Pet portraits in time for Christmas

These two were a little challenging because sadly the pets were no longer with us so I had limited subject matter to work with. The dog, Moppet (such a lovely name), was worked from a computer print out that had been sent as a Christmas Card. 

This sweet little Gemma is the spitting image of our cat, Topsy. We still have Topsy, when she cares to come home and we are so proud that she’s reached 7 years! 

A fine pack ...

Just before I went in for jaw surgery, I drew two of the dogs on this portrait. Then about a week after, I tied on a bandana to help with the post surgery drool, and sat down to draw the remaining two over a couple of days so a dear friend could collect this! 

I am thankful that I found the brain cells and my muse to complete this work after such an ordeal. But I did and I’m sure it was therapy. It was something that made me feel more like ‘me’ and that’s important. 

I hope you like it. I love drawing. 

From tiny to huge! Pet Portraits ...

From this tiny well loved degu, captured in black and white ...

To a colourful calico, who I have created in exchange for some fabulous hand knitted gloves ...

And via this special horse, who I had to keep off line until the birthday when he was presented. I will probably go back to working on my book now ..

Three faces of the season.

How cute is this little girl? She's carefully cleaning her paw. Or is she? Caption competition?

 

Sometimes I have to wait to after Christmas to share what I have been up to with some furry friends. Such is the case with these three lovelies. 

So good to be asked to do a rat again. I will always love rats and value them as pets as well as subjects!

 

A girl Yorkie and a boy with the best nose ever are this years delightful dogs. 

 

I can't wait for the new year to begin. It's going to be a good one. I think 2016 held a lot of challenges. How was it for you? 

Best Compliment Ever ...

Well I don't very often draw people but when I do it's often for a really good friend! J asked me to draw her son so that she could surprise her parents, and presented me with this amazing photo which shows real cheeky character and I accepted the challenge! I also usually draw non furry faces in monochrome and J was happy with that. 

I chose to take out the seatbelt and therefore the sling since I couldn't see how the sling looked at the top. As I fashion my portraits in white-space the seat belt was going to look too prominent in the picture. If you draw portraits your self you will know how important the eyes are and in this photo our young man has a very distinctive highlight which I worked hard to get right. The eyes, and the shapes of our nose and lips are what makes us unique. Get these slightly wrong and your picture doesn't look like the person. 

Well I completed the portrait and waited for the time when J would present it to her parents, and after that I shared it to my Facebook page where Mum proudly shared it, writing something that made my day. She said, "the artist is so good I can't tell it apart from the photo. And she has captured my grandson's spirit of fun", and that's probably one of the best compliments ever!

Cathy, aged 11

What a beautiful gentle old girl is Cathy the retired racing greyhound. She belongs to a friend of mine, and I was asked to draw her out of all the special dogs my friend has loved!

When I began to sketch her out, it was really important to me to capture the soul that shows in her big brown eyes. 

After mapping everything out in dark sepia, I build up colours in layers, my favourite part of making a portrait. I'm really pleased with how Cathy turned out. 

A Handsome Black Dog ....

I A friend recently commented on the challenges of drawing black dogs! I've done a few, and a glossy black cat, and here is one I tackled fairly recently. 

This boy is done in coloured pencils, in a painterly sort of way. Have you been successful painting black pets?

A little more drawing ...

One lovely Labrador ...

Two sweet cavies ...

How I love to draw!

Bobby the Dog ...

Working on this portrait involved tilting the head of the dog, removing his lead, back and shoulder, and adding in some of his neck and chest ...

There were lots of colours in this white dog! And as you can see, I left his head at a slight angle for the cute factor!

And his dear owner loves it :-) 

This is Lilli

A Yorkshire terrier from down the road ...

And she's been given the Raggy Rat treatment in time for Mother's Day!

A dog called Billy

This big beautiful boy recently passed away and I was asked to produce a portrait from this photograph ...

But as you can see, Billy's left eye is very much in shadow so I had to work a bit of Raggy Rat magic!

I always show my clients WIP images especially when I'm adding or changing details ...

And the family were very happy with Billy even saying its like bringing him back a little. And this is why I draw, to spread some smiles ....

And some happy tears!

Artwey at Dorchester Library ...

It ends on Saturday but here is my work in the lovely cabinet which I hired as part of Artwey's two-week exhibition ....

I have included work in a variety of media this time!

As I like to make and draw owls a special visitor came to visit the work. Here is Angel owl with our own Oliva Nurrish!

And you can see the picture I did for Angels owner in the cabinet behind Dorset's favourite snowy owl ...

How challenging it is to draw white creatures! Have you ever tried it?

Here is seven-year-old Daisy's portrait of Angel xxx

Our own Topsy-cat is almost a grown up!

She is a fearless adventurer and rather camouflaged when hiding in next doors bushes...

Also slightly helpful when it comes to unthreading sewing machines ....

And of course, utterly photogenic! And because I draw a lot of Dogs these days, I also drew my cat, just to prove that kitties, even helpful ones, do not phase me!

Then I let her star in the postcard I has created this week, to show off my drawing! Would you like one? 

A Cheetah called Tyson

Here is the most exotic pet I have immortalised, to date ....

As I began to work on him I did feel overwhelmed by all those little spots!

Of course I love to build up colour, which I began to do once I had mapped out most of his markings...

I created the markings on the bandana by using oil pastel over chalky pastels which I had blended using my finger, working as usual in coloured pencil for Tyson's fur and his deep eyes!

I worked on him for some time, and so it was hard to let him go, and I let him watch over me for a couple of days before it was time to ship him off!

Trixie - another dog portrait!

Trixie has been photographed indoors using a 'flash'. It makes her fur shine, but her eyes have become very reflective!

So while sketching her out in sepia, I filled in her pupils and added highlights to make them shine! 

Here she is in full colour, and ready for a birthday surprise!

Peanut The Beagle!

This is Peanut who was fun to draw with so many colours to build up the rich tan!

As you can see from Peanut's photo one of the eyes was clear and one was very much in shadow so I enjoyed the challenge of making the right eye reappear, using the left as a reference. 

White highlights show how the beagle has aged. At this point (below) the drawing looks almost done!

The final touch is the shading on the white parts of the dog, making the dog look three-dimensional in this area too!

I think Peanut is pleased with his portrait!

And so does his owner! 

Dog portrait anyone?

Look at this handsome chap! 

This year I am doing lots of pet portraits again, as we near Christmas. I always start by mapping in with black or dark brown ...

Then the fun part, layering on colours! 

Then suddenly, he will tell me he is finished! I hope it helps you to see the photograph I was working from, too xxx