Black Lab on Pastelmat

Soulful
5.25" x 5.25" Coloured Pencil on Pastelmat
Available- Please contact me

Well, here is the final piece! I quite pleased with the way it turned out, and with that gaze, I couldn't think of any other title for this sweet and loyal lab than 'Soulful'

WIP-Black Lab

5"x5" Coloured Pencil on Pastelmat

I am working on another coloured pencil piece using the Pastelmat paper...really , really liking this surface, what can I say!?

Here is my black lab so far, and I apologize for the lack of eyes... (some people hate this part of a painting ) This lab is sitting in the afternoon sun on a wooden floor, so we're going to get some lovely reflected light happening in the shadows, which is a good thing, as black shadows can get dense and flat without some sparkle to them :-)

Paper Fun- Fisher 400 and Pastelmat

When I woke up this morning I took advantage of a still quiet house and drafted up my post for today, planning to scan the images in the evening. Between then and now, I had a chance to take a quick peek at some of the blogs I follow and, to my surprise and delight, saw that both Gayle Mason (Fur in the Paint) and Katherine Tyrell (Making a Mark Reviews) had also chosen today to post paper reviews! Ah, the mysterious workings of the blog world....
So, here are my thoughts on both papers and don't forget to check out Gayle and Katherine's posts as well (And a very gracious thank you to Katherine for mentioning my work in her post!)

Referencing an old painting, I did small (6"x8") arab head studies on both surfaces. Overall, I think that both papers are great supports, and I will give a little of my feedback BUT, (here's the but), please take into account that I only used Faber-Castell and Berol Prismacolor coloured pencils on these surfaces. Other mediums may work differently with the surface, so I would still urge anyone interested to get some samples and try them out with your own mediums and techniques. :-)

Pastelmat:
A fairly firm, hard surface. The mat is a card stock weight, textured on one side. It took loads of layers and the texture stood up well to pencil pressure. Circular strokes, directional strokes or flat colouring worked equally well on this paper. The colour went on true, but not as vibrant as on the Fisher paper. I liked the fact that I could blend with a stiff brush or stump, but finger blending didn't work well here.
I could also burnish surfaces with lighter colours, giving areas a glazed look, which helped in graying down or brightening up colours. For another use, this surface easily handled a light application of solvent to melt and blend colours (not shown on Arab Head study left)


Fisher 400:
Lighter, more paper-like, This paper works well taped down onto a board for support. The texture is similar to extremely fine sandpaper. My pencils went on super creamy, and the surface ate them up quickly. Quite a lot of dust created as well, which is something I am not used to and had to take extra care in keeping my work surface clean.

The colours blended wonderfully, and went on vibrant and bright. The surface took a number of layers before becoming saturated, and it was good to see that any saturated area did not take on a "waxy" look that I have experienced before.
Textured held up well to pencil pressure. Colours were easily blended with brushes (use softer ones than on Pastelmat), stumps or fingers. This surfaced worked better for me when I used strokes to fill in areas as opposed to circular strokes or flat colouring.

It was nice to change up what I have been doing and play with these surfaces, which I might remind everyone, are NOT available in Canada

Ordering:
I ordered both from the TSC company in Britain. First time dealing with them and I was very happy with the service and product, but be prepared to pay for the shipping :~)
If you can place an order with another artist or group of artists, it would be more economical and TSC currently has a sale on the Fisher 400 .

Other Artists:
Please check out these other artists who have used both papers and have their own reviews on them:

Nicole Caulfield -who creates amazing (and large scale) portraits and still life coloured pencil paintings with Fisher paper and Derwent coloursofts pencils.

Gayle Mason - who just put up her own review with some beautifully done cat paintings. Her pieces show (much better than mine) the detail one can achieve.

Mary Hubert- who works exclusively on Fisher 400 now, and has a paper review page. And don't forget to check out her amazing demo videos

New paper-Pastelmat

SOLD
"Teddy Bear Blue"
Coloured Pencil on Pastelmat 5.75" x 5.75"

Here is my next pencil painting using my new papers, the Pastelmat.

This little still life was taken from some of my old reference material. Way back when.... I had the opportunity to illustrate some wonderful hand-made stuffed animals and got a few of them on loan. I took reams of pictures but unfortunately the job never panned out. They all were beautifully made though, even their clothes were especially sewn/knitted for them!

I am going to try another painting, but use both papers this time to show the difference, although right from the get go, I can tell you I love this pastelmat :-)

New Papers and Blogging Award

I've been experimenting with some new papers I ordered recently; Fisher 400 and [Clairefontaine] Pastelmat. Neither are available in Canada (from what I could find out), but I was able to order them through the Creative Support Company.
The CSC were great to work with, I was billed through Paypal, making it easier for me, and the package came quickly and in great shape; no bends!!

Above is a small Ragdoll study done on the Fisher400 with coloured pencils. I am limited on time today, but will expand more on the paper and my progress tomorrow :~)

I would also like to thank the multi-talented Linda Shantz for awarding me a Passion for Painting Award! Thanks very much Linda! It was a pleasure to be included in your 30 horses/30 days project! One of my favourite paintings was this one on day 7... can't help but stop, smile and mellow out when I see this peice!

Painting:0 , Nature:1

Painting is not going well...it seems very laboured and difficult. I'm trying to finish a new piece for the upcoming AAEA deadline, but maybe it is not going to happen. Sometimes starting over with another composition works, or failing that, I can always blame 'spring fever.'

Speaking of which....

We went out this weekend for a run with the dogs (our friend Bronwyn was staying with us) and wandered through the farm section of our provincial park (dogs were leashed here!)

I was lucky enough to capture this picture and I had to share...

Remember, Bronwyn is a Great Dane, a breed that was bred for guarding and boar hunting. Maybe she wouldn't have been that great at it!
:~D

Miniature-Portrait of Bronwyn

"Bronwyn" NFS
2.75" x 4.75" Miniature watercolour portrait

This is a small portrait I did of a very special girl...Bronnie is a black great Dane and is a frequent visitor to our home. She is loving and sweet and gets along with everyone. As I was painting, I noticed I had left the camera on my desk so....

I begin by drawing my subject in pencil directly onto watercolour board and lay a pale red/pink wash to one side. As Bronwyn's collar is a pinky-red, I want this colour to peek through the background in places as well, for a cohesive look.


Cutting in carefully, I lay a wash of greens/blues and burnt sienna behind Bronwyn, coming back and floating in water and/or extra colour where necessary. I didn't use any masking fluid here because of the size. I can get a better outline by just painting.


After my background is completely dry, I start blocking in shadows with warm and cool blues. I also lifted some of the background colour out, as it was looking a little too dark.


Now I build up the colour of the dog with a variety of black and blue washes. Some are cool and some are warm, and I concentrate on what parts of the painting need to come forward or fade back as I apply them.


Now I just generally continuing on with washes and blending, building the colour to where it should be. When painting, I take short breaks and will often look at the painting in a mirror to see what is and what isn't working. Right now, I don't like the way her right jowl is pudging out at the bottom and I think her left ear is a bit too short. By lifting paint (with clean water) and adding washes, both these areas are corrected.


I now finish off the collar, touch up the dog overall with some additional blending and lifting. With the collar now painted, I wanted to see a few more rosy spots in the background, so I lightly laid in some small washes, and that's about it.
I'll come back and take one last look, pass it by my father/son critique panel and if all is good, sign and frame it :-D

ACEO-Tabby and White Kitten

SOLD
"Tabby and White"
2.5" x 3.5" ACEO original, watercolour on Saunders WC paper

It is a wonderful thing when a painting just flows...unfortunately, the two large pieces I am working on are both stuck in a frustrating quagmire.

So to take a break, (and work on something that is a little more fun) here is a little ACEO I did:-)

Sketches and Painting with Passion

Sketch of Suede
(or "Big Dog in a Little Ball")

I needed to take a moment today to address some of the wonderful feedback (both publically and privately) people have left recently! It is really uplifting, especially when one is working on a piece that just isn't coming together.

I am also amazed with the growth of my little "A Passion For Painting" Award. I got an email from fellow blogger, masmoulin, who (being better with numbers than myself! ) figured out how many people might have received my award (in passing it on to 7 other artists) and the number could well be over 2 million!!

When I got my first blog award from Laura Hardie; I wasn't sure if we were to make a new one to pass on or not, but having a graphics background, I went for a little design of my own, and am really happy that so many people liked it AND was very pleasantly surprised to see how many bloggers took the time to link back to my site (as the award creator) when they received "A Passion for Painting". I was also tickled to have the award returned to me; Thank you very much Robin Roberts!

With my now healthy child back in school (finally!) and all this positive energy, I have planned a wonderfully quiet and creative day of painting... hope everyone else does too!

River Watch

"RIVER WATCH"
4"h x 6"w watercolour on acid free rag board

Here is my finished "wet" golden. He is taking a short break from his river swim, with the emphasis on "short". I don't think there is anything a golden loves more than swimming...well, maybe a tennis ball...

Avaliable - Contact the artist directly

WIP-Riverwatch

WIP- Riverwatch

Last week's DSDF challenge "wetted" my appetite to paint some more water... I am currently working on this watercolour; A very happy and wet Golden in his element; near water :-)

We had a golden in the family many years ago, before they became so hugely popular, and he loved to swim. He was a large, solid dog, beautiful in colour; a dark, burnished gold...
At the cottage, he used to sneak off down the path, across a small road to the beach where we would find him swimming away. A very obedient dog, the lure of the water was his one weakness and we finally had to start tying him up or keeping him in the cottage when we weren't down at the beach.

He lived to be 13+ and was put to sleep only because the arthritis in his hips got to be too painful.
And his name?
Why Sandy of course!

Left: A wet Sandy after a long day of swimming

P.S. That is a portrait of Sandy in my sidebar to the right. Titled "Portrait of the Old Man" and was accepted into the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine's Animals in Art Juried Exhibition a few years back.

I'm a Guest Artist!

"A WORD IN YOUR EAR"
19"w x 13"h, Watercolour/CP on 100% acid free ragboard.
$250US (shipping included)
This painting comes double matted and shrink-wrapped.

Linda Shantz, a fellow Ontarian and very talented equine/canine artist, completed an awesome 30 day painting project on her blog in November of last year. 'Thirty Horses, Thirty Days' is a wonderful showcase of her small format oil paintings.

(<---That's Linda and Monster, her baby!)

Well, she is at it again, and has marked the month of April for another "Thirty Horses, Thirty Days" project. Because Linda is also currently playing mid-wife to TB broodmares, she does need the occasional day off, and is inviting a guest artist every Monday.

Yours truly was previewed today! My painting "A Word in Your Ear," picks up on Linda's Thoroughbred theme, and is available for purchase; 50% of the sale price will be donated to Linda's "pet" charity, Longrun, an adoption and retirement program for thoroughbred horses. If you are interested please contact me directly.

So surf on over to check out Linda's blog for daily updates and available paintings and her website to view her entire body of work!

Another place....

"The Pina Colada Sarong"
Watercolour on board 5.5"h x 9.5"w

So I sat down today and painted this week's Different Strokes for Different Folks Challenge.

It was a beach picture and seeing that it was dull and rainy here today, not to mention colder than average for springtime, getting lost in a warm beach subject wasn't hard. Nor was it hard to image myself looking as good as my "model" does in her bikini...:-D

I was stumped when I came to the pattern on the sarong; so many choices, but I wasn't really happy with any of them.
The image I had painted so far was very strong and dynamic, so, following a more lighthearted vein, I put a twist in this piece and painted the sarong pattern with pineapples and cute, frothy drinks.
Now I'm sure all you more mature readers will remember that famous song, "Do you like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain...." hence the title: The Pina Colada Sarong!

Here's to better weather ahead (and better jokes)!

ACEO - Papillon

SOLD "Papillon"
Original ACEO 3.5"x2.5" Watercoloured/Coloured Pencil on WC paper

I have been working on some larger paintings for 2 upcoming juried shows, but I'm not ready to share just yet....:-)
For a break, I did this ACEO of a real sweetie - a Papillon dog. This is a toy breed which was named after the French word for "Butterfly." Squint at this lovely face and you will see the butterfly wings that the ears, ear fringes and face make, with the white blaze as the body.
The painting itself is done as a drawing using a red/sepia and navy blue pencil crayon then the piece was glazed over with watercolours.

Welcome Spring!

I am very glad to see the arrival of spring! I have been down and out with yet another chest/head cold which is finally following winter out the door!

I have not been painting watercolours but did exchange my paintbrush for a kistka and managed to finish my first Ukrainian Easter Egg of 2009. (Okay, so I chose a fairly easy design for my first one, but I love the poppies)
These are traditionally called Pysanky (pronounced peh-san-keh with the emphasis on the "peh") and I have been making them every year since I was a a youngster. Taught by my grandmother, my mom and I now try to make them (although my mom seems to be practising secretly because her eggs are looking better and better every year!)

Basically, this craft is a dye and wax resist applied directly onto raw chicken eggs (or goose or ostrich etc) The designs are made up of various Ukrainian symbols and colours, all which carry different meanings; spirituality, life, health, prosperity, fertility etc.

Learn Pysanky does a great job explaining the basics and more. Much better than I could do here :-D Check it out!