Wednesday 31 May 2017

Mother's Love...

Finally got time to finish this one - another experiment with taking a film screenshot and working from it.  This is in watercolour on paper and was a little more complicated than I first imagined!  There is someone who would like first refusal of this, but if that falls through then it will be going in my Etsy shop.

Monday 22 May 2017

Bearly There...

Working on this when I get a bit of spare time - watercolours on paper.

Tuesday 16 May 2017

Hot Off The Drawing Board...

Here is Otis, sadly no longer with us but at least immortalised on paper.  I enjoyed this one so much I now feel kind of sad that it's over.  Derwent Drawing Pencils & Coloursoft pencils on pastel paper, with acrylic white highlights.

Wednesday 10 May 2017

Got To Love A Greyhound...

I enjoy painting and drawing dogs in all shapes and forms, but some more than others.  I do love it when I get asked to paint a sight hound  - they are such beautiful dogs, a real pleasure to work on.  This one is no exception, especially with the slightly different pose.  This is worked in Derwent Drawing Pencils on reversed pastel paper.
I rarely admit defeat, but this knitting pattern brought me to the brink!  I was asked last week to knit a sample piece in Fox Paw using various textured yarns.  It was all very short notice and I had to search around my stash to find anything resembling the colours and textures required.  The black stripe is shirring elastic - surprisingly nice to knit with!  The pattern is so complicated that after the third attempt and failure, I was about ready to throw in the towel.  However, I sat down with a pen and paper, laboriously noted down everything I did as I did it on the pattern and finally found out where I'd been going wrong.  Now I'd like to try it with 'proper' yarn in colours I choose - if I get the time!

Sunday 7 May 2017

Works In Progress

 Currently on the drawing board is this portrait of a greyhound, recently departed.  It is going extremely well - sometimes these just seem to draw themselves.  This is in Derwent Drawing Pencils on pastel paper, with a little gouache to suggest the blanket he is lying on.
This knitting pattern has driven me to distraction for three days - I just could not get my head around it and kept going horribly wrong.  I have to knit a sample piece for someone who is taking a degree.  It was driving me crazy - I don't like to be beaten and I could not understand why this was not working out.  In the end I sat with a pen and paper and noted down every increase and decrease as I made them, as well as going through the pattern (again) meticulously and eventually disovered where I was going wrong.  It is so complicated...

Friday 5 May 2017

719 & 503

The numbers are the bears' "names" - can't wait to see them on the Explore.org cams again this year. This was such fun to paint!  Watercolour on paper.