02/03: 'WIN SOME, LOSE SOME'

Its been a 'funny old week' really. I expected to be working on a portrait of a lovely Ragdoll cat. I'd received half a dozen reference photos and had lots of email conversations regarding size, payment, delivery etc., and then ... total silence! I have to assume the client has changed his mind, for whatever reason, but I'm reluctant to delete the pictures and/or instructions 'just in case' .... such a shame as it is a beautiful cat!

If you've been following my recent ramblings you will have noted a few references to a graphite double portrait I'd been working on recently. I started work on it whilst on holiday in Fuerteventura but the paper didn't take kindly to being rolled in a cardboard packing tube, or to the humidity, so I gaveup and brought it back home to the UK to work on. The portrait was of my fellow artist JO SIMPSON and her hubby ROY. Jo and I 'met' on an artist forum and became cyber friends over the years. We met 'in the flesh' for the first time last year when she invited me to Derbyshire to her wedding - having decided to make an honest man of Roy after UMPTEEN years!! As the first anniversary is PAPER I thought it would be fun to do a graphite drawing based on some of the photos I took then.

The portrait didn't turn out as well as I would have liked, but David (hubby) persuaded me to send it to them anyway and I'm really pleased that it arrived with them today and Jo and Roy tell me they are happy with it (in fact I'm 'chuffed as a maggot' - whatever that quaint expression means)! I haven't posted a photo of the portrait as I forgot to ask Jo if she'd mind .... we'll see

Before flying back to Fuerteventura next week, I'm delighted to be working on a portrait of a gorgeous white German Shepherd dog. The portrait is to be a surprise 40th birthday present for my client's brother and I have her permission to post some WIP pictures on the blog as he is unlikely to see them.

I was sent several reference photos and the portrait is based on a couple which are very similar but allow me to flit between the two to pick up as much detail as possible. I'm working in pastel on Sennelier Pastel Card on the colour they describe as Light Blue Grey. At a very early stage - this is Snowy:

I outlined Snowy today to work out fur direction and position of ears, eyes, nose etc.,

and then, as usual, I worked on Snowy's eyes to an 'almost completed' stage so his portrait gets a little personality as I build on this early start - and on to his ears.