20/11: RILEY and JESS - MORE PROGRESS

Well I decided to spend a little more time on this portrait this morning then catch up with all the chores this afternoon. So I've called a halt now and we are about to brave the horrible weather to take our empty bottles to the bottle bank (and there are quite a few) ;O). Then we plan to be very naughty and stop off at the chippy - we don't often do this but a bag of fish shop chips and some crusty bread is just the sort of 'comfort food' thats needed in this horrible dull weather (and I'm still fighting off my cold)!

Then housework this afternoon and a last minute check that we have everything organised for the next couple of weeks. We are only travelling with hand luggage so packing won't take long. That's the beauty of having our own home on Fuerteventura - we have clothes and toiletries etc out there so don't need to take suitcases (unless we have to take essential supplies (liquids) out that can't readily be bought on the island - Marmite and our favourite sun creams for instance).

So this is where I've got to with the portrait. It will be nice to return to it after a break and add the finishing touches then. I'm still awaiting feedback regarding Max the horse I worked on recently so that will be another one to come back to with fresh eyes.

19/11: RILEY and JESS - DOUBLE HORSE PORTRAIT

This is my latest work (and one which I can show on the blog without spoiling a surprise) and its pastel on Fisher 400 (sanded) paper.

Both horses belong to Liz ... Riley on the left is a bright chestnut gelding and he loves Jessica (Jess) who Liz retired a couple of years ago. They live at the same yard although boys and girls are separated - but they have definitely formed a strong bond.


I started on Riley's portrait late yesterday. With the sanded papers I tend to lay down an overall base colour and build on that (rather than the traditional method of starting in top left corner (for right-handers) and working down to avoid smudging. This was the result of a couple of hours work




Today I worked on building up detail using pastel pencils. Riley really is a bright chestnut colour and this photo was taken in quite strong sunlight which has cast some interesting shadows.


I hadn't intended to start on Jess today, but was on a roll. The photo is pretty grim (taken tonight in artificial light) but I'm really pleased with the progress to date - this one is really going quickly. The ref photos are very good although Jess looks different colours in almost every reference. She is a dark bay colour which changes with the seasons. I still need to build up colour here. I haven't been asked to make many changes, simply to remove headcollars.

18/11: SANTA and CIDER !!

The weather is not improving here in Whitstable. According to the local forecast the winds are averaging 47mph but it certainly seems stronger than that.

One of our apple trees always produces a late crop and this year it is absolutely laden ... no leaves left on the tree, just apples. Because of the dry Summer the apples are small but they make up for it in sheer numbers. I've been taking bags full to the stables to be shared between Roxy and her 'friends' at feed times but hadn't really made a dent in the overall number.

Last night's gusty weather managed to dislodge quite a lot of them so David decided he'd make some cider today (if I would pick the apples for him)!! He started a batch of pear cider earlier this year but as our pear crop was poor he only managed a few bottles. So there I was early this morning standing in howling gales and rain ..... I picked about 40lbs thinking he'd get bored soon ... we don't have an apple press so the apples have to go through the juicer which is a slow (and noisy) process! They might be small but these apples are certainly juicy! I think there must be at least 80lbs apples left on the tree but I'm hoping they'll still be there when we get back from holiday - a final treat for the horses!

Anyway, just for fun ..... I bought David some new clothes recently and here he is modelling them last night :o) The whole costume cost under £4 at Wilkinsons. How can the Chinese produce these items soooo cheaply? Obviously the quality is poor but this outfit consists of Santa hat, beard, jacket, belt and trousers - I think the cost was £3.84 to be precise. He intends to wear it for the kid's party at the bowling centre where he coaches at weekends - I doubt he'll be bowling whilst wearing the outfit as I don't think I'd trust the seams/stitches!

17/11: MAX UPDATED

I've emailed these pics to my client and hope that I've made Max look 'bright enough - the ref photo I've based the portrait on makes him look a fairly light bay but I'm told he was actually a very 'red' bay. I always present my portraits with a mount (although I appreciate my clients may wish to change the colours or sizes) and the one shown in my second photo here will allow for an 'off the shelf' size frame 18" x 14" to be purchased.

16/11: PAINFULLY SLOW PROGRESS

I have a cold which has obviously gone straight to the brain!! It seems to be taking forever to do the simplest things today. I had some little jobs to do this morning which should have taken an hour max but I didn't finish till lunchtime.

I then decided to knuckle down and finish the portrait of Max. Based on the last email sent to her, my client confirmed the length of his mane was fine but his colour wasn't red enough (the ref photos are a little bleached). This photo was taken early this afternoon after about one hour's work ... Max hasn't actually got a scar on his cheek - this was an area that I hadn't blended properly and my camera picked up and exaggerated the area - the contrast seems a bit harsh - I obviously need to look at the camera settings tomorrow!! I've done quite a lot more to the portrait since but have lost the light and so can't photograph it. I'll try to get a decent photo tomorrow and send to my client. Fingers crossed I've got the colouring right and he will be more or less finished.

15/11: ANOTHER CHILD PORTRAIT FINISHED

This portrait was delivered yesterday to our friend who is the boys' grandmother. Sadly the older of the two boys died 3 years ago so the portrait was based on the last school photo of the two together. It is intended as a Christmas present for their parents so I hope they are pleased with it

13/11: FRIDAY 13TH STUFF !

Well I'm not superstitious but given the dreadful weather conditions in the South East of England today, I'm more than happy to stay indoors and crack on with the horse pastels ... I have one ongoing and a double portrait which I've drafted out but probably won't start until Monday.

The owner of Meg (gorgeous Saluki) kindly emailed me photos showing the portrait which has now been professionally framed. The frame complements the portrait beautifully but in this photo unfortunately you probably can't see all the delicate colouring.




As you can see from the photo, the mount has been cut with a deeper/wider margin at the bottom and this initially worried her.

I guess its one of those things that you don't think about until its pointed out. I always supply my portraits with mounts and sometimes purchase stock items from Daler Rowney in standard sizes. Because they could be required to fit a frame hung landscape or portrait style the four sides are equally wide.

But I also purchase mounts from either of my two favourite Picture Framers (Finally Framed in Sidcup and Picture This in Birchington). Both framers are very obliging when I need work done quickly. They always cut the mounts with a wider bottom border. I think the technical term is 'dropped border' and I'm told that this is to counter the optical illusion of the picture dropping down in the frame once it is hung - particularly if hung from a hook which causes the picture/frame to tilt downwards slightly. This local framer obviously uses 'dropped borders' also.

So apologies to those of you who already knew this .... but I think its worth mentioning :o)

11/11: BACK TO WORK!

I've had a few days catching up on errands and very little work has been done on my drawings.  I still have a few things to sort out but as I've now received client  feedback on all the ongoing portraits I will be back at the drawing board this afternoon.

This is a portrait recently completed which was commissioned as a 40th birthday present for the Mother of the three children.  The composition was made up from three separate photos and I had to 'rotate' the baby as she was lying down in the original reference.   I think her birthday is today so hope she is having a lovely day

06/11: KILLER DUCKS AND FATHER CHRISTMAS!!

I decided to stay away from the computer and the drawing board this afternoon until I hear back from clients regarding portraits currently 'on the drawing board' I really want to complete those before moving on to the next commissions.

The front garden was in need in some TLC so I spent a few hours weeding, planting yet more daffodil bulbs, and generally tidying up. We are waiting for a local landscape gardener to tidy up some of our trees, removing some branches from a Horse Chestnut and 'topping' the Bay Trees which grow at an amazing rate in this garden. The largest is about 18 feet high (must have grown 3 feet in the last 18 months)!!

That led me to think about some wonderfully decorative Father Christmas figures we saw whilst on holiday in Bernkastel (Germany) for New Year 2007/8. The Germans really do the festive thing so beautifully - no mass produced Taiwanese baubles for them!!!! These figures were so simple - just tree branches, sliced at an angle, hand painted and decorated with seasonal leaves - holly and ivy etc. I'm not sure whether the branches we will have removed from our trees will be thick enough to make our own Father Christmas decorations. May have to beg, borrow or steal some better sized ones.

The photo isn't brilliant but I hope you can see how simple, and how effective, these little figures are:

Whilst walking off the New Year excesses we came across a very nasty duck. He was trying to drown another duck by holding his head under shallow water. When we chased him off he simply continued the attempted murder in deeper water. It was all very frantic so the photos aren't that clear, but I think you can see what a very nasty piece of work he was!!!! I've never encountered a murderous duck before and it was quite frightening to watch him in action.


How much attitude does this duck have???:

05/11: AWAITING FEEDBACK

Well, I've done a few more bits and bobs today but I've got three portraits which I can't progress until I hear back from my clients so tomorrow will have to be a 'gentle reminder' day I think.

I have a portrait of 2 brothers which required some 'cosmetic surgery' and just need to know whether the client is happy with what I've done. I haven't heard back regarding the group of 2 brothers and their sister but my client has recently returned from holiday so I guess has other more pressing things to sort out.

To be fair, the scan of Max the horse was only sent today and I don't expect to hear back till next week but I can't do more work on him until I know whether the mane length is OK and his colour is correct. I managed to get a slightly better photo today in natural (albeit cloudy)light but its frustrating how colour varies so much from monitor to monitor. I know when I've checked my website from an internet cafe on holiday, the portraits look quite different to when viewed on my own computer.

This is the picture I've sent to the client for comment:

At least these days clients have the opportunity to get some sort of preview along the way. I had a portrait of my own horse done in 1990 by an artist exhibiting at Hickstead, in those days we didn't have home computers and after ordering/paying for the portrait I had no news of it until it arrived in the post as a finished item!

So .... my next portrait will probably be a double horse in pastel but I don't really want to start another one till I know what is still to be done with these three. I've got a bit of a bottle neck building up. :o)

05/11: MORE EQUINE DENTAL WOES

I'm having to sit down for this one .... just got the vet bill for Roxy's recent dentist treatment and its just over £250!!!

She had her flu & tetanus jab (which was only £30). The rest is made up 2 x call out fees as the vet didn't have the appropriate dental equipment to power float the teeth on first visit, sedative (plus a charge to administer the sedative) and then itemised per tooth!!! Methinks I'm in the wrong profession (although I must be honest and say a career putting my hands in horse's mouths doesn't really appeal.

Oh Well, better speed up production on the commissions to pay for it all .... and she's worth it (though not sure what David will think when he gets in) :o)

04/11: MAX - HORSE IN PASTEL

These are some Work in Progress photos of Max, a horse I'm drawing in pastels on my favourite Fisher 400 paper. Whilst this portrait is intended as a Christmas present it isn't a surprise. Sadly Max passed away very recently at the ripe old age of 30 years so his owner has been involved in choosing which photograph(s) I should work from.

The original ref. photo shows a lot more neck as Max's mane was hogged (cut short) and standing up. He was wearing a head collar, which I've removed and I've also changed the position of his ears slightly so they are both facing forward.

At the moment I've only 'hinted' at the mane as I'm not sure whether this is the length the client will prefer or if she'd like it longer. Also, I'm told that his colour is actually more rich dark chestnut than he appears in the photo so I'll need to get feedback soon but its difficult getting a good photo to email to the client now the light has gone so I'm calling it a day for now.

As well as losing the light I've made my fingertips very sore and one has started to bleed - that's the downside of working on this sanded paper as I can't help using my fingers to blend the colours - I did start blending with a brush but it isn't as effective (or satisfying) :o)

Its really a good time to stop anyway as I have a bag of prawns to peel ... that got me to thinking about one of the silly aspects of being an artist working from home. Its wonderful to take breaks from the drawing board and head to the kitchen - I do a lot of home cooking, most of which involves peeling onions or garlic etc., as we love spicy foods. I always spend ages washing my hands before touching the artwork again but I wonder whether some cooking 'niffs' adhere to the portraits ??? You know if you look at sale items on EBay they often state 'from non-smoking' or 'pet-free' home .... perhaps I ought to put a warning on my work .... 'from foodies' house'!!


Anyway, here he is, drafted out and as usual I've drawn in the eyes so I can see who I'm dealing with :o) I spent a bit of time re-positioning the ears and basically noting the main contours of his head/neck



I've used a brush to spread some basic colour and I'm using only pastel pencils (not soft pastels) for this work



This is where I've left off for the evening.

02/11: CHOCOLATE LABRADOR

This is Chloe, a beautiful chocolate labrador which I fitted in between the graphite 'children' portraits. She was commissioned as a birthday present by a lady whose cat I recently drew (Charlie). Her daughter's birthday was last Friday so I am able to post the picture without spoiling any surprises. This is pastels on Sennelier Pastel Card.

I know I took more work-in-progress photos but I think I deleted them when thinning some of my files. I do keep records of all previous commissions but try to keep only the relevant ref photos and wip pictures now ...

01/11: NOVEMBER ALREADY ??!!

If you are looking in Di .... many thanks for hosting the Halloween Get Together last night. It was great fun and hope it doesn't take too long to gather up all the ghosties and ghoulies today .... mind you those in the garden will probably be miles away by now if its as windy there as it is in Whitstable!!!


Its frustrating not being able to post latest artwork yet for fear of spoiling birthday/christmas surprises. So, having just admired the latest work of a fellow artist (http://dorsart.blogspot.com/2009/10/cougar-finished.html) who has drawn a cougar 'emerging' from a frame I was reminded about a series of fun pictures I did a while back - I called them my 'out of frame' pics. Here are a couple of them done in Prismacolor coloured pencils .... and I should be able to post some current work tomorrow :o)

27/10: FRUSTRATING!!

I haven't posted on my blog for ages as all my recent portraits have been commissioned for birthdays or christmas gifts and have to stay under wraps - its that time of the year I'm afraid!!

ONLY 8 (and a bit) WEEKS TILL CHRISTMAS .....

One group portrait of 3 children and a pastel portrait of a chocolate labrador have been despatched to the clients in the last day or so and so I'll be able to show those next week as they are for imminent birthdays. A second group of 3 children is just about finished but I believe my clients are still on holiday. This is intended as a Christmas present anyway so can't be shown yet.

Next on the drawing board will either be another graphite portrait (2 brothers) or I may switch back to pastels for a double horse portrait. Both are for Christmas gifts so the timing isn't critical yet. I'm always conscious that there are still 3 gift vouchers to be redeemed (4 animals portraits) so try to leave a few gaps in the schedule. I'm really pleased that I'm still ahead of schedule (so far)

I haven't got any drawing done today as Roxy (my horse) had her second encounter with the dentist/vet. She had to be quite heavily sedated for the treatment and that took a huge chunk out of the day. She is fine - at 24 years old her teeth are wearing out but she's good for a while yet!!

Back to work with a vengeance tomorrow.

The weather forecast is good for the next week here and I really hope to have a couple of sessions in the garden tidying up and planting more spring bulbs .... I can't have enough daffodils in the garden - they are such a cheerful beautiful sight after the long drab winter days.

21/10: LOVELY EVENING

It has been a miserable, wet, cold day here in Whitstable and I've had to have both daylight bulbs working to enable me to crack on with the second family group in graphite. I'm very pleased with progress so far - it seems to be going much more smoothly than the last graphite group but that may be because I've got back into the swing now.

I was very pleased to hear back from my client regarding the first 3 child portrait - she is happy with it so I just have to 'fix' it tomorrow and prepare it for shipment later this week.

I was even more pleased when hubby decided we'd eat out tonight !!! Much as I love cooking, its always a treat to have someone else do the work (and the clearing up). Unfortunately we don't really have a good mid priced restaurant within walking distance - but we have a favourite pub in a village 10 mins drive from us. The staff are wonderfully friendly and the food is always excellent. I must admit I'm hooked on their cajun chicken with spicy wedges - sounds a bit naff but they are soooooo good. David usually opts for the traditional pies but tonight he fancied roast beef and it just melted in the mouth!!! yummy!

So ... up early tomorrow to see if I can finish the second graphite portrait.

I've also heard from the optician that my new glasses are ready for collection. Lets see if my drawing improves as a result of being able to see .... !!

20/10: SECRET STUFF

As I can't show my latest portrait work just yet, here's one I drew earlier - some time ago actually, but I'm reading David Jason's biography at the moment so it seems apt. (This is graphite on Fabriano paper)



I emailed scans of the first 3 child portrait to my client last night but haven't heard back from her yet. I believe there is more than one person involved in this particular gift idea/presentation so it may take a while before I know whether the portrait gets the OK as is, or needs some 'tweaking'. The portrait is intended as a birthday gift in November so I probably won't be able to post it till then.

In the interim I've started work on the second 3 child portrait group. This is intended as a Christmas present, so again I probably won't be posting pictures.

On Thursday I need to put the graphites away and tackle a chocolate labrador in pastel - I've slotted this one in as an urgent birthday present (wanted end next week) because this is a returning client and wherever possible I try to oblige as I'm grateful that they like my work enough to commission me again or recommend me to others.

Hence my posting of David Jason (Del Boy) above ..... otherwise this blog will start to read like Housewife's Diary as I list all the home-made soups I've made this week - using up our home grown vegetables from the garden!!!

19/10: WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Just a quick revision to yesterday's post. The puppy's name is Snowdrop (not Snowflake). Either name suits her whilst she is a cute little fluffy thing but I wonder what they'll call her when she is fully grown - maybe it'll be shortened to Snowy?

Anyway, back to the children portraits .....

18/10: SNOWFLAKE

Its been a few days since I posted .. I did set out to start on the graphite 3 child portrait on Wednesday but my neighbours were having a beautiful (huge) Willow tree removed from their back garden - I'm sure there is a good reason but its sad to see it go. The Tree Surgeons parked their their industrial 'mulching machine' on the neighbour's drive (adjacent to my work room) and started it working at 9.15am and didn't finish till 5.30pm - despite double glazing the noise was horrendous and I was ready to commit murder by the end of the day. Not ideal drawing conditions! However I did make a start and i've done a lot of work on the portrait since Wednesday. I think it will be more or less finished tomorrow.

I always have difficulty in photographing graphite drawings - the white paper always turns out blue/grey and it takes lots of adjustments to get it somewhere near the true colours. I hope to get a decent photo tomorrow in daylight so I can send a scan to the client for critique/approval and to post here.


The weather was glorious today so David and I went for a long walk along the beach path towards Herne Bay. I took the camera and ended up with lots more seagull photos - they do tend to pose beautifully on the wooden groynes (breakwaters) which run down the beach into the sea - but I do have rather a lot of these now.

The beach walk is very popular with dog walkers and we passed lots of beautiful animals but I just fell in love with this little lady. She is 15 weeks old - a German Shepherd and out on one of her very first walks. As she bounced along towards me I just couldn't resist those gorgeous pink ears. Her name is Snowflake and I've saved the best photos for me as I plan to work on her portrait as soon as I get the chance ... but isn't she soooo cute!

13/10: CLEAN STUDIO

Today didn't go as planned - when does it ever??

David (hubby) sold his accountancy practice and took early retirement nearly 3 years ago - but he keeps busy working for a charity which helps older people fill in forms, deal with finances - keeps his brain ticking over (and gets him out from under my feet when I'm drawing) :o)

Today he should have been making a visit 10 miles away - very close to the picture framers I use to cut mounts if I need something special. I'd ordered a mount for collection today but then David's client postponed the meeting. So we decided we'd both go anyway ... its a nice little seaside town although the shops really do cater for an elderly clientele .... where else do you find shops selling knitted tea cosies these days?? and bed socks, and Sirdar knitting patterns for tank tops and mens cardigans??

We had a lovely morning - and a not so lovely lunch (won't go there again) :o( and by the time we got home it was mid afternoon.

I bought some plastic tubs to tidy all my coloured pencils. Till now they've all been kept in a huge tin and the colours were all mixed up. Now they are all separated into colour groups and easily accessible - should have done this years ago!

I had a good polish/sweep through my 'studio' to get rid of all the pastel dust from the last 4 portraits and am feeling very pleased with myself. One of the main reasons for choosing this house was that it has two good sized double bedrooms downstairs so we earmarked them as 'his & her' workrooms - his office and my studio. Its a lovely arrangement!

I had intended to start on a graphite portrait today but ran out of time. I've spent some time liaising with the client to decide on the composition of the group as it involves 3 children taken from separate photos - one of the children is just a few months old (baby really). It will be a little fiddly as I'll have to 'make up' areas of clothing and the odd arm .... but I've made a rough draft tonight ready to start work proper tomorrow. Its a large piece of work - paper size approx 18" x 24"