11/06:: 'COCO' - MORE WORK IN PROGRESS

I'm not sure it looks like it, but I've spent approximately 5 hours working on this portrait today. 

I have several reference photos of 'Coco' and she is a very dark chocolate/almost black colour in most.  In this reference she has the light in her face and it shows up the beautiful red/brown colouring but makes her neck/shoulders look much darker by comparison. 
So I'm taking my time putting in lots of red/terracotta/carmine/chocolate/lilac/pink and even blue into the base coat and these will help add depth when the final more detailed layer is added.

I'm using mostly Derwent Pastels pencils here as they are slightly thicker/softer than Pitt Pastel pencils which I'll use for the finer detail later on

You may have noticed that I found the 'design' button Blogger have kindly added to the blog headers recently. I idly looked at what it offered and found myself with a whole new look!!

They say a change is as good as a rest and I'm not unhappy with this template.  Is it OK at your end??

I've viewed it in IE8 and Chrome and it appears to be readable in both but as the template page is much wider then my previous set-up I hope its all 'viewable'.

The major plus point is that I can make my images larger - that's why you're now viewing them 'warts n all' but, obviously, pastels are meant to be viewed from a distance rather than how you see these .... 

My next goal must be to sort all the images in my Picasa album into categories so I can link my blog to specific dog/cat/horse/human gallery pages .... another thing on the 'to do' list.

10/06: COCO - PASTELS ON FISHER 400 SANDED PAPER

I started work today on the portrait of a beautiful chocolate lab who I'm told is full of mischief despite her sometimes sad expression. 

The portrait is intended as a present but I've been given permission to post WIP pics here.  So this is the first stage where I've drawn in her outline using umber/black/white pastel pencils and simply blocked in a few areas of shadow/highlight and fur direction.  I'm happy that the proportions are accurate now so work can begin in earnest - as usual, I'll point out that the portrait will go through one (or more) ugly stages along the way so bear with me :o)

Fisher 400 paper is a light sandy colour but its so gloomy here today the photograph has distorted the colour a bit.

On a slightly different tack ... we've declared war on the seagulls again! We have a very high aerial on the roof of our house which is a popular resting spot for seagulls - it is very close to the balcony doors in our bedroom and the novelty of being woken by screaming gulls at 3.30am has long since gone!! In addition the aerial is directly above our patio and when seagulls do what seagulls (and other birds) do ... the resulting mess right outside the patio doors is horrible. We did have anti-seagull spikes put on the aerial but the seagulls managed to twist the spikes so they face downwards and they carried on sitting on the aerial.

We had a lovely aerial man round this afternoon and he has re-sited the spikes and tied them more securely ...

so for the moment its Humans 1 -v- Seagull 0 .... but watch this space!

09/06: GOATS MILK CHEESE

We had a visit this afternoon from a friend, Debbie, who has been building up a herd of dairy goats in Kent since 2004.  David (hubby) built them a website and I drew a pencil portrait of their founding goat Ellie which is used as their corporate logo.

Debbie used to work part time in addition to looking after 'her girls' but now the herd totals 150 she can concentrate solely on the dairy.    She no longer ships the milk out to be turned into cheese  but has gone into production on site.   Her visit today was to discuss changes to be made to her website to incorporate all the changes.    http://www.elliesdairy.co.uk/index.html

Sadly Ellie passed away recently but two days prior to her death, Ellie's grand-daughter was born and will carry on the name.  I love visiting when the little 'goatlings' arrive - but for obvious reasons the little boy goats have to be sent away and only a couple of breeding males are kept at the farm.

It was great to hear how successful Ellie's dairy has become and ..... better still ... Debbie bought us a new goats milk cheese to sample - its in the style of a camembert and she thoughtfully bought us a home baked loaf to go with it - so I know what we're having for supper tonight.   She needs a catchy name for the new cheese so hopefully once we've sampled it inspiration will hit.   In the interim she calls it goatcam - but I hope we can come up with something better :o)

No posting for me tomorrow - my farrier is coming at 'silly hour' to trim Roxy's hooves so I'll be leaving home at 7am to meet him.   We'll then have a few hours to kill until we can visit Richard in hospital so it may be the perfect opportunity to do a bit of shopping - I have two birthday presents to buy and am cutting it a bit fine as the first one is on Saturday!!  Its going to be a long day anyway.  

See you on Thursday

08/06: PRINTER WOES .... AND SOME COLOURED PENCIL PICS

It seems the common thread running through my recent posts is 'I didn't have time' so I've decided to get tough and stop prevaricating - visiting Richard in hospital inevitably eats into our schedules as each round trip takes approx 5 hours (thanks to the queues at the Blackwall Tunnel) but I really just need to organise myself better.  
We have a visitor early afternoon then I have a hairdresser appointment so they are the 'fixed points' around which I organised my day.  Started off well - greenhouse plants all watered, ripe strawberries picked (before the squirrels find them) long grass round edge of lawn trimmed (David mowed yesterday) and dusting/sweeping/hoovering done. 
My 'studio' really needs a spring clean but I have so many pictures on the go and newly framed works stacked up that its difficult to do a proper job.   I have at least cleaned the visible surfaces and brushed all the pastel dust off the keyboard :o)

But I've been nobbled by my printer .... I need to print my main ref picture for the chocolate lab I'll be working on next.  My printer has decided it will  magnify the dog's face about 8 times and just print out a section per each A4 sheet ... I've spent the best part of an hour cancelling and re-setting print runs with the same result.   I've now emailed the photo to hubby and he will try sending it to print from his laptop ... Oh the joy of these labour saving technical 'toys'  .... so whilst David is trying to tame the printer I thought I'd post these pics of the coloured pencil drawings I've just submitted to the UKCPS for their Autumn International Exhibition - hopefully the CD will arrive in time to meet the 12 June deadline. 

I'm going to say it one last time .... ' I didn't have time' to work on a new entry so these were selected from recent practice pieces.  I don't have high hopes but if I can get one of them selected this year I will have succeeded in getting into this show three times within a five year span and will be  entitled to put the letters UKCPS after my name.

This Ardennes horse named Jeton is one of a horse-logging team worked by Frankie Woodgate.  To find out more about the role of these magnificent horses in woodland management check out the website http://www.britishhorseloggers.org/.  I took this photo at the Kent County Show during a break in her demo when Frankie stopped to explain a point and I just loved the casual way she leaned on Jeton's ample backside for support. 
It was an unusual choice of ref for me as I don't normally like detailed backgrounds - particularly in coloured pencil.  This is drawn on Fabriano Artistico HP paper

Photographed at Port Lympne in Kent I just loved this little character and have ended up with far too many photos of him.   When I originally posted this I was bemoaning the fact I couldn't get the results I wanted with coloured pencils on my favourite sanded paper (Fisher 400) but having set it to one side for a few weeks, I returned and deepened shadows etc and decided to submit it after all.

This is the most recent picture - I've darkened it further to hopefully give the illusion of the tiger stalking in the darkness.   Its coloured pencil on drafting film using a black backing sheet

This last one was destined for the bin months ago as it was an experiment on black paper that didn't go as well as planned.  

The paper didn't take layers very well and I had to use several layers of fixative to give the paper a bit of 'bite' which looks a little as though the picture has been varnished - quite strange.   But I dusted it off and thought I'd give it a stay of execution ... if it isn't accepted for the exhibition then nothing will be lost.  

I've cropped it down a little which means it is now a non-standard size so it will be costly should I need to go ahead and get it mounted/framed for exhibition (that will teach me)!!  

The tiger was another one I photographed at the Wildlife Heritage Trust in Kent when I did a one-day pastel class with Vic Bearcroft.  We had the opportunity throughout the day to get 'up close' to many beautiful big cats so I have lots of photos in my 'to do' file.  

This tiger stayed staring into space like this for around 10 minutes allowing me to get lots of nice photos.  He had an amazing 'ruff' - not sure if this is part of his Winter coat or if this is normal for him - all the other tigers had short 'whiskers' by comparison.  

David suggested I call this one 'Uncle Albert' after the character in one of his favourite sit-coms (Only Fools and Horses)!

As a full member of the UKCPS I can submit 4 pictures to the jury - I had one other which fitted the criteria (must be 100% coloured pencil and the reference source must be the artists - ie photo must have been taken by the artist).   

This was a 'fun' piece based on a photo I took of Joanne Simpson's dog, Pip, last year when we travelled to Derby to attend Jo and Roy's wedding.   This is drawn on drafting film and was completed in just a couple of hours - I won't be doing anything with it now.  

07/06: CAT PICTURES FRAMED

Here are the four pictures I picked up from the framer last week.   I struggled to photograph them because of the reflection on the glass - no matter where in the house or garden I placed the pictures I got glare.  I personally prefer non-reflective glass for pictures which stops this problem but a lot of people think the slightly opaque finish detracts from pictures - and certainly non-reflective glass is not permitted for most exhibition/competition work.   So I have to follow instructions !!

I've had this frame at home for ages - its a little ornate for most portraits (particularly commissions) but  I thought it worked with this picture as the background reminds me of a sort of Georgian striped fabric and the cat is quite 'regal' looking.  My framer kindly cut the mount and put it all together for me.

This is another frame I had 'in stock'  and my framer obligingly cut the mount and put it all together - saved a few pennies anyway :o)

This picture was my framer's favourite - he loves the blue eyes.  Its a shame about the reflections - this was photographed in my back garden so I've picked up some fencing and trees - in reality the background is plain and very dark blue/black

I think this is my favourite

Well - they are all ready for their journey to London in August - where I will find out if the jury will accept or reject them for exhibition.  During this visit to London I will also be applying for full membership of SOFA (Society of Feline Artists) so these pictures will form part of the portfolio I submit for consideration.  Its going to be a busy day methinks!!

06/06: NEARLY THERE

I'd set myself goals to identify/photograph my entry/ies for the UKCPS Autumn exhibition and mail them this weekend and I have a picture to mount/frame for delivery on Wednesday.   But I didn't quite make it.   We had a long day on Friday - we took David's Mum  to visit Richard in hospital - its only the third time she has been outdoors since breaking her hip in November.  We went on to meet friends for a meal in the evening and didn't get home till the early hours of Saturday for a brief sleep before setting off again for our usual hectic Saturday.   We got back home late yesterday afternoon in time to enjoy the last of the sunshine whilst tidying the back garden and planting out a few bedding plants, vegetables and shrubs.    We then sat outside with a bottle of  'bubbly' and had a simple barbecue meal.    Perfick!!

I now know which pictures I will submit to the UKCPS but couldn't resist 'tweaking' each of them a bit ... I've probably overworked them now but I'll never learn!!   The promised thunderstorms started up this afternoon and it got too dark to take decent photos so I'll post tomorrow - together with photos of the framed cat pictures for the SOFA entries.

 In the meantime I thought I'd show this photo I took today.   We always have our main meal in the evening and a snack at lunchtime.    Today David made up a couple of cheese rolls for lunch and I was amazed to find this array of knives waiting to be washed afterwards:

Whilst I love him to bits ... David's the first to admit he isn't tidy in the kitchen (or anywhere else for that matter) but why five knives to make two rolls???   Apparently it all makes sense - bread knife to cut the rolls, carver to slice the cheese, small paring knife to slice the tomato, dinner knife to spread the relish ... etc..    Its the same rationale for using clean cups and spoons every time he makes himself a cup of tea (if I'm not around) ... the logic being there is no difference in washing 6 cups individually and washing 1 cup 6 times (except there is ....  because its normally me washing up or loading the dishwasher not him)!! 

Men are from Mars .....  !!!

03/06: FALLING BEHIND

This last week has been absolutely chaotic - definitely a case of one step forwards and two back .... thankfully it is relatively quiet on the commission front otherwise I'd be in a bit of a mess.   The chaos was compounded when our car decided to lock me out on Saturday.   I was about to leave the stables after visiting my (retired) horse, put the key in the ignition and then got out of the car to talk to somebody.  The car door partially closed (you know when it just 'catches' without closing properly) and the central locking system kicked in.  I'm told 'this just can't happen' ... but it did.    I was supposed to collect hubby from the bowling centre where he teaches a kids club - we share the car.   Luckily David's daughter was home and lives 20 minutes drive from the stables.   She collected her dad, then me, and drove us home to collect the spare keys - and back to the stables to open the car (a 2 hour round trip)!!  We then had to drive an hour to hospital to visit Richard - yet another marathon day.

Two or three hospital visits each week certainly puts us behind with other 'stuff' but Richard is making steady progress.   He is still unable to use his right arm/leg/eye and there's no news yet of when he can be accepted into a neuro rehabilitation programme -  its early days yet in terms of recovery from such a serious accident.   We realise he is likely to spend a further year in hospital(s) but all the time we see little improvements we're happy.

Two recent enquiries seem to have died natural deaths and the graphite 'human' portrait is now on hold till later in the year  ... I had announced that I would be taking a break from commissions to concentrate on exhibition work this Summer and it seems events are being taken out of my hands I think the recession is beginning to bite with many artist friends reporting a downturn in orders for the first Quarter of this year.   So the slowdown actually suits me at the moment.   I should be able to start on the chocolate lab a little earlier than anticipated but will liaise with my client first to see whether I can show WIP pics here.

David and I visited my framer today to collect the four cat pictures I will be taking to London in August.   I hope one at least will be accepted by the Llewellyn Alexander Gallery for exhibition (Society of Feline Artists) but I think the selection committee is fairly tough.  I'm really pleased with the framing although I can see things that I'm itching to change with the pictures - always the way isn't it?   They are protectively parcelled at the moment but I'll unwrap them during the weekend and see if I can photograph them to show here.

My framer's workshop is in a little coastal town about 10 miles away (Birchington) .. I love going there as its set in a time warp - the average age must be 70 and I feel soooooooo young.   The little shops still sell tea cosies, sensible knickers and hot water bottles - many items look as though they've lived in the shop windows for 20+ years!   But we had a lovely lunch out and it was a treat to just 'escape' the routine for a few hours.   We stopped off at a nursery on the way home and bought more plants for the garden (thereby extending the 'jobs to be done' list :o)

The weather was beautiful and the visibility wonderful today.  On the way home we passed fields full of giant oak trees ... and this dead one.  The light was fantastic but I didn't have my 'good' camera with me.  We keep a little camera in the glove compartment 'for emergencies' and David took this picture which doesn't really do it justice.   Here's my 'dead tree' photo anyway :o)

Well thats the end of another waffly blog post :o)    We're hospital visiting again tomorrow so I shall be working hard on my art during the weekend to make up and will post again then.   Enjoy the sunshine whilst it lasts!

01/06: TIGGER (NEARLY) FINISHED

I spent a few hours on the (pastel) pony commission today (which I've been asked not to show till July) and had intended to do work in the back garden but the weather has been horrible today - grey and drizzly and pretty cold.   So I switched back to cps and did more work on the tiger.   It was intended to be bigger than this but I'm bored with it now so I'm going to crop it to fit the mount I've shown here - it is still quite big as the mount will fit a 20" x 16" frame.   The photos aren't brilliant as the light was poor and I didn't want to turn the overhead lights on as they create too much glare on the film.  But you get the idea I hope.

Tigger - with mount loosely laid on top so I could work out where to finish drawing/crop the picture

I tried to take a 'close-up' but it hasn't worked very well

Once I finish the pony commission, I have a chocolate lab and a graphite human to work on. I'm obviously not going to have time to prepare anything new for submission to the Autumn UKCPS exhibition as entries close on 12 June so I've been looking through some of the practice pieces I've done in the last 6 months. The work has to be based on photos I have taken and must be 100% coloured pencil so I have 3 or 4 possible pics I could submit. I'll take a good look at them tomorrow and make a decision

28/05: TIGGER - WIP (cont.d)

We've had a 'bitty' couple of days - loss of internet connection (again) and catching up with things at home/in the garden after our few days away ...... so I decided not to work on the current commission till Monday and to carry on with Tigger at odd times between the 'boring household stuff'.

So here's a photo I took this afternoon.  I have done a little more work since it was taken - smoothing out the body fur colours and trying to darken the background a little but haven't photographed the latest stage - the background is kind of trial and error so I hope I don't screw the whole picture up by 'playing'.   I've stuck with the black backing paper for now but don't have a sheet large enough to support the piece of drafting film at the moment - hence the paler edges you see in this photo.  

We have a busy day tomorrow - visiting our respective Mums, my horse and Richard in hospital so I won't be updating this for a while.    Hope you all have a good weekend and the weather stays kind to us all.

18/05: TIGGER - WORK IN PROGRESS

My next commission can't be shown here for a while as it is a surprise gift.   I'm awaiting approval of the 'mock-up' so in the meantime thought I'd dust off the drafting film and tackle one of the 'big cats' I photographed a couple of years ago at the Wildlife Heritage Trust in Kent .   

Drafting film is a sort of plasticized, semi opaque film more familiar to architects and draftsmen than artists until recently.    It doesn't have any 'tooth' so doesn't take many layers of pencil and that adds to the artistic challenge - and speeds up the drawing process.   Because it is semi opaque (with a grey tinge) the film needs to be laid over a coloured background sheet.  One major advantage is that you can draw on both sides of the film to give a 3D effect and emphasize highlights etc.

With this tiger, I decided to use a black backing sheet.   Part way through, whilst showing hubby a progress report, I just slipped a white sheet of paper behind the drawing and he thought that made the colours 'ping' more.   I'm reserving judgement.   

I will be away for a few days now so no blog posts for a week, but I'm looking forward to getting back to this one and seeing how it develops.

OK .... first WIP.   This is a photo and there is quite a lot of reflection off of the film but, as you can see, I started with the eyes as usual.  I'm drawing on the film with a sheet of black paper behind it.  So white pencil strokes show up quite bright and the orange/red/yellow shades mute down a lot

A bit more progress - lots of tiny pencil strokes for the hair.  Still drawing on film with black backing paper.

My idea for this picture was that the tiger would be emerging from quite a dark background - hence the choice of black backing sheet which will facilitate this.   My original ref photo shows the tiger in bright green grass (and I didn't fancy tackling that as a background).  With a black backing sheet the white pencil shows up clearly and the black recedes

Then I slipped the white paper behind the film and doubts are creeping in.   These photos probably don't show the colours at their best but certainly the orange/red/yellow look much more striking.   With the white backing sheet the white pencil disappears and the other colours dominate ... jury's out for now!!

17/05: BOUNCER FINISHED

At the request of my clients, I deepened/darkened the colours in Bouncer's coat and the portrait has been approved so - just a light spray of fixative and its ready to go. (not the best of photos - I've chopped the edges off a little but was trying to get some close-up detail)

14/05: UNDER THE WEATHER

Both David and I got struck down with a sickness bug over the last few days ... so no hospital visiting and we've both  been feeling very 'ho - hum' and tired.   I know better than to work on commissions or other important jobs when feeling like that, so instead I 'played' with coloured pencils on a piece of Colourfix which I know a blogging/artist friend likes very much.   To be fair, Janet did suggest working on darker colours with cps and I should have heeded her advice.

I took several pictures of young alpacas at the Kent Show last year and thought two of these could be arranged to look as though they are having a chat - probably about hairstyles as they'd both been recently 'shorn' for presentation at the show.

I'm reasonably pleased with the dark alpaca but I just couldn't get the light colours to work and have now ended up with a bit of a muddy surface - I could remove the colour with solvent I guess but I rather think this is destined for the bin - but it was an interesting experiment.

Anyway, we're both feeling 100% better today,  so its back to the portrait of Bouncer this afternoon - I'm really looking forward to that.

11/05: BOUNCER - A LITTLE MORE PROGRESS

Here are some more progress pictures - the photos were taken at different times/light conditions today so colour may vary slightly.  

I probably won't do any more to this portrait tomorrow as we will be visiting Richard and that eats up most of the day for us.   But it will be back to the drawing board on Thursday

10/05: BOUNCER - PASTEL ON FISHER 400

I started work this afternoon on a portrait of Bouncer and as this isn't intended as a surprise gift I have permission to show some work in progress photos along the way.   

As followers of my blog will know, I used to be reluctant to show early stages as portraits always have to go through an 'ugly stage' before the final tweaking/colour adjustments etc., which make all the difference to the final portrait.   

Unfortunately, Bouncer is no longer with us and there are no 'head & shoulder' reference photos available but I have been provided with several full body photos showing her beautiful colouring and we have agreed on the pose this portrait will be based upon.

Here I have sketched the outline and main features/fur direction etc., using white pastel pencil and I have drawn the eyes in so Bouncer's portrait begins to have a little personality.

A little more work:

I'm really just blocking in colours/shadows/highlights at this stage and the portrait will change constantly along the way.   I did do a little more work after this but the light was poor and the photos weren't good so I'll show more updates tomorrow.

09/05: WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

We've been so caught up in dealing with the aftermath of Richard's accident that we totally overlooked the fact it is our Wedding Anniversary today.  David and I are both 'second time round' and met 12 years ago - both vowing 'never again' but .... we eventually tied the knot and its the best thing we ever did.   We had a 'Kentish Wedding' in Knowle Country House a Victorian mansion where to a certain extent we could select our own words/music and that was followed by a meal for family and friends.       Unfortunately David got the giggles halfway through the vows and that set me off - we were laughing so much  I'm really not sure if we invalidated the marriage - We walked down the 'aisle' to Buddy Holly True Love Ways and left to the Beatles singing All You Need is Love .... unfortunately the master of ceremonies left the CD running and the next track was CRAZY by Patsy Cline so I think the scene was well and truly set then!    The next evening we'd hired a hall and threw a party/disco for family and extended friends/work colleagues .. so we really dragged it out for a few days.

Doesn't seem like 8 years ago ... but here's a couple of piccies

Back to posting artwork tomorrow!

07/05: ALLSORTS

We stayed up watching TV till 4.30am this morning following the election results but then had to admit defeat and retire to bed.  Consequently haven't felt like doing very much today.   

We had a walk  round Whitstable today to get some fresh air and this afternoon I've been listening to 'HotFMCanary' radio station on my computer.  That's the local radio station in Corralejo/Fuerteventura where we have a holiday home.  We should be there at the moment but cancelled the flights when Richard (stepson) had his motorbike accident on 18th April.  The owners and DJs at HotFMCanary have dedicated this afternoon to helping us raise funds for the Air Ambulance who airlifted Richard to the Royal London Hospital from the crash scene.   We know full well that many people in the Canaries have been struggling for the last 18 months or so - the recession has led to a reduction in tourism and many bars/restaurants have been forced to close - so all donations are doubly appreciated.  I believe the fundraising will continue during the weekend also.  David and I are really proud that the site he set up to keep Richard's friends informed of  progress has now received more than 60 entries on his guestpage and raised in excess of £1,000 in donations for Air Ambulance - and with more to come it seems.   http://www.getwellrichard.co.uk/

Whilst listening to their antics on the radio (lots of challenges for the DJs to sing live on air /accept dares etc) I've been working my way through lots of old photo files on the computer and deleting/tidying the folders up.    I came across some pictures taken a couple of years ago and thought I'd post this one.   

This is the 'Old Neptune' pub (probably one of the most photographed pubs in Kent)  it sits on the beach and is perfectly silhouetted against the spectacular sunsets.    I believe the pub was built in the 1850s and damaged lots of times in storms/floods then finally in 1897 the old wooden building was completely washed away in another great storm.


The ‘Old Neptune’ was rebuilt, using timber reclaimed from the original structure and several other cottages that had also been destroyed.  The building has warped and twisted over the years owing to its old wooden foundations, however the timber structure seems to accommodate this movement as can be seen in the window frames and sloping floor.

I called a halt to the Meerkat picture and put it out of sight for a while.  I added some brighter colours to compensate for the dulling I've noticed - I'm glad I had the time to experiment with cps on sanded paper but it isn't a combination I think I'll use often.    I have so many photos of Meerkats now I'm sure you'll be seeing more in the future :o)    Next up will be a Golden Retriever (I believe), a pony and a German Shepherd (all in pastels I think).  For myself, I'd like to fit in some wildlife art .... but watch this space.
 
Meerkat :
 

05/05: MEERKAT (CONT..D)

We've been out and about a lot today, shopping and doing chores and I wanted to have a look at a new Gallery which has opened in Whitstable - they have been appealing for local artists to exhibit there and the rents are quite reasonable (and just 5% commission to be taken in aid of a local charity).  At the moment I don't have the 40 pictures it will need to fill the walls - but I may have a word with some other local artists to see if they'd like to share costs/wall space ..... something to think about anyway.

I did another couple of hours on the Meerkat but found myself getting bored and rushing it - which is a bad mistake with coloured pencils - especially on sanded paper as the pencils need to be sharpened after about half a dozen strokes ....... not sure this is very cost effective as the paper really does eat the pencils and, it might just be my imagination but the colours seem to dull very quickly on the paper.

I did read on another forum recently that some papers need to be 'rested' when using coloured pencils, to allow the paper to absorb the waxy pigment - maybe that is what I'm encountering here (??)  Anyway, as somebody famous used to say 'I've started, so I'll finish' but I'm a bit disappointed in this one.

Tomorrow we are visiting Richard in hospital.    He had the op yesterday to wire/fix the broken facial bones so we wanted to wait an extra day to give him time to recover.  Fingers crossed we'll see more progress.  

05/05: MEERKAT

This little cutie kept us enthralled recently and I must have come away with more than 80 photos (not taken at the Kalahari desert - but at Port Lympne park in Kent)

Its a bit of an experiment for me and may end up in the bin.   This is my second trial with coloured pencils on Fisher 400 paper which is quite heavily sanded.  I love the paper when used with pastels but not so enthusiastic about coloured pencils.   Many coloured pencil artists prefer working on sanded surfaces so I'm persevering and trying various brands of pencils from Derwent Coloursoft which are very creamy/waxy, Prismacolors (also quite soft), and some Blick (own brand) pencils which are a bit harder.  Unfortunately I don't have many Polychromos in my collection but I think they work better as they are oil based rather than wax based ..... they are on my wishlist

Early stages:

Can you tell what it is yet??   (oh, btw the background is watercolour pencil brushed with a damp paintbrush)

03/05: ROCKY FINISHED

I should have left well alone ..... but I guess we've all been there.  I decided to brighten up some of the highlights in Rocky's coat by using soft pastels.  Disaster!!! It just looked flat and heavy on top of the finer pastel pencil work.    Took me about 3 hours to even it all out by brushing it, 'fixing' it and reapplying pastel pencil (all this with hubby saying 'I told you so' in the background) :o)

This really is the finished article now.    

So ... Not a very productive day, although I did take a trip to a local garden centre to buy a few shrubs for the garden (too cold and wet to actually plant them this afternoon though).

We have friends joining us tonight to take part in a Quiz at a local pub - hope I can kick the grey cells into action before then :o)

02/05: TERRIER in PASTELS

Thanks to everyone who has sent get well wishes to Richard, via emails or entries on his webpage Guestbook  www.getwellrichard.co.uk/   Richard is still in a coma, two weeks after the accident but he has briefly opened his eyes, squeezed our hands etc., in response to our voices so things are moving in the right direction, albeit painfully slowly.  We have been warned it may be weeks or months before he 'wakes up' properly.   We currently visit the hospital every 2nd or 3rd day and in between times are trying to carry on as normally as possible.

The weather has been absolutely appalling in Kent today, with torrential rain and strong gusty wind all day.   Work in the garden is totally impossible so the poor blackbirds are having to leap around on the long grass looking for worms and generally 'rootling' as they love to do.   I can barely see their heads above the grass :o)

It has been very gloomy in my 'studio' but I've got a lot done on the picture for my farrier.  Rocky, his companion of 10 years sadly died recently and I was asked to draw him.   I'm not sure what breed/cross Rocky was but I think part Patterdale Terrier - I know he was a very hairy little chap so quite a challenge.    I started work on him a couple of days ago and really wanted to finish him today, but I suspect I will need to do more tweaking when I see the picture in good light.

I did take a few WIP photos - the colours may change slightly due to photos being taken at different times of day/lighting conditions.   The support is Sennelier Pastel Card and this 'dark blue' colour has a green tinge to it in 'real life'

I've sketched the outline in and tried to show the direction of hair  - a major task with this coat!    As usual I draw the eyes in first.

I can see lots of different colours in Rocky's coat, hence the 'underpainting' with lilac, various shades of ochre and pinks - these will tone down considerably once the detailed hair is drawn on top

At this stage I realised I'd made the underlying coat colour too 'yellow' - thats what happens when I draw in the evenings with overhead electric lights - and forget to turn the daylight lamps on to rectify the colour balance!