Big beasties aren't they ... and there were about 20 of them all straining at the leash to get into the water and do what they love best
Bet Mum & Dad's car is a mess after the journey home :-)
and some updates on the Gorilla drawing. Had a disaster when a bit of the black 'grit' escaped from the sanded paper - in the Gorilla's right eye (left as we look at it). I had to spray the paper liberally with Fixative and think I've just about disguised the white patch, but the Fixative dulled all the white coloured pencil so I had to do a lot of extra work to get back to my starting point today ..... bless!
Its all a bit dark yet - I will be adding lots of fine white/grey hairs which will lighten the Gorilla a bit and also soften everything - the lines/wrinkles are very exaggerated at the moment as I'm concentrating on getting lots of colours into the underpainting. I'm hoping the white Derwent pencils will allow me to work on top of the darker colours.
Its quite large for a coloured pencil drawing at A3 so progress is slow (well, actually it has only been a couple of days but I've got used to working in pastel which is a 'faster' medium for me)
Not the best of photos as its been raining here all day and very gloomy (but the garden needed it). I find it difficult to photograph work on black paper even in good light
As I'm not taking on commissions for a while I'm trying to work outside of my comfort zone. I don't really like monkeys/apes ... but found the gorillas fascinating at Howletts Zoo when we took Grand-daughter Sophie-Louise to see them in June.
I'm going to try my hand at portraying water (waves/sea) as part of the next experiment ... also in coloured pencils but on white paper this time.
Got a busy couple of days coming up so may not have time to post before Sunday. Have a great weekend
Newfies! :D great big dogs. one of dad's friends had a newfie puppy that he couldn't take to the beach if he wanted a swim. was always trying to rescue him lol
ReplyDeletethe gorilla is looking good, very nice eyes :)
Have you notice the gorilla's nose Sue, it looks like another face.
ReplyDeleteLove Newfies.
The Newfies are the size of small ponies (some of them anyway) but real 'gentle giants'
ReplyDeleteHaha Jo .... think you've been reading too many scifi books LOL see what you mean though, his nostrils look like eyes.
It's really interesting to see the gorilla evolve from one stage to the next. That helps the rest of us to understand the thought process you went through. It's very dramatic and intense. You brought out the character of this guy so well! I love those dogs! I want one!
ReplyDeleteThank you Katherine. I'm still not certain this gorilla will get finished as I'm fighting the paper surface ... but for now I'm sticking with it to see what happens.
ReplyDeleteNewfies are lovely but not sure I could cope with a dog that big and hairy LOL
I love the intensity in his eyes! I sure hope you stick with it.
ReplyDeleteI love those big gentle giants! A friend of mine used to have one. What a big loveable lap dog LOL.
Thanks Peggy.
ReplyDeleteJust been reading a little about Newfies. They have webbed feet and don't swim like normal dogs (doggy paddle) they use a stroke more like the breast stroke which is much more powerful.
Amazing dogs!