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? 

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 :-) 

Mr and Mrs Naughty Cat ...

There they are, brother and sister actually, and butter wouldn't melt!

Now immortalised by my box of German pencils and my sensetive hand ...

I often fill in 'flashed' eyes as I did here for Mr Cat making his match more with his sisters in this lovely group shot. 

Artwey at The Engine Room

Two members of Artwey are currently showing their work at The Engine Room, Poundbury...

One of them is me! And you can see our Topsy cat smiling down as you eat your lunch!

My mixed media pieces look really cool on the natural brick walls...

Roar! Behold the Lion of Judah!

Let me know if you pop in to visit!

I love mirrors and have included quite a few ...

And one frame, Guard your heart!

And I'm hoping to spread a little joy too!

Here's a fresh and figurative piece, a red squirrel, executed with paint and oil pastels and a little pencil.

And here's a scene from The Sea Life Centre also created using paint and pastel. 

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!

Heads and tails ....

More barn owl making, as one will be on display at the library from the 24th of February ....

I love it when the recognisable parts start to appear ...

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!

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

Drawing time!

Here is a dog called Max. He has quite a lot of Alsatian in his barky self...

5 year old Mary sat next to me and had a go with pencils and felt-pens. 

And seven year old Matty also enjoyed colour mixing in making Max's portrait!

And so did I! Lots of progress pics for this guy on my Facebook page ...

A Pup called Bailey ...

These two pics show colour build-up on this lovely boy, he was a pleasure to create and the portrait made his owners very happy as Bailey-Dog is no longer with them ...

Also to create this work, i removed the collar for a cleaner look, and drew in the fluffy head top which was cut off from the photograph! Pet portrait, anyone?

Nounours, a special dog portrait!

This beautiful lady was really good fun to draw, with her shading and cuddly ruff of fur! Her owner was so pleased when the portrait arrived that I got a special surprise gift by return!