Salsa Dancing Dog

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

Toby - Finished!

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

"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

"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!

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.....

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!

 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

"Mac"
8x10

Pencil on Paper

Work in Progress

Loki - Stage 1

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!

Walter

5 x 7

Coloured Pencil on Pastel Paper

Commission - Kingston, NS