines day is round the corner, thought it would be fun to celebrate it with a few cards, and there are two more to come making a set of three. I love Zentangling it is so much fun and a great way to relax, plus there is so many talented Zentanglers/Zendoodlers out there whose blogs I have been reading. Watch this space as I have more to come.

Bluebell pic

2011-02-04T09:13:00.001Z

Hi all,
Another quick little play,a photo of my little werewolf being nosy. In case you were wondering why I call her that it is because her fur is such a funny texture ,very rough and spiky,but her mohican and pom pom ears very soft and silky. I love her to pieces, but she does remind me of a cross between spike from the Gremlins movie and a werewolf lol. Of course then when she gets defensive her hackles do rise up around her neck and she goes stalking,plus she pounces like a fox,funny little gal she is. This pic was taken with my phone camera which I have to say is a good one, but far better to take with two hands than one or we get the camera shake.

New Android Blogger app

2011-02-04T08:55:00.001Z

Hi all,
Just making this post from my phone trying out the new official Blogger app for android, and so far seems not to bad. I will do more with it over the next few days,posting up pictures etc and see how it handles.

More Balls

2011-02-04T07:45:00.000Z

Hi all,

Thanks for all the recent comments on my balls lol, got to say I have enjoyed doing these little things and have about another 20 to do. I am still finding out what works and not, and think that may be a light sanding to smooth out some of the rougher edges might be best. As I move the pen across them I can see and feel the ridges which is kind of nice as it does lend itself to suggest a pattern of sorts. I have three completed now and reckon that when they are all together will look great as a decorative item, perhaps in a glass bowl with coloured stones, or in a basket,give as a fun funky gift to adults or kids alike. I think I will try and develop this further by getting some bigger ones perhaps as these are quite small. My good epal Karen asked what size these are so approx 2 1/2 centimeters in diameter...small eh. This small work has got me back to ATC/ACEOs again and I am busy Zentangling, which I have to say that I love doing and will post up some of those soon when they are done.

A question to all my blogger pals, how do you find the posting of multiple images up on your blog ? I know that we can align them right,left or center which is ok but I thought we could also drag and drop them into where we wanted them, and I seem to be having trouble doing this or is just me ?

Ok I know I said when I changed my blog template that plain,clean and simple works best for me, but I just felt that the plain white with no colour or structure was just a tad too boring and felt the need to inject a little bit of colour without overloading it. Looking through the template designer I did see some wonderful backgrounds which really appealed to me but I just think it would detract away from the pictures that are posted up too much,so for the moment have settled on this which is ok and clean looking.

Zentangled Balls

2011-01-31T07:54:00.000Z

Hi all,
Thanks for all the recent comments, some good advice in there and I have decided to take some of that on board and do something light and playful. Some of you may remember a previous post where I was talking about "playing with wood and paint" and this is something that I have really taken too, however having said that I have not gotten very far with anything in particular as I am still finding out what will work and what wont. In the meantime I thought it would be fun to do something with these wooden spheres that I bought at a jumble sale for 50 pence a bag, a very good investment ! From what I can see these are birch wood balls, and for a while at a loss as what to do with them,paint them,draw on them, no Zentangle them. As most of you will know wood is very porous so needs to be sealed and as this was still very experimental I quickly slapped a coat of acrylic varnish on them and proceeded to Zentangle with Sharpies. I could of gessoed them first and then painted but that did not appeal to me as I still wanted to show the wood. Looking closely at the balls I can see where the pen has bled somewhat in places, where I have not applied the varnish properly, but on the whole I was quite pleased with how this one turned out and I will be doing the rest in similar style methinks. Any advice on sealing the wood first with something else other than varnish please leave a comment as this is a bit of an unknown territory to me.

Two Week Break ?

2011-01-23T11:03:00.000Z

Hi all,
It has been two weeks since my last post and I think without really being aware of it until now I sort of needed to take a break from it for some reason. I have to say that it has been a bit of struggle of making regular posts when I feel that I have nothing to share, especially art wise and that is a problem in itself when I am not creating anything ! Things have been a bit out of sync for a while and I find myself in a difficult place without a whole of lot of enthusiasm for doing pet portraiture or come to think of it any kind of serious art really. I "play" around with pens,paper,ink,paint,stones,etc but nothing comes of it so not sure where that leaves me at the moment, and I will probably have to sit down and give myself a good talking too to get out of this mindset. I think what has not helped is my health has been a bit crappy as well, and finding out that both of my knees are at some point going to need to be replaced. I can live with that though, as there is always someone out there worse of than you, its just that the pain can be so bloody depressing and tiring,arthritis is not a fun thing to have. I am not a quitter though,every day I get up, and get out for my daily walk with Bluebell and albeit a lot slower I enjoy it just as much. I am sure in due course I shall return to normal soon, but until then my posts may be a bit intermittent and just photographs or something along those lines.
The swan above was taken last year on a trip to Hever Castle, I really like these birds so graceful and beautiful to look at perhaps there is a picture in the making!

Return to the Cairn Terrier.

2011-01-08T08:28:00.000Z

Hi all,
I don't know about all of you, but time does seem to fly past so quickly these days, or is it just my age ? 2011 is here and to be honest I am glad about that, as I don't believe in looking back too much, going forward into the unknown can be scary, but so rewarding too, so upwards and onwards with my furore into untested new mediums and styles.
Up above it the Cairn Terrier that I started last year and never completed for various reasons, but I have come back to it,made some subtle changes to the fur colouring by adding in some lighter beige's and a little bit of brown. This picture was done when he was a young pup of about 6 months and his colouring was quite light and you were able to see all these pale tones in his coat, but now he has grown somewhat as has his coat and he is much darker almost black/grey in some parts. Even so the dark bits tend to be on the tips of his coat and around the face,lift it up and look underneath and you will see the light parts. Got to say drawing scruffy/long haired dogs is never easy, short coats tend to be a lot easier, but once this is finished I will be happy with it. Size of this one is 10 x 8 inches on Stonehenge in CPs.

Blog change.

2011-01-02T07:56:00.001Z

Hi all,
Well it seems Blogger is not going to allow me to post any images up today, so I will come back later and try then. As you may of noticed I have changed the look of my blog to something that I feel always looks great, plain white ! I have to be honest and say that this is something I find myself coming back to all the the time as I feel it is a bit like a blank canvas/paper that I can add some colour too when and where I wish. I am not really one for too many "busy things" that can clutter up a blog/website and tend to opt for the more clean and simple style which can be adjusted to suit my tastes when the mood takes me. I have visited many websites/blogs where they look very nice and funky using all sorts of gadgets and lovely bright colours, but I have found that they can be very buggy and take an age to load, and too many colours just me eyes ache. As this is now my main point of origin for all my art stuff, my main objective is to make it user friendly for my readers.
Let me know your thoughts on how you find it ?

Ps...Just edited this post and managed to get a picture posted up. Sometime ago I bought some mdf aceo sized boards off eBay, and was in a bit of a quandary as to what to with them, so a little bit of experimentation bought me back to more zentangles. I gessoed it first using pen and paint to make the tangle....although I am not sure it is strictly a zentangle as such, but I did enjoy it and will be doing some more.

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T15:34:00.000Z

Hi all,
I wish you all a very Happy New Year and hope that your celebrations went with a bang ! I have to admit to trying to keep awake until midnight to see it in, but my eyes had other ideas and I nodded off watching the tv about 11....I sooo need my kip these days and if I don't get it can be a bit of a GOB (grumpy old bag).
I did plan to post up some art, but am not too happy with what I have done so far, so will save that for another day. Like most people in the world I thought about making a detailed post for my New Years resolutions, and on a personal level there are some things I want to try and stick to, but when it comes to art related stuff, I am going to opt out this year, simply because I do not want to place restrictions on myself. As I find myself in a time of experimentation then that is something I am happy to keep doing,exploring new medias and ideas can be so much fun and rewarding. I will still be doing the pet portraiture but want to break that up with something more simple, fun and lighthearted. So all I can say on that for the moment is to watch this space.

Merry Xmas and Happy New Year.

2010-12-23T10:56:00.000Z

Hi all,
    Sadly I do not have a Xmas image to share this year, so thought I would show you this instead, which is a pic of Bluebell being silly, well shes upside down getting her tum tickled by her dad which she loves...honestly this baby is soooo spoilt, but hey ho I am dog mad,love them all and why not.
   Thanks for all the answers on my previous post, and thinking it about some more am in agreement. A mixture of different things is good I believe and stops the blog from getting stale, so I will continue to post my stone efforts here and any other art/dog thing that I do. The other reason is as well, that if I am honest I only have the time to keep one blog updated along with a few other sites, because the Internet is so addicting there would be no time left for me to create art.
   Lastly but not least I wish you all a very Merry Xmas and Happy New Year, thanks for following and sticking with me through the good and bad times and I will catch up with you on the other side of Xmas, with a new post for my aims in 2011 and what I felt I did/not achieve in 2010.
Be well, be safe, and most of all keep warm.

A Handful of Bugs

2010-12-21T11:45:00.000Z

Hi all,
      How are you all coping with this mad weather? Hard to believe that Britain is almost at a stand still due to it, and one can only hope for a bit of respite and normality soon.
      Thanks for all your recent comments appreciated as always, and as you can see above I have created some more stone bugs. I love doing these and find this sort of art/craft very relaxing and to keep it more interesting my cut wood rounds have arrived too, so will hope to show something new with those in the early part of next week. I do have a question to put to you my dear fellow readers and if I asked this before then please forgive me, the brain is not what it used to be in my youth ! When I set this blog up firstly I did so just for my pencil work/drawings etc hence the title "art with a pencil", but like most artists we tend to experiment try other media and explore. So my question is to you when you come to read this blog, does it irritate/ annoy you that the subject matter is not just pencil related anymore ? I have in the past separated my art into different categories via another blog, but as those were still pencil related I deleted those blogs and moved them back to here, but as painted stones/wood is quite different in style and media should I mix that up with the pencil stuff ?
     Thanks to anyone who replies, your input is valued as I want to give all my readers/followers the best I can.

   Just a quick note the photo is a tad blurred because I took it with my camera phone.

A few Stones.

2010-12-14T13:17:00.001Z

Hi all,
Again I am making this post from my phone,got to say so far I am quite impressed so will use it a lot more in the future methinks.
As I said in my previous post I had painted a few stones and these are for a friend to give to some birthday gals who have reached 40. The colours are their favorites and the pattern mine....these will be used as paper weights which I thinlk will look great. No gloss yet and the photos taken with my phone so perhaps not top quality.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Computer Upgrade

2010-12-12T09:22:00.001Z

Hi all
A bit behind with everything as I am having my computer upgraded with a new mother board/graphics card etc so am making this post from my trusty phone, but do hope to be back to normal by sometime tomorrow.
In the art department I have been playing around with paint on wood and have created a few more stones, which I will try and upload later, in the meantime I will leave you with a picture of Bluebell and her evergrowing mohican !

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Snow Weather

2010-12-02T15:01:00.000Z

Hi all,
Gosh what a week it has been with all the snow that is covering most of the UK, and my heart goes out to those people who live in some very remote areas. Yet again we have been caught unawares, simply because I think no one expected us to get so much, and I myself cannot remember the last time it fell like this in Nov early December. Have to say I am not a big fan, as it makes for hard walking and poor Bluebell went out early this morning for a pee and could not seem to find a spot that was safe enough for her to squat without getting icicles hanging off her lol. Going out for a longer trek got us as far as the park before she decided that it was enough, and being a scruffy hairy dog came home with snowball feet and face ! Bless her she has yet to do a poo !
As you can see the GSD is about done apart from some tweaking. This has taken a time to do as this dog is practically black apart from some tan around the mouth area and lower neck, so building up the layers has been quite important to get that depth. As I said in a previous post the photo is not the best to work from, and the mouth detail was difficult to see so a bit of artistic licence was used here and other places. I am quite happy with how it came out, but already see a few areas that need a tweak,especially around the nose so I will let it sit for a day or so and then make the adjustments.
Whats up next I ask myself well I have a couple of pics that I want to finish, but have already got my paints out and am experimenting on the wood craft circles that I bought a few weeks ago, plus doing some of the mdf aceo boards that I purchased a while back off eBay, and am looking forward to "playing" with some mixed media.

Cold and Wintery UK

2010-11-25T18:40:00.000Z

Hi all,
Welcome to a very cold and wintry week here in the UK, with snow already falling in the north of the country and set to come south later this week. Cant remember the last time when it was like this in November but have to wonder if this will herald another bad winter like the last one we had, it never really warmed up until late May !

As always thanks for the visits/comments always nice to get and as you can see on the left Jake is almost done. It has taken me a lot longer than I would like and in fact I can apply that to all of my recent drawings...my passion seems to be taking a leave of absence and I am struggling a tad to get these done, but I will do before the end of 2010. I have a few more to complete then I will be taking a little break form my CPs and play with my paints/stones/wood and other creative stuff. It does one good to experiment with all other media and ideas, and I can thoroughly recommend it to break the dreaded "artistic block". I have been putting down some ideas for Mandalas and designing lots of new patterns to put on things and this week will be nipping off to the shops to get some glitter paint which I cannot wait to get my hands on.I have metallic ones and they are beautiful to use, but glitter and sparkle is essential for things at this time of year.

Another GSD

2010-11-19T08:13:00.000Z

Hi all,
       As you can see above there is another GSD on my drawing board, and this one is quite a challenge because he is mostly black, and the photo I am using is not the greatest in the world. His name is Jake and he has crossed the Rainbow Bridge, but as you can see one of his ears never came up, which to me adds all the more to his personality.There is still quite a bit to do but I am aiming to get this finished by the early part of next week and then it is back to the Cairn Terriers. Graphite size 12 x 10 inches.
     For most of you who follow this blog you will know that I love to create Mandalas and experiment with different surfaces, and for a long time have wanted to try doing these on wooden rounds. I do have in my airing cupboard a round from a tree which has been drying out and I thought I might try something with this, but really a much smoother surface and better shape is more desirable. Surfing the net I have come across a couple of suppliers that provide these in various sizes, and whats more not just circles all kinds of cut out shapes as in butterflies,animals,angels,dog bones,ovals,square blocks etc, all ready to be customized. Having said that and getting all excited I do have a dilemma as to whether I need to size the shapes first or not and by that I mean apply a coat of Gesso before applying the paint ? As I intend to create the mandalas using Acrylic (metallic,glitter,matte,pearlescent paint,mixed media) and from what I gather on reading the info on site these are made from Birch. Some of the designs would be just fairly simple and I don't think Gesso would be needed but if I was to do something where the whole round was covered perhaps then I would need to add a layer first? For those of you who do work in Acrylic paint perhaps you could give me some advise...here is the link to one of the sites that I found
Wooden Shapes.
As always any advice is much appreciated and thanks to a few new followers that I have picked up recently, not far off 200 now and I think I may have to find a way to celebrate that...perhaps a give away!

Swings and Roundabouts.

2010-11-14T12:38:00.000Z

Hi all,
       This has been a week of ups and downs and with me getting myself into a little bit of two and eight and not getting a whole lot done.Without going into too much detail suffice to say that there are changes a foot in my life which has kind affected me more than I thought, hence the lack of blog updates, art and other stuff. Today has dawned very mild but wet, but least ways I have managed to give myself a good talking too and had a chat with hubby which has helped me put a few things into perspective.Don't you just hate times like these when nothing goes right and everything seems wrong!
     The picture above is a young lady called Holli who wanted a picture with an element of make believe thrown in hence the little dragon. I took the photo of her myself at a dog show with that gorgeous quirky hat she had just bought ( I nearly nicked it for myself) and created the little dragon in shades of lilac/green to complement the colours of pink. I really enjoyed doing this because it got my creative juices flowing which is always a great feeling and her mother is great to work with as she has a great imagination and loves anything these lines, so much so she wants something similar of her and partner....watch this space!
     The scan is not great and for some reasons the colours look a little bit washed out, but as always much better in the flesh, and what does not show is that I had used a little bit of glitter on the dragons wings,size 8x8 inches mounted,CPs on Stonehenge.

Fly by week

2010-11-06T14:03:00.001Z

Hi all,
      Gosh another week flown by without an update....time seem to go so quickly that the days roll together, and I lose track of what day it is ! I do not seem to be the only one though as a few of my blogger art pals experience the same thing....am I going doolally or is it an artist thing I ask myself?
     As you can see I have almost finished this picture, should of been done last week but it is one of quite a few that I work on at the same time. I am adding in a little bit of blue underneath to suggest flooring/carpet and this works nicely with the over all colouring of the dog.
     The weather has been kind of late, and Blue and I have made the most of it trekking around the beach. looking for more sea washed slate for me to decorate with my weird and wonderful patterns. I have also cracked out a few precut ACEO cards that I bought from Etsy a few months ago, and will be doing a bit of Zentangling which I do so enjoy...a real stress buster I find. Hubby is better thank god....I am going to buy some bigger and more sound proof headphones methinks for future incidents of man flu !
    Katherine had left me a comment asking about how I know so many furry friends, and in answer to that it is mostly by going to lots of dog shows where I take hundreds of photos, make and meet friends, and normally see them year after year. It is so nice to see a puppy at his/her first dog show, all nervous and scared of the going ons around them and then entering the ring for the first time...most stand behind the owners legs, or just don't want to be there at all, but it is such a good way to socialise a youngster.Second year on and the pup has grown into a "teenager" full of themselves and wanting to experience everything, boisterous is a word I would use to describe them. In my years of doing this I have managed to follow a few dogs from puppy right up to the ages of six and above, and it is so nice to see how they have grown up and matured over the years,although saying that it does not apply to every dog, some just never grow up properly!
     Lastly but not least thanks for all the followers much appreciated when you drop in and comment.

Manic Week

2010-10-30T12:13:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
        I did not realize that a week has passed since my last post...not good really, but you know how it it is life sometimes just gets in the way of things. I have done some on the little Cairn coming together nicely now and hope to have it finished in the next few days and be able to start something new.
      Hubby is unwell with a very bad bout of man flu..have to say that I do find men a bit on the poofy side when it comes to their health, and I did so have a laugh when I read my blogger pal Sue post something very similar. Recently we have had a few issues with Bluebell as a couple of times she has peed in her sleep, and not known anything about it. On further research it seems that is a common problem amongst spayed bitches, and is to do with muscles weakening around the urethra. As women I think we understand this problem and have it drummed in to us about the importance of doing our pelvic floor exercises but as she does not talk human I cannot explain this to her! So we will monitor how much water she drinks especially before bedtime and see how we go, but if it does get worse there is a drug that can help,so it is good to have this as a fallback.
     Today has dawned beautiful and sunny and being quite mild is a typical October day, but not sure how long will it last. Hard to believe that we are almost in November and this is the weekend that the clocks go back an hour so we get that extra bit of sleep....not that Bluebell needs it she dose not get up before 10 lazy little bedhead!

Cairn Terrier Drawing

2010-10-22T08:23:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
Thanks for all your comments on my previous post concerning mobile blogging, have to say that I do love my HTC Desire, it is a super little phone and capable of so much, and makes a good little backup if needed not just for blogging but also as a camera which is good too. Having said that the picture of Bluebell is a tad blurry due more to me than the phone, and in answer to Katherine who suggested that I should draw her with her blanket wrapped around her head that is on my never ending list to do!
The picture you see above is a little Cairn Terrier called Teko, only a youngster and full of the joys of life. Quite complicated this one as he a lot of different colourings in his coat from beige/brown to the more tradtional tones of greys, and I am using a mixture of Prismas/Derwents on StoneHenge with a bit of black grape too which I find works well with the very dark shades as in black.

Lola Tee Shirt

2010-10-15T07:29:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
Just a quickie to say that my Lola Tee arrived yesterday and this is a preview of it that was sent to me by Valerie. Have to say that she looks so much better in the "flesh" so to speak. The sizing is just right with some to spare, being a well rounded size 16 gal this is important, don't like anything too tight across my assets! I hope that this will help raise some funds/awareness for them, and more so when I do the donation picture for their fundraiser in 2011..which I will blog as a wip.

Sunny October Weekend

2010-10-10T18:59:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
Today has been absolutely beautiful lots of sun and a bit of breeze, almost an Indian Summer except it is not set to last, but hey ho must not complain some is better than none in my book.
You can see above another GSD again Graphite, this one is an elderly female now, but still very much a looker, she has the typical colouring of a german and lovely soft fur which I have try to have of captured in this picture. This was done on Fabriano 5 which I am still unsure about for graphite with a range of derwent pencils from h up to 2b/6b for the very dark tones. It is strange because I first started drawing this dog on Stonehenge and so did not like it, and yet I love it for CPs, hence the first attempt got promptly binned. I know that a lot of graphite artists favor the smoother type paper, like Bristol, but I still like a little bit of tooth which makes me wonder if my drawing skills with graphite is not as strong as it is with CPs ! Another thing occurred to me whilst doing this was about mechanical pencils......do you use these and if so how do you find them or like me do you still use the traditional wood encased ?...perhaps there is another poll in there for that somewhere ?

OES update

2010-10-06T19:07:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
         Got to say that it has been a very busy week one way or another, many pictures to do and hubby deciding yet again that we need to change the front room around and although I absolutely hate the disruption I do understand his reasoning behind this.....but no more that is it for at least two years or more and not a couple of months !
         As you can see the OES is done now and I am letting it sit for a couple of days to make sure I am entirely happy with it. I was not too sure about drawing this dog on a blue paper, and almost opted for black but really did feel that would be too harsh. The blue complements the colours of the dog which is a mixture of blues,greys,whites,mauve's, some pinks and no OES would be complete with out the "dirty" chin. For that I use one my most favorite colours Caput Mortumm by Polychromos and a mixture of Burnt Sienna and Dark Brown with some Black, the bulk of colours used were Prisma and Coloursofts.
      Onwards and upwards and hopefully with some new work to show this week, and a few more updates on the German Shepard which I posted up last week.

Bracco Club of America

2010-09-30T19:06:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
Well I am back at home now after having a lovely break and spending time with my family...the weather was not too bad which was nice and me Mum had bought my sis and I a birthday cake which we all duly scoffed down....all in all a lovely four days where I walked some, lounged around watching films and basically eating all the things that I should not, oh yay and a few glasses of plonk as well. Have to say though there is nothing like coming home and getting into ones own bed..heaven!

I did come home to a lovely email from a lady called Valerie Kessler who is the secretary of the Italian Bracco Club of America who had come across my image of Lola. She had kindly asked me if they could use the image on some T shirts to help raise awareness of the breed and their rescue efforts. Recently they have had a few come in who all need to be rehomed, which is quite sad as it is for all dogs. I myself have not seen any of these dogs at the shows apart from Lola, which makes me wonder why that it is as I think they are lovely noble looking dogs, with from what I know a great temperament, however I have seen more of the Italian Spinone which is sort of similar but has wiry fur and I think a heavier build. I do love donating some of my works to good causes whether it be an original piece of work, a digital copy, gift voucher or something more specific, it is a real feel good factor to give something back and I know that a lot of my artist pals feel the same way. I hope my readers will go over and have a look see at their site and I will keep you updated on this story as and when. Oh yes before I forget I do get one of the T Shirts for free which is so nice, and will wear proudly.

Graphite GSD

2010-09-21T08:06:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
         Firstly I would like to thank everyone for their birthday wishes, it makes me feel very warm and fuzzy knowing that they have come from me blogger pals/readers, and I am sure that I will have a pukka day!
        Monday was a bit of nightmare day as we woke up to find that poor Bluebell had quite a large lump under one of her titties which was quite tender and warm to the touch. At first sight I thought she may of been bitten by an insect as she does love to hunt in the undergrowth down by the river, but I could not see any puncture wound. She was very subdued and sleepy all day which was a little bit worrying, so we made an appt to get to the vets in the afternoon. Curiosity peaked I did a quick search on the net with her symptoms and the only consistent thing that kept coming back was mastitis.....but she has been spayed and this is something that is quite common in bitches that have not been, it really did not make sense to me. Anyway the vet on examination did confirm this, and said it is very rare for a spayed dog to have this and brings into question her operation. Some of you may remember that when we had her done she did have pyrometra, a potential killer for bitches, but lucky enough she was caught in time and apparently they got all her reproductive parts out, or not so it may seem. The vet said that the only thing that may of triggered the mastitis is she still may have some of her reproductive tissue left behind ! I am not sure what to make of all this really, and I suppose my thoughts were running amok after just having let Poo Poo go I kinda of panicked and thought I might be losing her as well! She is on anti biotics and painkillers now for a week and hopefully that will clear it up without too much pain, but if this occurs again then I am not sure what the outcome of it will be.Will keep you updated on that.
      The picture you see above is of a German Shepherd done in Graphite on Fabriano 5 paper size 12 x 10 inches. Quite a difficult dog this, as she has many colours and on hindsight might of been better in CPs, but this one has come too far to be abandoned so onwards and upwards.
     This will be my last update until next week as I am off in a day for a break at me mums...really looking forward to this as it is a family get together which is all good. I shall see you all on the flip side and whatever you are doing this coming weekend have a good one.

Old English Sheepdog Picture

2010-09-19T07:56:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
Another busy week and much to do before I get off down to me mums for a few days...got to say I am looking forward to having this little break.
The pictures you see on the left are a Old English Sheepdog called Zepp, a youngster of three years old and a typical OES, and by that I mean as nutty and lovable as they come. This one does have a tail which is a joy to see, and hopefully the new law bought in sometime ago will prevent anymore from being docked. The common name for OES is bobtail and I have to say that my own PooPoo was a docked one, but I like them with tails and it does not seem out of place. This picture is on light blue canson paper, size 12 x 16 inches mounted, using Prismacolours and will be my 12th OES drawing. Being a mostly white/grey/blue dog drawing this on white paper is a big no unless it was to be done in Graphite, which I have done before and works just as well, but I do prefer doing it this way because working on a coloured paper makes the picture more striking. The bonus to this paper is that there are two sides to it, one more honey combed which is better for Pastels and the other smoother which is great for CPs, plus you get a nice range of colours from light neutral light shades to vibrant funky ones, ideal for the more creative pieces perhaps.
The weather is being to change a bit now feeling cooler, but still nice for this time of year, and I can see a few changes coming in the trees as they turn from green to shades of gold,ochre,orange and red so I will be out and about with my camera nabbing a few shots hopefully. I went off Blackberrying last week and came back with a tub full of them, I just love lightly cooked berries with a dollop of natural yogurt on them, makes a nice sweet or even a good brekkie!

Done and Dusted

2010-09-10T19:36:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
What a busy week it has been, running around like a lunatic...yesterday I went to Hever Castle which was great, and got some really nice photos of the gardens and swans, which has given me a few ideas for some pictures to do through the winter months. The castle itself was sumptuous and one could just imagine King Henry storming through the place on his way to see Anne Boleyn and one of his other numerous wives. I really admired the paintings of the wives and Henry himself, but I don't think these were done by Holbein. I have to admit of thinking about the raunchy series The Tudors whilst walking around, reckon those walls could tell a story or two !
As you can see above the little Chihuahua is now finished, really pleased with this one, and just love the colouring of her...a very sweet dog and much loved by her owner Sandra.

Beaudor

2010-09-08T12:21:00.000+01:00

Hi all
I can now finally post up a picture that I had been working on and off throughout the first half of they year, and his name is Beaudor a beautiful Rhodesian Ridgeback...what a stunner ! Earlier this year my blogger pal Marianne ( who is a very talented Mandala artist ) asked me to do a picture of Beaudor for her very good friend Marja. She emailed some photos which I have to say were lovely and clear and we chose together which one would be the best to use.I did this on Stonehenge paper to the size of 12 x10 inches mounted,using my favorite pencils Prismacolours in shades of yellow ochre,golden rod,terracotta,burnt ochre,peach beige,cinnamon,sienna, and for the darker tones a mixture of burnt umber,black cherry,chocolate and some black,and as always there are a few other colours added to the palette too. I thoroughly enjoyed doing this picture for someone who was so enthustiac and obviously loves her friend very much and I know Marja that you love it ! My thanks to Marianne as well for asking me to do this, it was my pleasure.
This is a first of this breed for me and I was lucky enough to meet two of these at the dog shows this Summer, which was great as I was a tad concerned about the lighter tones in the Beaudor, but seeing them in the flesh so to speak put my mind at rest, and I was happy enough to know that I had got it right.

More Chihuahua

2010-09-07T07:48:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
Hard to believe that it is September already, and the weather is beginning to change a little...where has the year gone! I personally love this time of year leading into October,it can still be warm and sunny without that intense heat of the Summer and as an artist one always marvels at the changing colours of the plant life around us. I have been taking Bluebell out a fair bit to the beach and when the tide is out she has taken to running around like a lunatic chasing the gulls......like she is going to catch one...not! It is good to see her getting back to normality but the only downside to that is, she loves to roll in the sand, and as she sleeps with us, well you can imagine we end up with half the beach in the bed!
As you can see above I have worked some more on the Chihuahua coming along nicely now still using all the same colours as before in various amounts, but I have also added in a Polychromos Cinnamon which is a lovely colour and great to add in tones that fall between pink/peach. This is almost done now and the next update will see it finished, my thanks once again to all your kind comments much appreciated as always.

New Chihuahua Drawing

2010-09-01T19:34:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
Once again thanks for all your lovely comments, most appreciated and thoughtful.
I have been keeping myself busy a lot walking and drawing which is a good healing process I think for both myself and Bluebell, and as you can see this is the early result of my efforts. This little baby is a sweet Chihuahua called Gem, who has the most wonderful range of colours in her coat from soft cream,peaches,
pinks,to beiges, and as I am using my fav pencils Prismacolours I have all those colours in abundance. This is the first dog of this breed that I have done before so its going to be fun getting all those colours right and the funky pink collar to match as well.

My Thanks

2010-08-26T07:50:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
        Firstly I would like to thank everyone for their kind comments for the passing of Monty Poo.I know that from reading a lot of me blogger pals blogs that a fair few of you have been through this yourself and know how difficult it can be.It is in a roundabout way very strange as I feel exactly the same as I did when I lost my dear sis....but the more I think about it maybe not so. In my eyes my dogs are family, they have the run of the house,sleep with us, go out with us,share all the ups and downs of family life,just like a human member! I think the hardest part is the quietness,as I have always had two dogs and therefore am used to a fairly rowdy home,play fights,dog beds full up with toys,farting snoring dogs, etc and as Poo was a big boy, he was a big presence with an even bigger bark! However I know in time I will get used to it, and might even relish the quieter moments.
       Bluebell is very quiet and I know she is missing her brother,bless her, but she is a tough dog and quite an independent little mutt, so I think she will adapt in time.

     As you can see above the Bulldogs are finished now and I am quite happy with the finished image,so on to the next few pictures......I have hankering to do something on black paper and hopefully will find a time slot to experiment with the pastelmat that Gayle kindly sent me.

RIP.....PooPoo

2010-08-25T03:53:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of my dear friend Monty Poo. For those of you have followed this blog, you will know that at times I have written and posted up pics of poopoo and bluebell, my two most precious mutts.
Monty was an Old English Sheepdog,( on the right in the pic) who reached the ripe old age of 13, which is good for one of his size and age, but this last year things had started to slow down for him and his interest in life was diminishing. The main problem was that his back end had gone and he needed help all the time to get up and do things. His balance was very poor and on many an occasion he fell over, and with failing eyesight this did not help matters.This had been going on for a while now and don't get me wrong I would of carried on doing it for a lot longer, but there comes a time when one has to stop and make that final decision for what is best. It was not easy..is it ever?....but the best and right thing I could do was to let him go.....so I cradled his head and told him how much I loved him and would miss him and then let him cross the Rainbow Bridge to be with our Bugsy. He was my best friend,confidante,my guide and soul mate and I shall miss him forever.....RIP Poopoo.

Feeling Blue

2010-08-19T07:11:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
Bit behind on my updates, so thought I had better make this post before everyone thinks I may of disappeared into cyber space ! Not been too good over the past few days had a bout of something nasty which sent me to my bed, but am feeling a little better today. I need to get back to my "normal" self before Saturday as I am off again to another dog show, and there is nothing worse that being outside amongst a lot of happy people/dogs when you feel like poo! I don't know if it is my age or just me, but I do seem to be more prone to getting stuff than I ever used to, a real pain in the ass !
The picture above is a little something that I have been working on and is CPs on Stonehenge,12 x 10 inches and is of a pair of bulldogs. Not the easiest dogs to draw I have to say, and again the scan is not picking up all the grey details, but it is almost done and I am quite happy with it so far. I have also started drawing the Neopolitian Mastiff and I will post the beginning of that up in the next day or so.

Another Tangle

2010-08-11T07:42:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
I realised today that I have reached my 100th post, which is a bit odd because I have been blogging for a while now, but do have this habit of going back through old posts and deleting ones that seem nonsensical to me now, but at the time ok!
Again no fine art to show yet, although there is plenty on the drawing boards, but none that I am entirely happy with so instead I have posted up a few more tangles which I do when I need a stress buster.I did order in some nice ACEO cards form a seller on Etsy with rounded corners which I really like, and the price was reasonable as well, but strange there do not seem to be too many UK sellers of cards, most from the states which is where these came from. I have seen some very beautiful work in this style but done on a very large scale, like 12 x 10 or bigger, some of it collaborative projects and this inspired me to do a couple of bigger ones as too. I do have some 11 x 14 black mounts and the thought of doing very large swirls/whorls/patterns with my pens is utterly enticing and it is something I can work on and off in between my other pictures when I need that vital stress buster.

Pup In a Bag

2010-08-03T04:48:00.000+01:00

Hi all
      I know I have been a bit slack with the updates, but as always in the Summer it gets manic and one does not really want to stay indoors whilst the sun is shining. I have been doing Boot fairs and dog shows most weekends, and also this week painting a few stones which has been a stress buster.
What do you think of the little cutie here on the left, a lady and her daughter bought this pup to a dog show at the weekend, but he was too young to go into any of the classes, and I managed to get a few snaps of her fast a sleep in her bag. This is a definite on my list to do!
        I received my sample pieces of Pastelmat from Gayle....thank you, and on first impressions it sort of reminds me of Colourfix, but I will do something on it soon and write my thoughts about that at a later date.
         Hubby has also added another shelf to my workspace and it is just about how want I want it now, thank god..all the moving around one part of the room to another drove me nutty, as an artist one needs security and contentment in their workspace and I now have that....I have drawn an invisible line around my corner and woe betide anyone who crosses it without my knowing it..exception to the rule my doggies!
On to the art, I have a few full boards full at the moment of unfinished work and many more to start, and will get one shown as a wip soon.....more than likely it will be a Mastiff, but in the meantime it is now 4.45 am in the morning and I am off for another cup of tea and then back to bed for a few hours.

Thank god for Artists

2010-07-26T04:33:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
As you can see above I have been zentangling in between doing my other stuff, and I find this to be a superb way of wasting time or perhaps getting a little more creative! I do like doing this type of stuff, and have created a sketchbook which is starting to fill with all my tangles, however this one is ACEO size and have to apologise for the rubbishy scan.
If you read my blog you will know that my last post was about trying to get samples of paper from Art suppliers, and I have to say that I did have a good response from all my art/blog pals and I thank you for your input. It does seem that a lot of you feel the same way as myself and have come across this problem before, however Gayle Mason from Fur in the the Paint made a very valid point about actually going to to your local art supplier and asking for a sample/samples.I myself have not actually given this a go mainly because nowadays I shop online for my supplies which will give me a wider variety of choice and at times I can get offers/discounts. I am not sure that a lot of shops will do this partly because they may not have samples and don't think they would be too happy taking a piece from current shelf stock. Another thing to consider is that how many artists live in an isolated area, with no access to a local art supplier, or perhaps are disabled and do not have the facilities to get out often. The Internet is such a huge resource and you can practically get anything online today and I imagine for a lot of people, a life saver by way of keeping them connected with the outside world.. I am still finding this all very frustrating but have not given up the fight yet, so instead of emailing suppliers I think I may make a few calls instead and see what comes from that.Gayle and Karen have kindly offered to send me a few samples of Pastelmat and I thank them for the offer so will be getting in touch with you gals later on today. I will keep you updated on my progress and who knows a miracle may happen and I might get lucky!

Keep your input coming and if anyone else has successs with this I would love to know how you got on, email me or comment.

Free Sample Papers

2010-07-20T11:30:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
What a busy week it has been, visiting dog shows,bathing dogs, decorating the home, doing a couple of boot fairs, gosh I am feeling a bit knackered lol.
No art at the moment, but instead a bit of moan really, about trying to attain some free sample paper from Art suppliers. If you are anything like me, you will have a love of paper, art paper,handmade, etc but as artists most of us will be on a budget. I don't want to go out and spend my money on paper that I have not had the chance to at least try out first, who knows I may hate the surface, find it does not suit my style of drawing or any other number of reasons, which has happened to me in the past.. Admittedly I could buy a single sheet perhaps but even so these can be expensive and I don't see why I should have to...what happened to "try before you buy". I have emailed a couple of art suppliers this last week making this request,and I am still waiting an acknowledgement of my emails let alone an answer, would this make your blood boil, because it sure does mine!
I am not asking for a full sheet, not even a blooming A5, something along the lines of 3" x 3" square small enough not to cost too much to post and big enough to get a reasonable feel for the surface. My current hankering is to try Clairefonatines Pastelmat, so if anyone knows where a free sample can be attained, (preferably in UK that would be great)
I would be interested to know what all of you think about this subject as well, have you tried to get any samples paper ? Drop me a a comment on this post or contact me.
Last but not least a call to art suppliers please make it possible to request some sample paper!

Latest Spaniel Update

2010-07-14T14:59:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
Thanks for all your recent comments, it always gives me a nice warm feeling to receive them.
This is where the Spaniel is currently at and almost done now, the ears still need tweaking but yet again my scanner is not picking up the grey/blue tones of the white fur. I am quite pleased with this and I might do a profile picture of the same dog.
My next project was to to do the red little sheltie type dog, but I have something else I must do which is a gift from me to a friend by way of thanks for bringing me back some CPs from the states when she went on holiday . It is a dog and the photo I am using is one that I took some years ago when he was a puppy, all wrinkles and paws,very cute so that will be underway in the next day or so and hopefully I will have time to do the Sheltie alongside.

Do you Zentangle ?

2010-07-08T14:55:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
Just a quickie post today as I still have much work to do of the housework kind yuk ! I took a break from the Spaniel and decide to do a bit of Zentangling in my sketchbook of which you can see above. It is kind of strange because I have been doing this sort of line work for many years now in one form or another but it has gone to the next level with its own name Zentangle, and there is even another website where you can learn to create the different strings/patterns to make one. I myself love to do this type of work and again it is a stress breaker much the same as Mandalas......This is a Zendala a cross between zentangle and mandala, but not quite finished yet.

Questions answered

2010-06-28T19:39:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
Just a quickie here, because I realised that whilst reading my comments there were a few questions so I shall answer them best as I can.
For Sue, yes I do have a daylight lamp which in the long winter months when the light is poor is a god send and the times I do not sleep all through the night or rise before the crack of dawn I will sit and draw, listening to my mp3 player, until I am that knackered enough to grab a few hours kip. It at these times though I can do my best work, no distractions via dogs,nagging hubby's,housework etc.
For Katherine, most of the pictures I do stay with me, but if a person who's dog that I have photographed and created a picture from was interested in purchasing the finished picture then that is something I am happy to do knowing it will go to a good home. My aim is to have a huge catalogue of doggy photos all shapes and sizes to continuously draw them in various poses, multiples of two or more and with their owners, the possibilities are endless.

Summer Fun

2010-06-28T18:49:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
The temperature's here in the UK have hit a record high of 30c over the weekend, and as much as I love the heat, I did find it a little to much, so sought out some shade. Got to say it has been difficult to stay put at the drawing board whilst it is like this, one just wants to suck up the heat into their bones to last them over the winter...well I do anyways lol. I am out and about doing Boot fairs every weekend as well, which eats into my time and July and August is the most busiest time for dog shows, so much to do and look forward to.
The spaniel is almost finished and coming along a treat, but as always the scan does want to pick up the grey/blue tones so I will probably photograph the finished picture. The ear on the right is not quite right, it needs knocking back to a lighter tone, and some darker tones added on the outside. All in all this should be finished this week and I then must concentrate on a few other pictures that need my attention before starting a new one.....however that is if the sun does not pull me out into the garden or on to the beach !

Weekly Update

2010-06-21T03:18:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
     So this is where I am at with the Spaniel and still aways to go, but as it is now 2.57 am on a Monday morning I wont be doing anymore to this until the sun gets up later on today. I have not done the colour swatch yet, but can say the most used colour is Prismacolours Peach Beige, Burnt Ochre, Rosy Beige, and Derwents Raw Sienna, Brown Ochre and Burnt Umber in various amounts. Got to say that I am quite pleased with it so far, and aim to have it finished this week, so I can start on my little red puppy.

     The weather here in the UK this week has been pretty crappy to say the least, with a cool easterly wind which has pegged the temperature's back somewhat, so much so that as I went out to a few boot fairs yesterday morning I had to buy myself a lightweight beanie hat to stick on my head which stayed there for most of the day. It has been very strong as well,especially at night and more likely to get something like this around Autumn or early Spring, however it has gone and the weather for this week is sun and more sun and I for one cannot wait to get outside for a few hours and warm me bones up! I had the camera with me as well, and took some more photos, of doggies a pair of cute Daxies,short and long haired, a gentle beautiful greyhound called Daisy, a statuesque Afghan called Shah, and a few others on me travels....pictures to come later on.

Time now is 3.16 am and methinks I am off to bed for a few hours kip if I my aching joints will let me.

Dogs Galore

2010-06-15T19:03:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
Once again my thanks for your comments, always great to get and read them.

I had super fun at the dog show with the sun popping in and out it was not too hot which was much better for the dogs. I did see a good selection from a Newfie, a pair of Bassett Hounds, Staffies, crossbreeds of all shapes and colours including a pair of brothers that were German Shepherd x with a Westie....these were a mischievous pair who stood out quite a bit simply because of their unusual shape and colouring......the bodies were that of a Westie, so short legged and quite long, but the colouring and fur texture of a GSD. We also had a full coated Old English sheepdog who was very laid back, who was their his other pal who and I if remember correctly was a Portuguese Water Dog, shaggy black fur with silver paws. Three Whippets as well,Labradors,Golden Retreivers,Greyhounds,Lurchers, and a pair of elderly Deerhounds, along with a lady who did heel work/freestyle dancing with a Black German Shepherd...having never seen this before in the flesh so to speak I thoroughly enjoyed her work with this very handsome dog. Last but not least a super little Bedlington Terrier who I fell in love with straight away because his breed is one half of my own little Bluebell. I do have more photos and this is just a few of them, but I never seem to take enough so I came home with less than I had wanted, but the next show I do I shall fill the card up for sure !
As you can see in the top picture I have done a little more on the Spaniel....long hair is always more of a challenge than short hair and since this update was scanned I have done more on the ear, erased it out and redone it again ! This is my first Spaniel and got to say I love those big melting eyes, which in turn jogged my memory to look through some older pictures that I took when I was using 35 mm film and came across a couple of pics that I took of Spaniels when I was living in Cornwall....it was not a bad shot and methinks still usable so I reckon I will be doing these two at some point. On my next update I will do a colour swatch for this dog, so you can see the colours I am using which are consisting a lot of pinks,sienna,ochres,beige's.

Lola Done and Dusted

2010-06-11T13:25:00.000+01:00

         Lola is done and dusted now, and I am quite happy with the finished outcome, but as always I see things that I may have done differently. The splotches proved to me quite a challenge, and in the end I opted for suggestion rather than precise placings, and as I am doing this to please to please myself then I have no worries about that. I quite like the focus being on those intent staring eyes and the large fleshy mouth area, however it has been tweaked slightly in Picture It for the colour, but as with all things it looks so much better in the flesh so to speak.

     Tomorrow I am off with a friend to do a dog show, and hopefully will come back with loads of photos, in particular I would like to get a few agility shots as they have this going on as part of the main show,and I have always fancied doing something along this theme. After losing all the pics form my hard drive earlier this year, I wont be doing that again and will fill the card and burn straight to disk.
   Next up on my list to do is finish the Spaniel from a previous post and to start work on another puppy with that superb colouring of red/brown and orange tones, so my little swatch of colours will be getting used again and here is a little photo of the chappie. I must say his head looks a little big in this because of the angle of the photo, and I have another one of him that I could do, but I like the way he is looking up at me with those cute wonderfully coloured eyes. Not sure what breed of dog this is, methinks some kind of working type collie/sheltie/aussie type dog....if you know post a comment.

Do You Like Audio Books ?

2010-06-07T19:09:00.001+01:00

Hi all,
Second post of the day, wow I am doing well keeping my blog updated and hope to continue to do so! Saturday 5th was Drawing Day which I have to own up to completely forgetting, but I did take this out and sit in the garden listening to a audio book on my mp3. I love books and reading and probably learnt to read long before I was able to draw, but as an artist it is hard to do both at the same time hence audio books, which to me have been a godsend. Hubby bought me a small multi media player for Xmas and I have my fav music on there as well three audio books, my current listening is Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien, and king Solomons Mines...apart form KSM the other two will take forever to listen to as I also have all the other books from the set too ! I grew up on LOTR and read that as a youngster which provided me with a world of escapism into Middle Earth,amongst wizards,elves,hobbits,nazgul and all the weird and wonderful creatures that inhabited the authors imagination...just heavenly bliss. I also read other fantasy sci/fi books by the likes of Anne McCaffrey,Marion Zimmer Bradley, Stephen Donaldson, David Gemmell ( another fav author ) etc.....which fuelled my imagination towards fantasy art and the world of make believe. I was only thinking the other day that it was about time I did some more as it has been a while since I have created anything in this genre, so watch this space for that coming within the next few months.

Lola and Caput Mortuum

2010-06-07T18:41:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
       Thanks for all your comments much appreciated as always.
   This is where I am at with Lola and the next update will see this finished, however I know it may of seemed a long time in doing but I wanted to share more of the stages with you all. You may ask what that little swatch of colours is doing next to the picture but that is in answer to a comment/question on my last post about the colour Caput Mortuum, from my epal Katherine. I love this colour and use it quite a bit in conjunction with all the other two shown,especially for dogs with red/peachy tones in and around the mouth/nose area plus body. Caput Mortuum is a made by Faber Castell in the Polychromos range and the other two colours come from Derwents Drawing Range of colours, which are very soft and waxy. I do have a puppy coming up soon whose colours will consist mostly of these three colours, which will be an interesting exercise in using a limited palette....more on that picture at a later date. I hope this will answer your question Katherine.

A Little More

2010-06-05T08:35:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
So here is a little more on Lola, mainly the nose area now and I am using mostly Caput Mortuum (love this colour) Raw Umber, Pink, and some Raw Sienna. It is quite a difficult to do as the nose as lots of wrinkles/folds and looks quite soft so I shall to get that in my finished drawing.

On a lighter note my blogging epal Katherine has given me an award, and I thank her very much for that, as with most of these awards you are supposed to pass them on to a number of artists....having done this quite a few times before I am not sure I will repeat this process, but if I do watch this space !

I am having the urge to take a break from the Dogs for a day and do some ACEOS, so as the weather is truly glorious here in the UK I might take myself into the garden and have a play around with my pens, which means doodles/abstracts/lineart.

Questions answered.

2010-06-01T13:32:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
         Here is a little more of Lola, and got to say that I am really pleased with how this is progressing. The colours are still the same but I have added in a bit of Burnt Ochre and Burnt Umber for the darker parts and a smidgen of Olive Green Yellowish (Polychromos) to the eyes.
        A couple of readers who made comments as questions so I will answer those in the post.
        For Peter who asked what type of pencils I am using the answer is Prisamacolour Pencils and Polychromos for this particular drawing, although there are slight differences between the two, as with most things it does come down to personal preference and your style of drawing.
For Katherine who also asked about my choice of working on more than one picture at a time, is something I have done for many years. I prefer it this way as I can put one down leave it for a couple of days, and come back to it later with fresh eyes..... whilst I am waiting I will work on something else and do the same with this,so I could end up with between two and seven pictures on the go at any one time...a bit like roundabout I suppose ! I have never had more than seven at one time, and I am not sure if it was more that I could cope with it, but you never know.
   Christine also made an interesting comment about what you can do with blogger now as in adding standalone pages, changing the templates via blogger in draft and all the wonderful things that keep coming. I actually am starting to use this as my main website since the changes as I dont really have the time to keep updating various sites with info etc. I have a link to galleries,contact/bio page ( which needs a little more to pad it out a bit) more pages to add as I go along, and this is all integrated into my blog, which is free....what more can a artist want.!.......Hmmm perhaps an A3 size printer/scanner.....some new Luminance pencils...still thinking.

More on Lola

2010-05-30T09:41:00.000+01:00

Hi all
     Here is a bit more on Lola, although progress is slow due to me struggling a bit with getting her colours/tones right, but so far I am reasonably happy with it. I am still using the same colours but will be adding some Caput Mortuum, Venetian Red, and a bit of Rosy Beige to get those colours around her chops.
      I do have six other pictures on the go as well, and work a bit on each on as I go along, as I find this method works quite well for me, and all are dogs taken from my own reference photos which I am trying to use all the time now, as I have quite a library of various breeds/mixes. The one thing I am lacking is photos of Wildlife as I don't often get the chance to photo these and then I will look for some in photo resources like Morguefile, but always ask the photographer first if I can use it, and for the most part they are quite agreeable.
It is also the Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK, so a time to have a bit of R and R, but not for me as I have a pile of ironing the needs doing, a lawn that needs cutting and a car that needs washing !

Lola Update

2010-05-28T15:55:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
I have finally settled to my desk and started work on Lola, as you can see above. This dog is quite striking in her look and colouring and which is daubed across her many places, along with her quite pale eyes she will be a challenge to do methinks. As always the eyes come first and I am using Prismacolours on white Stonehenge Paper,size 10 x 8 inches.
Jasmine,Burnt Ochre,Raw Umber,Burnt Umber, in Prismas....
Green Gold, Raw Sienna in Derwents and Polys.
I will continue using these and adding more as I go along, building and layering until the right depth is achieved.