Heather Page Studios

Calendar

2011-04-13T19:17:00.002-03:00

Well my life has been pretty interesting for the last little while to say the least, and as a result, I haven't updated this blog in quite a while. I do have a bit of news though.

A couple of months ago, the Huntsman Marine Aquarium in St. Andrew's, NB emailed me and said they were putting a calendar together as a fundraiser for the aquarium. They asked different artists from around New Brunswick if they would contribute a drawing or painting of a native NB ocean animal for the calendar. They gave me a list of animals to choose from and I chose the blue shark. These animals are amazing and I've always found them so interesting. So here is my contribution to the calendar:

"Blue Shark"

9 x 12

Coloured Pencil on Paper

Reference photo courtesy of www.elasmodiver.com

The original drawing is for sale.

Please contact me for more information.

Feature!

2011-04-13T19:09:00.000-03:00

I'd like to say a big thank you to Best of the Web: Style Blog for featuring my blog this week! Each week they chose several blogs to feature and this week, mine was one of them. Check them out!

I'd like your advice...

2010-12-15T09:26:00.005-04:00

I am currently working on some different designs for my greeting cards, using a printing company to do all the work for me. Since I now have to order the cards in bulk, I'm only going to focus on a few designs rather than making all of my drawings available as cards. Some of my drawings just don't sell as cards because they don't appeal to a large number of people. Not many people will buy a card of a bull terrier, for instance, unless they or someone they know owns one.

So here's where I need your help....I have an album on my facebook business page with all of the drawings and paintings I currently have available as cards. I would appreciate it if you would look through the album and vote (by "liking") for 5 cards that you think would appeal to the most people. Click here to go to the album
You'll have to be a fan of my page before you can click "like" on a drawing.

If you would prefer not to go through FB, you can visit http://www.pagesportraits.com/shop.html and click on each of the albums to view the cards available. You can send me a message letting me know your top 5 choices.

Thank you all and I appreciate your help!

Art Opening - Nov. 26 from 5-7pm

2010-11-23T21:40:00.000-04:00

This is your official invitation to my art opening at the Fredericton Public Library, taking place on Nov. 26 from 5 - 7pm! Coffee and sweets will be served and I will be there to answer any questions you may have, or just to chat. I'd love to see you so please stop by if you can!!

As of this evening, my art will be displayed until Jan. 10, so if you don't get a chance to stop by for the opening, you'll have lots of time to pop in and see it. The display includes some of my original pieces and also some reproductions of commissions that I've done. All of the artwork is for sale in one form or another (originals, prints and cards). You can contact me for more information on purchasing.

Thanks in advance for coming!

Art showing at the library

2010-11-12T21:04:00.003-04:00

Happy November everyone!! Can you believe that Christmas is next month?! I'm happy to say that I have already started Christmas shopping and am more than half done. But that's mostly because I'll be celebrating two Christmases this year, one in November and one in December. My mother goes to Florida over the winter, so that's why we'll be celebrating this month.

Although life has been keeping me busy lately and I haven't had as much time for my art as I'd like, I do have some things to show you...

Cape Cod Rocks - work in progress

8x10 Coloured Pencil on Paper

Still Life in Purple

27" x 39"

Acrylic on Canvas

Still Life in Purple was actually completed years ago, but I only just now got around to photographing it. The original painting is available for sale and also as note cards and 8x10 prints. Contact me for more info.

In other news, my artwork will be on public display for the first time! From Nov. 22 until sometime in Dec, my work will be displayed at the Fredericton public library. I will hang some of my prints and some original artwork as well. All originals will be for sale. On Nov. 26, there will be a meet and greet from 5-7pm at the library and I invite you all to come if you can. I will be there (of course!) and the library will be serving coffee and cookies. Please come by and say hi!

"Lion" Oil Painting

2010-10-03T12:35:00.000-03:00

I know...original title! I'm not one for coming up with creative titles so I don't even try. It'll be tricky if I do a second lion drawing/painting. Perhaps it will be "Lion 2" or "Lion II"!

Anyway, here it is: It's not the greatest photograph of it because I've never photographed an oil painting before. I'm going to try to get a better picture soon though.

"Lion"

16x20

Oil on Canvas

This painting is currently up for bid on Ebay.

Contests!

2010-10-02T21:45:00.002-03:00

I have two contests going on at the moment:

The first one ends tomorrow at 6pm. The person who sends the most new fans to my Facebook page, wins a print. Click here to go to my fan page. When you refer your friends, ask them to post a note on my wall saying you sent them to my page.

The next contest started today. Buy a set of 5 gift cards or a print from my Etsy shop and your name will be entered into a draw for 30% off a custom pet portrait. If you win the prize, you'll have a year to place your order for a portrait. Contest ends Nov 2, 2010.

Good luck!

Facebook Contest!

2010-09-30T07:32:00.001-03:00

This is just a quick post to let you know that I'm holding a contest on Facebook. The person who refers the most new fans to my page, wins!!

Here's how it works: If you're already a fan of my Facebook page, I ask that you invite all of your friends to "like" Heather Page Studios on Facebook (you can also ask them to follow my blog if you wish!). When they become fans, they should post a note on my wall to let me know who referred them. The contest ends this Sunday and the person who refers the most new people to my page wins a print of their choice from my collection! If you're not already a fan, please join and then send out those referrals!! Good luck!

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=lf#!/pages/Heather-Page-Studios/109711225720875?ref=ts

Salsa Dancing Dog

2010-08-28T21:35:00.000-03:00

I came across this video on Facebook and just had to share. It's amazing what this dog can do!

Toby - Finished!

2010-08-21T12:17:00.002-03:00

I've finished Toby's portrait and it's been sent off to Alberta.
Here is the final scan...

"Toby"

9 x 12

Coloured Pencil and Watercolour Crayon

Toby - Stage 3

2010-08-07T22:16:00.001-03:00

"Toby"

9x12

Coloured Pencil

Work in Progress

As always, the colours are a little off when you view the drawing on the computer screen. The original isn't quite so red/orange. I wish I had a scanner that would scan the colours exactly like the original, but I'm sure I would have to pay a lot of money for one!

Toby - Stage 2

2010-08-06T23:05:00.000-03:00

"Toby"
9x12

Coloured Pencil

Work in Progress

I think Toby's portrait is coming along well. I was having a bit of difficulty with it at the beginning, but now I'm feeling better about how things are going. Always one to try new things, I've been using solvent to do this drawing and I'm loving the effect. Solvent sort of disolves the coloured pencil, making it much easier (and faster) to blend. I'm using watercolour paper so it can handle the wet solvent, which is almost like working with watercolours. So I go back and forth between blending with solvent and putting in fine details with the pencil. And the thicker paper allows for more layers than regular paper.

This drawing appears to be cropped kind of funny, but that's only because it's 9x12 and my scanner is 8.5x11 (or something like that).

I'm still here!

2010-08-02T17:27:00.000-03:00

Yikes! I've neglected my blog again! An aweful lot has happened since I last posted, so I have several good excuses:

1. The new puppy. For those of you who have/had a puppy, you'll know how much work they are! He's just over 6 months old now and I think I can safely say he's house broken and he's already graduated from grade 2 of his clicker training!

2. We moved...again. Yep, we moved out of our place on the water and moved back into town. We loved the location of our old house but we're quite happy to be close to things again. The new house is smaller, and fortunately still has a view of the river, but we bought it because it has an apartment in the basement. We've been here since June 14th and we're mostly unpacked and set up.

3. My sister, brother-in-law and my brand new nephew were home from Shanghai during the months of June and July. They had a house on the beach while they were here, and I was able to spend my vacation there.

Those are my major excuses for not posting lately. I'm sure I could add more to the list but I don't want to bore you!

I'm happy to say that I do actually have something to show you, even though I have been pretty busy. Here is a portrait of Mac that I did a little earlier in the year. Sadly Mac is no longer with us.

"Mac"

8x10

Pencil

And here is what I am currently working on.

"Toby"
9x12

Coloured Pencil and Watercolour Crayon

Here is a shot of my work space, which is a little crowded. The reference photo is at the top and on the right, I've got a book open that shows drawings of noses in detail. From the reference photo, it's really hard to see the detail in the nose and ears, so I've had to look at other books to get a better view.

And I thought I'd add a shot of my art/computer room since I only recently finished setting it up. You can see the river through the window.

Introducing.....

2010-03-30T17:58:00.000-03:00

Ronin!! He's our new Australian Shepherd puppy. He's a red merle and is almost 10 weeks old now. He's adorable! As puppies go, he's a pretty good little guy. We're still housebreaking him, and so far it's going mostly well. There have been a couple of accidents, but they're usually my fault! He's such a sweetie!

Mac - Stage 2...and some exciting news!

2010-03-20T21:07:00.000-03:00

Here is another update of Mac's portrait. I'm trying something a little different this time. I always find tabbies a little hard to draw because of all of the flecks of lighter hair throughout the dark. So I've been using an indentation tool for the light coloured hair. My indentation tool is a blunt darning needle, held in a mechanical pencil (I had to break off the eye so it would fit in the holder). If you're unfamiliar with indenting as a drawing technique, I'll explain...

You use an indenting tool pretty much the same as you would a regular pencil. Anywhere that I want the paper to remain white, I go over it with my tool and it indents the paper. Afterward, when you go over it with your pencil, the graphite doesn't go into the indented parts, leaving it white! I've used this technique many times before, but usually just for whiskers and little white hairs around the chin, etc. But this time I've been using it for all of the lighter coloured areas of Mac's fur, and so far I'm really liking the look! The only problem with the indenting tool is you have to get it right the first time. If you make the hairs go in the wrong direction, it's pretty hard to fix later. So it's important to take your time and do it well.

"Mac"

Pencil on Paper

8 x 10

Work in Progress

On another note, I have some exciting news!! I'm finally getting my Australian Shepherd puppy next Friday!!! I am SO EXCITED!!!

I have been waiting for a puppy for almost a year now! I first started with one breeder in NB, but unfortunately the prospective mom had some troubles getting pregnant. So this winter, I decided to contact other breeders around the Maritimes, but none of them will be breeding until this summer and I had my heart set on having a puppy by this spring. So then I decided to look outside of the Maritimes and I found a few different people that have puppies that will be ready later on this spring. Last weekend, it was suggested that I contact a certain breeder in Ontario because she has a litter that is ready to go now. I think all of the puppies were originally spoken for but she ended up not having homes for a couple of them because people either backed out or she wasn't comfortable with the prospective buyers. So I called her up right away and it turned out that one of the puppies that was available was EXACTLY what I've been looking for!!

So long story short, I have sent my money, signed the contract and the puppy will be shipped to NB this coming Friday!! It all happened pretty quickly once I first contacted her, but I've been ready for this for a long time! Since then, I've been shopping!! I thought I had a lot of the supplies already (I've been collecting all year), but man, was I wrong! I spent quite a bit of money on this puppy over the last couple of days: crate, toys, food, treats, collars, etc.

Meet "Ronin", my red merle Aussie...

(these pictures were taken at 8 weeks and he'll be 9 weeks old when I get him)

Love him already!!!

Mac - Stage 1

2010-03-17T10:06:00.000-03:00

"Mac"
8x10

Pencil on Paper

Work in Progress

Loki - Stage 1

2010-01-30T23:08:00.000-04:00

After working mainly with coloured pencils lately, I decided to pick up 'ole faithfuls...my graphite pencils! I do like working in colour, but I feel so much more at home when I draw with regular pencils. I love the look of black and white and I feel like it's the medium that suits me best.

I started this drawing quite a long time ago actually, but since I've missed working with regular pencils, I thought I'd pick it up again. It felt so good to work with graphite pencils again. I was surprised at how much I missed them!

Loki is my youngest cat. I really don't like to pick favourites with my pets, but if I was to choose, he would be it! He is bursting with personality, he's cuddly, playful and gives you the best "I love you" looks ever! And all those extra toes...so cute! The reference photo for this drawing was taken when he was a kitten. I think he was looking at a string!

Walter - Finished!

2010-01-23T15:17:00.001-04:00

Walter

5 x 7

Coloured Pencil on Pastel Paper

Commission - Kingston, NS

Walter - Stage 4

2010-01-17T19:19:00.000-04:00

Walter

Work in Progress

5x7 Coloured Pencil

I'm getting really close to being done! I'll leave it for a few days and go back to it with fresh eyes. That way I'll be able to see any problem areas that I don't notice after staring at it for hours!

Walter - Stage 3

2010-01-10T16:24:00.000-04:00

Walter

5x7

Coloured Pencil

Work in Progress

2010

2010-01-04T20:08:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone and Happy New Year! I thought I'd start this post off with some pictures!

These are my "kids".

This was the view from our house today.

It's a bit dreary looking but I liked the pattern of ice melting on the river.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! I spent a week with my family in Moncton and it was really great seeing everyone, especially my sister and brother-in-law who live in Shanghai. They have been living there for about 4 years now and oddly enough, I see them more now than when they lived in Toronto!

If you've been following my posts (and it's ok if you haven't!), you'll know that I had back surgery on Dec. 9. The surgery came non-too-soon because the week before, I injured it further and was hospitalized for pain control for two days. Up until that point, I had actually been feeling pretty good, and although I still wanted the surgery, I had some doubts as to whether or not I still needed it. Turns out I did! It's now been almost 4 weeks since the surgery and I'm doing really well! I'm so glad I had it done and I look forward to getting my life back to normal again because I've been out of commission for so long. I am still a little bit sore and my back gets tired easily so I'll be off work for a while longer. I also have some residual leg and foot numbness, which I'm told will eventually go away. But by the spring/summer, I should be as good as new!

Being the new year, I feel like I should make some resolutions. I'm not normally one for doing this, but since everyone else seems to be doing it, maybe I should too! Here is what I would like to accomplish in the new year:

Update my blog more often
Sell some original artwork
Try oil painting again and actually finish at least one piece!
Spend more time on my artwork
Get into better shape. I haven't been able to do anything because of my back so once I'm better, I'll have no excuse!
Get a dog. I'm on a waiting list for an Australian Shepherd puppy!
Read more
Become more outdoorsy - given where I live now, I'm sure that shouldn't be a problem!
Live life!

I'm sure there are lots of other things that I could list here, but I can't think of them at the moment. Good luck to the rest of you in keeping your resolutions!

And lastly, I would like to post my most recent commission. This is Walter and he belongs to my cousin and her husband, commissioned by her parents (my aunt and uncle). Walter is still a puppy and is awefully cute!

Walter - Reference Photo

Stage 1

Stage 2

"Walter"

Work in Progress

5 x 7

Coloured Pencil

Thank you for reading!

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T17:07:00.001-04:00

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-12T20:08:00.002-04:00

I would like to wish all of my followers a very

MERRY CHRISTMAS

and a

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Thank you all for following my blog.

I appreciate the fact that so many people are interested in what I have to say, even though my posts are few and far between!

Once again, this will be a very short post as nothing really has been happening in my studio. Everything is pretty much on hold at the moment because I had my back surgery last Wednesday.

So right now I'm pretty limited in what I can do and I think it will be a while before I can sit at my desk chair and draw.

So my Cape Cod Rocks drawing and my Christmas commission will unfortunately be collecting dust for a few weeks!

Luckily, my client is very understanding about my situation so I feel no pressure there.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!

~Heather~

Two bits of news

2009-11-22T20:18:00.000-04:00

This picture really has nothing to do with my news...I just thought I'd add a picture of our cat, Loki, for your viewing pleasure!

My first bit of news is that I have a new commission. Unfortunately, I can't tell you about it because it's a Christmas gift and I don't want to spill the beans! It's unlikely that the recipient will see this, but just to be safe, I'm not going to talk about it until it's done. This is actually my first commission since I started doing pet portraits again, so it's quite exciting! So my drawing of the Cape Cod Rocks will be put on hold until I get this done.

My other piece of news is that my back surgery will be on Dec. 9. It's quite a bit sooner than I was originally told, but I'm glad to be getting it overwith. I'll be off work for 6-8 weeks probably and I hope to be up and about after about a week or two. I'll be going to Moncton for Christmas, so hopefully I'll be ok by then. This could affect when I'm actually able to get my commission done, but the client is aware and very understanding.

While I'm off work, I hope to be well enough to sit at my desk so I can get lots of drawing done...so watch this space! I'll keep you posted on how things are going.

Cape Cod Rocks - Stage 2

2009-11-11T21:00:00.003-04:00

I've managed to do a little more work on this drawing. It's going to take me quite a while to finish it because as it turns out, rocks are very time-consuming!

Cape Cod Rocks

Work in Progress

8x10

Coloured Pencil

Stuff

2009-11-07T22:51:00.001-04:00

After a several month dry spell with virtually no inquiries, orders or sales of prints/cards, etc, I've had a pretty busy week. I've had two requests to donate items for silent auctions. One of the auctions is in Maryland, US for a Lab Rescue group and I donated a set of greeting cards and a print of my Chocolate Lab drawing, Ghira.

In addition to the prints and cards, I donated a $100 gift certificate to be used towards a custom pet portrait. The second auction will be held here in Fredericton for a group who is raising money to help a friend in need. I gave them a $100 gift certificate as well for their auction. So hopefully this will drum up some business for me and at the same time, help raise money for some great causes!

And while I was busy getting things ready to be sent out for these auctions, I received a large order request from the Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club of Queensland, Australia. They are having a show in Dec. and placed an order for 25 prints and a few notecard sets of my Staffie drawing, George, to be used as prizes. So I'm in the process of getting that ready to be sent out this week. Quite exciting!

So things seem to be picking up a bit and hopefully will continue. It's gotten me motivated to get back into drawing again, now that my studio is set up in the new house. I've also been thinking about what theme I should choose for my drawings, that would be popular for prints and cards. At the moment, I'm just trying a bunch of different things, but perhaps I should be more focused. I'm toying with the idea of doing a series of dog breeds, because these are the ones that seem to sell the best from my collection. Or maybe I should do horses...or puppies and kittens...I can't decide! I would be interested to hear what my readers have to say, so I am open to comments. And for the artists, in your experience, what subjects are most popular?

All Moved In

2009-10-31T17:08:00.001-03:00

It's been almost 3 weeks since we've been in our new house and we absolutely LOVE it!! It's exceeded our expectations and we're so happy here! Most of the place is set up and organized except for the exercise room, the garage and the studio so I haven't done any artwork yet. I thought I would post some pictures so you can see why I love it so much! The following is our house and property.

Rocks

2009-09-27T16:17:00.003-03:00

I decided to try something different this time, which means I may have to change the title of my website yet again!! "Pet Portrait and Animal artist" doesn't cover rocks! And since I'm really enjoying drawing something other than fur, I may just do more of this type of drawing.

I still feel like I'm trying to find my niche in terms of my artwork. My forte is definitely pencil, but I still enjoy trying other materials and subjects. But for now I'm enjoying experimenting! For quite a while I've been wanting to draw a pile of something like rocks, pencils, marbles, whatever...! Monotony works for me when it comes to my artwork (to an extent)!

I often feel inspired by the work of other artists, and lately I've really been admiring the work of April Jarocka, who's blog I follow. She does amazing paintings of beach rocks (among other things)...check out her blog! After watching many of her paintings unfold, I decided that I wanted to try my own rock drawing. I love all the colours that are found in beach rocks and I wanted to capture that in my own drawing.

So here is stage one of my drawing that I'm calling "Cape Cod Rocks" for now. I took the reference photo myself on a beach in Menauhant, Cape Cod this summer, while staying at a friend's cottage.

``Cape Cod Rocks``

8x10

Coloured Pencil

Work in Progress

On another note, I'm probably going to be away from my drawing desk for the next little while. We're in the process of moving to a house in Mactaquac, NB, which is on a beautiful piece of waterfront property. We've been waiting to move for over a month now but as of last week, we officially sold our current house and officially bought our new one! We move on October 13th and we're so excited!! It's a little further outside of Fredericton than we are now so it will take me 30 min to get to work (I know, that's nothing for you big city folk!). I don't have any good pictures of the new house yet, but here are a couple from our new front yard, taken from the deck.

And one last piece of news...I will be having back surgery sometime during the winter. If you've read some of my past posts, I mentioned that I've been having back problems due to a herniated disc. After meeting with my surgeon, we decided that surgery is the way to go so I can get my life back to normal. I don't know the date yet, but I'm hoping I'll be able to stay home during the really bad weather this year! I'll probably be off work for almost 2 months. So during that time, once I'm feeling better, I hope I'll be able to spend some time on my artwork. But I guess I'll have to see how I feel then.

I know moving won't be great for my back, but we've hired movers to lug all the boxes, I'll just have to help pack. Normal, day to day stuff isn't really that bad on my back. It's when I have to bend and move around a lot that I start to get sore. I'm trying hard to use my legs a lot instead of bending, but I know I'm still going to get sore while we move. I'll just have to be really careful!

Well I guess that's my news for now. I'll try and post something again soon, but I can't guarantee it!!

Wow, 2 posts in one weekend!

2009-08-30T20:14:00.007-03:00

Amazingly I'm back again with another piece of artwork...my second one I finished this weekend! I've never used scratchboard before so I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. I'm sure I could do better with practice but it was a good learning experience. This one didn't take me that long to complete - probably only a couple of hours. It's quite fun to work with so I'll be trying it again sometime.

"In the Shadows"
7.5 x 9
Scratchboard

*Available for sale*

Photo credit - Wetcanvas photo reference library
(user: annj)

Tully - Head Study

2009-08-29T16:51:00.004-03:00

After another long wait, I have something else to show you. This is a quick-ish drawing I did of one of my cats. I actually started it over a year ago (maybe more), and just came across it again yesterday so I thought I would finish it.

I am open to critiques and alternate titles!

"Tully - Head Study"
6x7
Coloured Pencil

I am a pet portrait artist again!

2009-08-05T09:41:00.003-03:00

Well after a bit of a break, I decided to start taking commissions for pet portraits again! I originally took a break because I felt swamped with commissions and wasn't enjoying the process anymore. I had hoped that once I stopped taking on new commissions I would have lots of time to work on my own artwork, but that never really seemed to happen! Without the pressure of commission work, it seems that I don't really have the motivation to create. I have done a little bit myself, but not as much as I expected.

So after much thought, I decided to jump back into the world of pet portraits. My prices have changed a bit in order to keep my waiting list at a minimum. So hopefully sometime soon, I'll have some WIP's to show you!

Checking in

2009-07-05T12:59:00.002-03:00

Hi all,
Sorry I've been missing in action lately. I guess I needed a longer break from being an artist than I thought! I'm starting to get the urge again, so hopefully sometime soon I'll have something to show you! Plus, I've got a lot more free time to work with lately...

Part of the reason I've been missing for so long is the fact that I've been working on getting myself into better shape. That unfortunately takes up an aweful lot of time. Working a full-time job, then coming home and exercising for 1.5 hrs usually, then showering, then supper takes up most of my night, leaving me only about an hour to relax and watch TV. And since summer has started, so has my soccer season, with games usually 2-3 times a week. Phew!

And now for the reason I've got some more time on my hands....
I've always had back problems, but last summer I hurt my back pretty bad during a soccer game. Ever since then, my back has been giving me an aweful lot of grief. My most recent problem is low back and sciatic nerve pain, that makes me limp most of the time, and has been going on for about 2 months. I've been popping ibuprofen like candy (I know it's terrible on the stomach), and I've been seeing a chiropractor and physiotherapist.

Because of this, and on the advice of these practitioners, I've decided to completely stop exercising for 2 weeks and see how things go. I have a feeling that I may need to take a longer break and perhaps even miss the whole soccer season. It's killing me that I have to stop exercising because I was 2 weeks away from being done my P90X training program (which is a feat in itself), and I love soccer! And I was finally in really good shape and losing weight.

Anyway, that's what's been going on in this artist's world. I hope to get back into drawing again soon and I'll try not to take such a long break in the future.

My recent art project

2009-05-18T17:59:00.007-03:00

Well I finally have something artsy that I can show you! I've been painting our exercise room and decided to make it a little fun by adding a design to the walls. Here are some photos.

The first picture is where I got my idea for the whole thing - a t-shirt I got from Old Navy several years ago.

And here is the room:

Now all I need to do is paint the navy blue entertainment centre and shelves. I'll probably paint them either black or chocolate brown? What do you think?

Just checking in

2009-05-15T23:30:00.003-03:00

Hi everyone. Thanks for following my blog and sorry that it's been pretty dormant lately. Since finishing my last commission and doing a couple of ACEO's, I haven't really done too much of anything when it comes to my artwork! I guess I just needed a bit of a break to do other things.

So what have I been doing? I've been working on getting myself into shape, which unfortunately takes up a fair bit of my time! I painted my exercise room and plan on painting a design on the walls once we get a cloudy/rainy day. So I guess that counts as artwork. I'll take pictures once I'm finished.

So yep, that's about it! Hopefully soon the creative juices will start flowing again and then I'll having something to show. Until then, happy painting/drawing to the rest of you!

Friesian ACEO

2009-04-22T07:24:00.005-03:00

Don't miss out! Only 1 1/2 days left to bid on my drawing. Click here to bid.

Drawing for sale...again!

2009-04-17T15:17:00.002-03:00

So Ebay cancelled my last listing because I had a link to my website on it. I didn't realize that was a no-no...guess it's my own fault for not reading all the rules. I've relisted the item, sans link. Here's the new listing:

Friesian Horse ACEO for sale.

Oops!

2009-04-10T23:27:00.002-03:00

I was just adding my new drawing to my cards and prints page on my website, and I noticed that none of the paypal buttons worked there. I'm not exactly sure how long they've been like that, but I'm a little embarassed that none of them worked. I usually check things over quite thoroughly when I'm editing my site, so I'm not sure what happened. Anyway, they're fixed now.

Friesian ACEO

2009-04-10T18:06:00.011-03:00

This is my latest drawing of a Friesian horse. I'm discovering I have a thing for Friesians. They are absolutely beautiful animals and just take my breath away. For this reason, you may see more of them in my work!

This drawing is untitled so far because I can't seem to come up with interesting names. So far, naming my pet portraits has been easy: "George", "Nelly", "Simon", etc...pretty straight forward. Now, besides challenging myself to be more creative in my art, I also need to learn creativity in my naming! I am open to suggestions for naming this one.

Friesian

2.5" x 3.5" ACEO
Pencil on paper

For those of you who don't know what an ACEO is, it stands for Art Cards, Editions and Originals. They are miniature works of art about the same size as baseball cards and thin enough to fit inside standard card-collector pockets, sleeves or sheets. An offshoot of Artist Trading Cards are the "Art Cards, Editions, and Originals" (ACEO). ACEOs originated when some artists began to create cards to sell, in addition to trading among themselves.

This drawing is for sale on Ebay. Click here to bid!

Reminder

2009-03-22T11:44:00.002-03:00

There are less than 2 days left to bid on my drawing, "Pink Lily" on Ebay. Don't miss out!

Click Here to Bid

Pink Lily ACEO up for auction

2009-03-17T11:01:00.005-03:00

"Pink Lily"

2.5" x 3.5"

Coloured Pencil

My drawing, "Pink Lily" is up for auction on Ebay. Click here to bid!

ACEO stands for "Art Cards, Editions and Originals". These cards have one main rule - they are 3.5 inches by 2.5 inches - the size of a trading card.

ACEO's are small works of art that are more affordable than larger artworks. I hope to create many more ACEO's in the future!

Can anyone name the flower?

2009-03-15T18:39:00.009-03:00

I just finished working on this coloured pencil drawing of a flower, but I don't know what kind it is! My sister, Kristi, took the photograph that I used as reference. If anyone could tell me, I would appreciate it! Thanks!

Pink Lily

2.5" x 3.5"

Coloured Pencil

Photo Contest

2009-03-06T08:59:00.001-04:00

So I've decided I'm going to hold a photo contest. I got the idea from Karie-Ann Cooper who is holding a wildlife photo contest. Basically I'll hold the contest for a couple of months and I'll ask that people send me any photos that they may have of a certain subject. I'm thinking that I'd like to do a horse, but I'll let you know for sure at a later date. I have limited access to animal pictures so I'm hoping my readers have some good shots.

At the end of the contest, I'll pick my favourite photo and I'll draw or paint it. The winner will receive a signed print of the winning artwork. I'll get into the rules when I actually start the contest, but the main rules will be that you own the copyright to the photo(s) that you send me, and I will own the copyright to the artwork.

So don't start sending me photos yet, but soon!

Still Around

2009-03-03T08:57:00.002-04:00

Hi all,
I just wanted to write a quick note to say I'm still here! Since finishing my last commission, I felt I needed a bit of a break from drawing. I don't plan on taking a long break, but I just need to figure out what I'm going to do next. I'm kind of thinking that I'll draw a horse next, but I'm not sure what medium I'll be working in. I also have half an oil painting of a lion done that I started during my oil painting class over a year ago. I'll get back into it soon, but for now I'm enjoying the lack of commission pressures!

Another thing keeping me busy is that I've started an exercise program called P90X. I won't really get into it here because you may not be interested. If you are interested, I've started a new blog, sort of as a diary to document my progress through the program. I figure that I'll HAVE to finish the program if I tell lots of people I'm doing it! So feel free to follow along if you like!

Another award!

2009-02-18T08:55:00.003-04:00

I big thank you to April Jarocka for my second blog award! Please check out her blog. I especially love her rock paintings!

Simon is finished!

2009-02-14T16:43:00.003-04:00

I've finally finished Simon's portrait! I just need the ok from the client and it's ready to go!

"Simon"
8 x 10 Coloured Pencil

Simon's name is actually printed in his collar, very lightly. Unfortunately you can't see it in the scan, but it is visable on the original.

This was the last of my commissions, so I'm quite excited to be done! I think I'll probably take a short break and then hopefully I'll have some new stuff to show you all. Thanks for looking!

Simon - Stage 5

2009-02-08T12:02:00.002-04:00

"Simon"
8 x 10 Coloured Pencil
Work in Progress

Blog award

2009-02-08T11:29:00.005-04:00

Thanks to Lene Daugaard for giving me a blog award! Please have a look at her wonderful blog.

I am to list 7 things that I love and then pass this award on to 7 of my favourite art blogs. In no particular order:

1. My family
2. My friends
3. My "kids" (my cats!)
4. Drawing/Painting
5. Soccer
6. Nature and being outdoors
7. Travel

I am passing this award on to the following wonderful art blogs:

1. Rebecca Latham
2. Lesley Harrison
3. Melanie Phillips
4. Toni James
5. Ranjini Venkatachari
6. Jacqueline Gnott
7. Nicholas Beall

Featured in Teresa Mallen's Art Newsletter

2009-02-01T20:53:00.002-04:00

A fellow artist, Teresa Mallen, from Ottawa, has been kind enough to feature me in her February newsletter. You can view the newsletter here. Teresa is a wonderful CP artist and she has been writing monthly newsletters for almost a year now. They contain lots of interesting and useful information and you can sign up to receive them for free! Have a look at her website and her blog by clicking on these links.
Thanks so much Teresa!!

25 Random things about me....

2009-01-31T16:25:00.005-04:00

So if you're on Facebook, you may have seen this circulating around. It's meant to tell people a little bit about yourself...things that people probably don't know about you. I thought it might be a good idea to put my 25 things here on my blog. You may not be interested, and if not, feel free to skip it. If you are interested, read on:

1. I don't have a lot of patience and get bored easily. On the flip side, give me a tedious activity and I get lost in it. Go figure!

2. I hate my natural hair colour. It's a mousy dark blonde. Thankfully I can get highlights every couple of months.

3. I LOVE animals! I would have a house full of them if I could. As it stands now, I have 3 cats.

4. I really want to quit my job and become a full time artist...but only if I can make lots of money off of each piece, so that I don't have to work that often!

5. I really want to move somewhere warm, but I don't want to be too far away from my family.

6. I love to travel. I have been to 16 countries on 5 continents. I want to see as much of the world as I can in my lifetime.

7. I used to work in a meat packing plant as a quality control technician, and I have never hated a job so much. But two really good things came from my working there: I quit to travel for a year (see #8) and it gave me the incentive to go back to school (see #9).

8. At age 23, I backpacked around Australia and New Zealand for a year...by myself. It was the best thing that I have ever done.

9. I graduated from university in 1997 with a BSc in Biology, then went back to school 4 years later to study Nuclear Medicine, graduating when I was 28. I have been working as a Nuclear Medicine Technologist for 5 years.

10. I used to be a neat freak up until university, but now I just can't seem to tackle the smallest pile of clothes lying on the floor.

11. I used to be extremely shy, but travelling for a year by myself cured me of that.

12. All through grade school I had the same wonderful group of friends, but I felt I relied on them too much because I was so shy. So I decided to go to a university where I knew no one so I could make new friends on my own.

13. I went to the University of Prince Edward Island because of the above reason, and also because I had wanted to be a vet my whole life. But I changed my mind after my first year, probably because of the prospect of going to school for 8 straight years, or maybe because I didn't think I had it in me. To this day, I regret not trying and as it turns out, I ended up going to school for 6 years.

14. I love soccer and play on a women's team in Fredericton.

15. I really want to be able to speak French better, but I am shy about speaking it with French people.

16. I took organ lessons for 7 years and still like to play every once in a while when I visit home. I also played the flute for 3 years in school. I've always wanted to play the violin, but don't want to put the time in to learn.

17. I always have to be doing something with my hands. It is impossible for me to keep them still, try as I might.

18. If a baby and puppy where put in front of me, I'd go to the puppy every time.

19. I sneeze once when I eat Excel Polar Ice gum, fudgy chocolate or strong cough syrup.

20. I am always really keen to try a new hobby, but I very quickly get bored, leaving things half done. Drawing has been the only hobby that has held my interest.

21. I was stung on my ankle by a stinging tree in Australia. [Description: Contact with the leaves causes the hollow silica-tipped hairs to penetrate the skin and deliver a potent toxin. The sting causes a painful stinging sensation which can last for days or even months and the injured area becomes covered with small red spots joining together to form a red, swollen mass. The sting is known to have killed one human, and it can also kill dogs and horses]....I was ok, but the pain and tingling stayed with me for about 6 months.

22. I almost stepped on a (wild) python once.

23. I lived in a house with no outside walls for a week in the rainforest. Every morning I would wake up with bat poo on my book, and a part of me would be swollen. There were ants in the peanut butter, I showered in a tool shed, peed on the ground just outside of my room at night (maybe a bit too much info there!?) and bats would fly over our heads as we ate at the dinner table. It was amazing!

24. I kind of want to own sheep instead of a lawn mower.

25. I've been inside a pyramid, the Cistine Chapel, the Louvre, the Roman Colosseum and up the Eiffel Tower; I walked around Ayers Rock, snorkeled in the Great Barrier Reef, climbed a glacier and swam with dolphins in New Zealand, rode in a gondola in Venice and walked the Great Wall of China.

So if you're still reading, now you know a little bit more about me!

Shocking Artwork!

2009-01-22T13:14:00.005-04:00

I am a member of GreenNexxus, which is an environmental, social networking site. I received one of their newsletters today and one of the articles really shocked me. Below is the write-up from the newsletter. Click on "Read More" to see the artwork.

Oscar the Grouch Art: Not everything is as it Seems
Rarely do we come across pictures that make us go "Wow". Even more rarely do we come across information that prompts us to change the way we live our lives. We came across this PowerPoint presentation a few days ago and the message it brings concerning garbage hits home. Look closely at the images, once you discover the origins of the materials it leaves you with your mouth open silently miming the word "Wow". Read More. (you will be taken to the GreenNexxus site. Click on "Power Point" to see the artwork).

Unbelievable!!

Simon - Stage 4

2009-01-20T18:47:00.006-04:00

"Simon"

8 x 10 Coloured Pencil

Work in Progress

Yet another update of Simon's portrait. I'm really enjoying this one. Last night I kind of lost myself in it and the time flew by! Before I knew it, it was bedtime! I'm still liking the new technique too. Stay tuned for more!

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow or subscribe to my blog.

Simon - Stage 3

2009-01-04T18:17:00.002-04:00

New website design for 2009

2009-01-03T22:19:00.004-04:00

I've launched my newly designed website! It's at the same address, it just has a different look so please check it out! I'm still fixing problems here and there, but hopefully I'll have the kinks ironed out soon. If you see anything that doesn't look right, links that go to the wrong place, or anything else out of the ordinary, please let me know. Thanks for looking!

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T23:18:00.003-04:00

Just a short note to wish you all a very happy New Year! And a big thank you to all of you who follow or subscribe to my blog! This coming year, I hope to have lots of new things to add to my blog, so stay tuned.

Redesigning my website

2008-12-23T09:28:00.006-04:00

Well, it's turning out to be a yearly thing now...I'm re-doing my website again! I seem to get bored with the look of it easily. The fact is, once completed, I wasn't really very fond of my last site. I found it didn't show my artwork as well as I would have liked. Granted, it's pretty, but I want the focus to be more on my work and less on the site itself.

So hopefully in the next couple of weeks I'll launch my brand new site. I really like the look of it and it's kind of similar to the look of my blog. As it turns out, I really like designing websites and with each one I do, I need less and less help! I can actually claim that I did this new one entirely on my own (with only a few questions here and there!)

So as I get closer to launching my new site, you might notice that there are some weird things going on with my current site. Please excuse the mess! I've had to load a few things early onto the net, and I inadvertently changed a few things on my current site. You might notice the buttons are a little wacky. I'm going to try and change them back, but I may not get a chance to do this until after Christmas. Stay tuned and I'll have the new one up and running soon!

Merry Christmas!!!

Simon - WIP 1 & 2

2008-12-20T22:39:00.005-04:00

Here is the beginning of Simon's portrait. I'm really enjoying myself so far because I'm not used to working on coloured paper. And I'm also trying a slightly new technique after having read a tutorial by Christina Langman. Her coloured pencil work is absolutely amazing...especially
this drawing! So far I'm really liking the new technique, although I'm still using some of my own methods as well. I figure I should stick with what I know while I'm working on a commission! Later, I'll do more experimenting on my own time!

Reference Photo

Stage 1

Stage 2

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-18T12:20:00.005-04:00

I just thought I'd write a quick note to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I think I'm pretty much ready for Christmas now. This year, I actually got my shopping done fairly early, so I'm quite proud of myself. I still have a lot of wrapping to do, but at least the hard part is over with! We go home to Moncton every year for the holidays and this year I have a week off, so I'm really looking forward to it! And it means that I don't have to clean our house!

Our new kitten, "Loki", is settling in nicely. He and "Seven" are good pals now. We still have to keep an eye on him as he is quite taken with the Christmas tree. At one point, he managed to climb as high as the star on the 7.5 foot tree! He got doused pretty well with the spray bottle for that one. I think he learned his lesson because he hasn't tried it again! Not to say he doesn't get into trouble elsewhere. His name definitely suits him, as "Loki" is the Norse god of mischief!

In the New Year, I will be finishing up the last of my commissions. Although I made the decision to stop taking on new commissions last March, I'm still working on them! The reason I want a break is because I haven't had a chance to do my own work in about 3 years! I have enjoyed doing commission work because I've met a lot of really great people, but the pressure of meeting deadlines has gotten to be too much. So this is the year I get to do my own thing! I've got lots of new toys I'm excited to try out: brand new (as of last year, but I haven't touched them yet!) Sennelier oil pastels, new oil paints, some watercolour paper, etc. I also have 3 oil paintings that I haven't touched since I took a class a year ago! So I'll be busy this coming year...hopefully I'll find time to do everything I want to do! And I'm hoping this new freedom will motivate me to come up with some creative ideas. Anyway, I hope you'll keep stopping by to see what I'm up to!

So again, I'd like to wish everyone a happy holiday season. And I'd like to thank everyone who follows my blog!

Bandit finished!

2008-12-13T13:42:00.005-04:00

Well I've finally finished Bandit's portrait! I've been speaking with the client all along and he seems quite pleased with the outcome. It is going to be a Christmas gift, so I'm excited to hear what the recipient thinks of it.

Bandit's pose in this drawing is different than the typical poses I'm used to, and I think it makes for a more interesting portrait. The client chose this pose because it portrays Bandit's personality, and I think it makes him look like a fun dog, ready to play! I always aim to bring out a pet's personality in their portrait, and hopefully I've done that here.

For my next and final commissioned pet portrait, I will be drawing a Siamese cat named Simon. This one will be a little different as well because I'll be using blue paper instead of white. Simon has beautiful colouring and vibrant blue eyes, so I think the blue background will make the whole thing pop! At least I hope so! I will post the first stages soon.

Bandit - almost done!

2008-12-10T20:37:00.008-04:00

Here is another update of Bandit. I'm almost done...I just need to do a little more tweeking and touching up. If any of you artists out there want to critique this, please do so. After staring at it for so long, it's difficult to see the changes that need to be made!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you follow or subscribe to my blog!

Bandit WIP#3

2008-11-20T21:43:00.006-04:00

Here is another update of Bandit. I'm getting close to being done - I just need to finish his muzzle, touch up the rest of his body, then add a bit of shadow. I think I also need to fix his eyes a bit because they don't quite look the same size...and his right ear still looks a little flat. Ok, well there are a lot of things I need to do, but I am in the home stretch!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you follow or subscribe to my blog!

"Seven" chosen to be in the ArtWanted.com 2009 calendar

2008-11-13T13:48:00.010-04:00

ArtWanted.com is a site where artists can display and sell their artwork and prints. Earlier this year, I entered my drawing of "Seven" into a calendar contest through ArtWanted.com and I just found out that it's been chosen for the 2009 calendar! I feel rather honoured because there are a lot of really amazing artists on this site.

Here is a description of the calendar:
Each calendar features 365 'tear-off' pages, for each day of the year. Each day features a different ArtWanted.com artist and displays their name, artwork title/description and website address for more information on that artist. The artwork featured in the calendars is a large mixed sample of traditional art, digital art and photography of our members. The final size is 4.5" wide and 4" tall. There is a fold out cardboard easel in the back that tilts the calendar perfectly to sit on any table or desk.

You can order a calendar through ArtWanted.com by following the link below. My drawing will be in the "Traditional Artwork" calendar (on July 22, 2009), so be sure to order that one! If you do plan on ordering, please use the following link to get to the site. I do not get a commission from each calendar sold, but I will get a referral fee for any purchases made through this link:

This link takes you to the home page of the website. Click on the "Shop" tab at the top and you'll find the calendar.
Thanks!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you follow or subscribe to my blog!

Bandit - WIP #2

2008-11-11T17:53:00.005-04:00

Here's another update of Bandit's portrait. It's a little difficult to scan a picture when it's in a ringed booklet, hence the shadow on the left, but you get the idea. I'm trying to finish this portrait as soon as possible because it's a little overdue...sorry Wayne! Hopefully it will be worth the wait!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you follow or subscribe to my blog!

Follow my Blog

2008-11-04T10:10:00.002-04:00

Several of you have subscribed to my blog by having email updates sent directly to you. Thank you for subscribing!

There is now another way to follow my blog...by clicking on the link to the left that says "follow this blog". You can either follow publicly (others will see your name), or anonomously (no one knows who you are).

If you follow publicly, and you have your own blog, you might get extra traffic to your blog. Either way, if you follow my blog, you'll know when I post something new. Often, people visit blogs that they like, but never end up going back. With a simple click though, you've essentially bookmarked my blog so it's easy to come back and check it!

So please, follow my blog!

New baby

2008-11-02T12:49:00.005-04:00

I have to brag a bit...we have another addition to our family! A 12 week old kitten named Loki, who is simply adorable! We got Loki at the SPCA a few days ago (that's where we got our other two cats), and he seems very well adjusted. He's a great combination of playful, affectionate and cuddly. Our 10 year old cat, Tully, doesn't really pay much attention to Loki, but our 2 year old cat, Seven, is enjoying the new playmate! It's so much fun to have a little kitten running around the house again! Here are some pictures...

When I get the time, I plan on doing a drawing of the top picture. I just love the pose and he looks so darned cute! If you'll notice too, Loki has lots of extra toes!

New Template

2008-10-26T21:29:00.003-03:00

I'm in the process of trying to load a new template for my blog. (I get bored easily!) So if you notice that my blog looks wacky or is missing information, that's just because I haven't had a chance to fix it. Hopefully I'll get it sorted soon!

Bandit - WIP

2008-10-26T17:29:00.004-03:00

8x10 pencil on paper.

2009 Calendar

2008-10-07T11:24:00.005-03:00

I've created a 2009 calendar of some of my favourite drawings. To view the calendar or to make a purchase, follow the link below.

2009 Calendar
by

pagesportraits

Create personalized calendars on Zazzle.com
Browse other Animals Pets Calendars

Awards

2008-10-04T00:48:00.004-03:00

Once again, I apologize for being slack at updating my blog. I really haven't had much of interest to write about, so that's my excuse! I do have one update though...I entered my drawing of my kitten, "Seven", into a couple of exhibitions this fall and I won some awards!

Fredericton Exhibition
First Place - Adult Art Competition (Graphics Class)

Queens County Fair, Gagetown
First Place - Adult Art Competition (Graphics Class)
Best In Show - ($100 gift certificate for framing)

On another note, I'm trying hard to get my last two commissions finished up. I will try to post something soon.

Delphine is finished!

2008-08-16T17:56:00.006-03:00

Here is the finished copy of Delphine's portrait.
11x14 pencil

Phew!

2008-08-01T10:20:00.002-03:00

Well July was a blur! My sister was home from China this month and got married here in town on the 26th. I've been so busy with everything, that July came and went and I barely noticed! The wedding was beautiful and all went according to plan. The only mishap that occured was my receiving a black eye during a soccer game the week before the wedding. Luckily my make-up artist did a wonderful job and you could barely tell in the wedding photos!

So now that the excitement is over, I hope to have more time to work on my artwork and enjoy the rest of the summer. I am close to being finished Delphine's portrait and mainly just have to put the finishing touches on it. I will post again as soon as I have an update.

My newly designed website!

2008-06-29T11:29:00.003-03:00

Well my new website just went online this morning and I invite you all the check it out! Like I said in my last post, I wanted a site that was geared more towards my portfolio and less about commissioning pet portraits.

So pease have a look at http://www.pagesportraits.com/ and let me know what you think. Under the contact information, there are links to sign my guestbook and also to email me. If you have any comments, I'd love to hear from you. And if you see anything that doesn't quite look right, or links that don't work, please let me know so I can fix them.

Thanks for looking!

A New Look!

2008-06-17T14:36:00.005-03:00

As you may have noticed, the look of my blog has changed, along with its title. I am also in the process of redesigning my website, which will also have the title "Heather Page Studios". Because of my decision to move away from doing pet portraits, I felt that my website and blog both needed facelifts. Since I am no longer focusing on commission work, I want a website that is more of a portfolio of my work and one that isn't limited to pet portraits.

My new website, which I am quite excited about, will be a place for me to display all of my work, whether it's pet portraits, wildlife, landscapes - drawings, paintings, or photography. I will eventually have a section where I will display original artwork which will be for sale, and I will be working on increasing my selection of greeting cards and prints.

I will be using the same domain name for my newly designed website (http://www.pagesportraits.com/) since I have a fair bit of daily traffic to both my website and blog and I don't want to lose that. I will let you all know when my new website goes online!

Delphine WIP

2008-06-06T21:30:00.004-03:00

Here is my second update on Delphine's portrait. As you can see, the quality is much better than my last WIP (work in progress) of her. The first one was taken with a camera and this one was scanned on my scanner. You may notice a slight line through the middle of the drawing - that's because I had to stitch two scans together because my scanner isn't large enough. And once again, I've forgotten to record my time spent on the drawing!

Busy!

2008-05-23T12:29:00.004-03:00

My apologies for not posting in a while! Life has been very busy lately and I haven't had much time to update my blog. I just wanted to let you know that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, and I'm doing my best to get all of my commissions done in a timely fashion.

I will be posting another update of Delphine very soon, I just haven't had a chance to get a good picture of the drawing yet. It's coming along very nicely, if I do say so myself!

So what's been keeping me so busy lately? Well, in April we went on a Mediterranean cruise. We boarded in Rome and visited Italy, Spain, Palma de Mallorca, Tunisia, Malta and Sicily. Unfortunately British Airways lost our baggage (four of us were travelling together and we all lost our baggage!), and we didn't receive it until the second last day of the cruise! It made for a pretty stressful trip actually, but we tried to make the most of it. So since we've been back, we've been putting in claims to the airway company and our insurance, and hopefully they'll reimburse us for at least part of what we had to spend!

Other than that, I've been doing a lot of yard work and getting our garden set up. This is our second summer in our house and last year we were pretty slack at making the yard look nice. So this year we decided we would fix it up. At least yard work is still a bit of a novelty, so I actually kind of enjoy it!

I'll be playing women's soccer again this summer as well, with about 3 games a week, so I expect the summer to be quite busy as well. For this reason, I am quite happy with my decision to stop taking on new pet portrait commissions. Once I finish up the ones on my waiting list, I hope to have time to work on my own artwork. It's been a long time since I've been able to do this and I'm really looking forward to it!

Green Nexxus

2008-04-03T15:03:00.003-03:00

Hi everyone! I would like to invite you to join a website called Green Nexxus. My boyfriend, Paul, and his partners have created this environmentally friendly website and it is officially backed by Al Gore (they will actually be meeting him this weekend when they officially launch the site).

Basically this site is like a Facebook for environmentally conscious people, where you can discuss green topics, join groups, etc. I am asking everyone to please sign up and join this site. It doesn't cost anything to join and participate. There is an option to buy a membership to get tons of savings when you buy energy efficient products, but you don't have to pay anything if you don't want to...you can still use the site to its full potential.

So please join and spread the word to all of your friends. We want to get as many new users as possible. Thanks!

www.greennexxus.com

Heather

Delphine - Work in Progress

2008-03-29T21:03:00.006-03:00

This is Delphine, a long haired Daschund. She is being drawn on 11x17 white paper (although it looks pretty orange here) in pencil.

Emerald is finished!

2008-03-18T20:36:00.003-03:00

This is the final scan of Emerald, a Hanoverian/Thoroughbred cross. It is the largest portrait I've worked on so far at 14x17 inches, and it took me about 25-30 hrs to complete. It was drawn in coloured pencil (Prismacolors and a few Derwent Colorsofts). The smaller foal is Emerald as a baby.

Next is Delphine, a long-haired Daschund, which I have already started.

Commissions

2008-03-06T18:47:00.003-04:00

I want to inform everyone that until further notice, I will not be taking on any new commissions. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. For those people on my waiting list, do not be concerned, your portraits will still be done. I just won't be taking on any more for a while after they are finished.

I've been wanting to work on my own artwork for quite some time now, but I just haven't had the time. I really love doing pet portraits for people, and I will eventually get back to it, I just need a bit of a break. There are so many things that I want to do with my artwork, but I just haven't had the chance since I've been doing commissions.

I apologize to those of you who were considering having me do your pet's portrait. If you would really like to have a pet portrait done, I can certainly recommend several, wonderful pet portrait artists.

Please continue to check my website and blog, as I will continue to update them with my new work. If you would like me to inform you when I do start accepting commissions again, please send me your email address.

Thanks for your understanding!
Heather

Update#5: Emerald - Work in progress

2008-02-19T21:10:00.001-04:00

Update #4: Emerald work in progress

2008-01-27T16:50:00.002-04:00

13.75 hrs

Update #3 - Emerald work in progress

2008-01-21T21:59:00.001-04:00

Update #2: Emerald

2008-01-14T21:41:00.001-04:00

Happy New Year!

2008-01-02T13:26:00.001-04:00

I hope everyone had a great holiday season and a very happy new year. I spent Christmas in Moncton with family and friends and we had a very white Christmas. So far this winter, I believe we've had about 5 or 6 snow storms, which is very unusual for this time of year. At the moment, I'm snowed in and was unable to go to work today because the roads aren't plowed yet.

Well now that the new year has begun, I'm back to my drawing after a short Christmas break. I have started Emerald's portrait which I am posting below. I'm doing a montage which shows her as an adult (large head and neck) and a smaller version of her as a foal. It is being drawn in coloured pencil on 14x17 paper.

Because I am working from two separate photos, I did a mock-up on the computer to show the client what the final portrait will look like. So the first image is the mock-up and the second is the first stage of the drawing.

Finished Whisky

2007-12-19T21:33:00.002-04:00

Well I've finally finished Whisky's portrait. Here is the final image, along with the rest of the set: The original lion painting that the owner wanted me to model the portraits after, Bosco and Whisky.

Lion portrait (not by me):

Bosco 2006:

Whisky 2007:

Bosco in frame beside Whisky:

Whisky's portrait finished?

2007-12-16T15:57:00.001-04:00

Just waiting to hear back from the owner to say whether or not this is finished.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-08T15:08:00.001-04:00

I just wanted to write and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! It's been a very busy year this year and I wanted to thank everyone for their support, especially those who have commissioned me to do their pet portraits.

So to update you, I'm still working on Whisky's portrait. It's taking me a little longer than expected as it's giving me some grief. There is a reason why I have chosen to work only on velour paper from now on for my pastel drawings, and Whisky's portrait is on bristol paper. I have no doubt I'll eventually get it right, but it's just taking a bit of time to get there.

I have started the outline of Emerald's portrait, which I will post soon. Emerald is a beautiful horse from Vancouver and I'll be doing a montage, showing her as an adult and as a foal. I'm really looking forward to working on this one because it is my first horse commission. I love horses and drew them all the time growing up, so I'm excited to be doing a drawing of one for someone else.

Third in line on my list is Delfine, a long haired Daschund, which I will be doing in pencil. The owner saw me at my booth at the Pet Expo in Sept. I'm really glad that I was able to get at least one commission from that (it's looking like I might have another soon). Going to trade shows like that costs money, and I'm glad it ended up being worth my while. I had been considering not doing it again next year, but now I think I will.

So I guess that's about it for the updates for now. I will post again soon.

Merry Christmas!

Rest in Peace, Norton

2007-11-25T11:30:00.000-04:00

This is a small tribute to Norton who was owned by my friends, Jen and Victor. Norton passed away this morning from an illness. He was deeply loved and will be deeply missed.

Seven

2007-11-24T01:16:00.001-04:00

This is my kitten, Seven. She's about 6 months old in the photo I think. I drew her for my boyfriend's birthday back in Oct. and have only gotten around to posting it now. She was drawn in pencil on 8x10 white paper.

Whisky

2007-11-16T16:42:00.001-04:00

Here is a pastel portrait of Whisky. I'm not sure how many hours I've put in so far, but I'm pretty sure it's a lot! I still have more work to do on the cat itself and I have to finish the background. I hope to have it finished in the next few weeks.

Whisky is done in soft pastels (Nupastels, Derwents, Yarka and General's) on approx. 9x20 brown bristol paper.

Whisky is owned by the same people who own Bosco. I did Bosco's portrait for them a couple of years ago, and Whisky's will be done in the same style.

Whisky

2007-11-15T12:50:00.001-04:00

Well it's been a little while since I last posted, so I thought I'd better give you an update on what's happening. I have been working on Whisky's portrait for over a month now, but since it's an awkward size (9x20), it's a little difficult to fit on my scanner. I've been meaning to take a photograph of it to show you what I have done so far, but since it gets dark so early, it's hard to get a good, clear shot.

I'm definitely more than half done Whisky's portrait. I just have a bit more touching up to do, and I have to figure out how I'm going to do the background. It's been giving me a bit of grief, but I'm sure I'll get it worked out soon. I'm not big on backgrounds, so I often have to play around a bit.

Soon I will be starting Emerald's portrait, and I have a few of my own projects on the go as well. So hopefully I'll have something new to post soon.

Dancing Dog

2007-11-10T12:05:00.002-04:00

This video is amazing!! Have a look!

Pet Expo

2007-10-02T20:12:00.001-03:00

This past weekend I had a booth at the Pet Expo at the Frex, which was a tradeshow for everything to do with pets. I was there from Friday evening to Sunday at suppertime. It was quite a long weekend, but I had a really great time and met lots of people, dogs and cats. I sold some greeting cards and prints, and I handed out tons of business cards. I spoke with a few people who really seemed interested in having a pet portrait done, so hopefully I'll get some business from it. Here is a picture of my friend, Jen and I at my booth.

Pet Expo 2007

2007-09-26T22:17:00.002-03:00

This weekend from Friday evening until Sunday at 5pm, I will have a booth at the Pet Expo in Fredericton. It is an SPCA fundraiser and last year it brought in 3000 people. I expect it will be quite a busy weekend for me, but I'm really looking forward to it. I've been preparing for it for a little while now, getting greeting cards and prints ready to sell, making up signs, and framing my prints for display.

I expect the expo will include anything and everything pet-related. Plus there will be an NBSPCA auction and agility trials and/or flyball if I read correctly. It should be a good time, so if you're wandering around, be sure to stop by and say hi.

Finished Jessie, Bart and Cooper

2007-09-19T17:24:00.002-03:00

After 29 hrs of drawing I'm finally done. I had originally estimated that it would take me 30 hrs, so I guess I was pretty close. I'm really happy with how this one turned out and so is the client. It's always a relief to hear that the owner is happy and doesn't want any changes! This isn't the final scan and it's missing my signature, but it is finished. I plan on having it scanned tomorrow and then I can hand it over to the owner.

Next on my plate is a pastel portrait of a cat named Whisky. Whisky's portrait will be done in the same style as Bosco (both cats come from the same household).

After that, I finally get to do a horse portrait of a beautiful horse named Emerald. Emerald's portrait will be a 14x17 montage, meaning that there will be a large portrait of her head and neck as an adult and a smaller version of her as a baby. This will be done in coloured pencil.

I also have been approached by a photographer here in Fredericton to do a wolf drawing, potentially for a wildlife calendar, so I will be working on that soon too. I will keep you up to date on what, if anything comes of that.

25 hrs

2007-09-12T22:28:00.003-03:00

I'm getting really close to being done this drawing. All I have left to do is a bit of shading on the ground and touch up a few things. I guess my estimate of 30 hrs was pretty close!

Article in my local paper

2007-09-01T20:30:00.000-03:00

The Daily Gleaner, Fredericton's local newspaper, printed an article on me today. Here is the article:
http://www.pagesportraits.com/dailygleaner.html

21.75 hrs

2007-08-31T19:56:00.003-03:00

News

2007-08-29T07:32:00.001-03:00

Well the summer is coming to an end and although I'm sad to see the warm weather go, it will be nice to have a little more free time (that will be filled quickly I'm sure). I've got two portraits on the go right now. I plan on getting the one of the three dogs finished pretty soon, then I've got a pastel portrait to do. I will only be taking on a few more commissions for Christmas so you might want to put your order in soon. I also offer gift certificates for anyone who doesn't get their order in in time.

I have some exciting news...last week, a reporter from my local newspaper, The Daily Gleaner, contacted me and asked to do an article on me. She interviewed me last week and a photographer came to my house. The article will be in the Balance section in tomorrow's paper. I'm quite excited about this...and a little nervous. This article will be great for exposure and I'm quite flattered that she asked me to do this. The article will be a profile of me, apparently discussing different aspects of my life. I will of course be purchasing several newspapers tomorrow when the article comes out! I will also post a link to the article on my website and blog.

In other news, I will be at the Pet Expo in Fredericton on Sept. 28, 29, 30, displaying my work and advertising my business. I have a lot of preparation to do this month because I plan on selling greeting cards and prints, as well as promoting the commission side of my work. Apparently the Pet Expo brings in a large crowd (over 3000 last year), so hopefully I will get some new commissions from that. It will be a long, busy weekend, but I've got some helpers and I expect it will be an enjoyable experience.

And lastly, I've entered a couple of my drawings into an art competition at the Fredericton Exhibition being held this coming week. I've entered "Britainy and Briggs" and "Noah" . These portraits belong to friends of mine and they were kind enough to lend them to me for the competition. I should know how I do in the competition in the next few days. Fingers crossed!

Well that is it for my news for now. I hope everyone is having an enjoyable summer.

18 hrs

2007-08-27T20:41:00.002-03:00

This is 18 hrs worth of drawing on the Bernese Mountain dog and Leonbergers.

Facebook

2007-08-22T16:54:00.001-03:00

Hey everyone, just a quick note...if you use Facebook, I invite you to join my group. It has the same title as my blog: Page's Portraits - Pet Portraits by Heather Page. Feel free to pass it along to your friends!