Update #4: Emerald work in progress

13.75 hrs

Update #3 - Emerald work in progress

Update #2: Emerald

Happy New Year!

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

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?

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

Merry Christmas!

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

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

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

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.