The Lady and The Prince - and a Happy New Year

The lady and The Prince

8x10 inches

Inktense Pencils and Faber Castell Pitt Pens on Acrylic Paper

Firstly, a very Happy New Year to everyone and I wish you all a year filled with good health, peace and happiness!!!

A very big thank you to Juno Kughler http://junokughler.com/, an amazing coloured pencil artist, who kindly shared some of her reference photos for other artists to use, including the one of this gorgeous frog.

Those of you who have followed my blog for a while, would know how much I love to experiment with different mediums. I have had my Faber Castell Pitt Pens for a while now and always suspected that they could be a joy to use, if used on the right surface, but hadn't really spent a lot of time exploring which ones would bring out their best qualities. Unfortunately, they really aren't suitable on drafting film at all, because even once the ink has been left to dry, it still wipes straight off the film. I would like to try the pens on the Dura-lar wet media drafting film to see if this gives the ink more staying power. I also found that regular paper seems to negate the wonderful blending qualities of the pitt pens as the ink dries a little too quickly for my liking.

I spent a lazy day last week pulling out all sorts of different surfaces to see how the pens responded and found that the acrylic paper was an absolute joy to work with. I would like to find a brand of acrylic paper that has slightly less texture (I'd be keen to hear if anyone could reccommend one). The one I'm using is the Canson, which has a texture similar to linen canvas.

I actually started this drawing using the inktense pencils and was only using the Pitt pens for the darker areas, but then found that I could achieve a combination of textures and shades, by either layering the pitt pens over the top of each other, using a wet brush to blend the ink before it dried, or softening edges and blending colours using the Tria blending marker.

I must admit I feel really excited about exploring this combination of mediums further. The colours are vivid and bright, but it is also possible to achieve soft, muted colours. I would love to hear of anyone else's experiences with these pens, and in particular different surfaces that you might have tried :)

Ponderings of Christmas

Indra and Guy

9x12 inches

Pastel on Pastelmat

Anni

8x10 inches

Coloured pencil on drafting film

The house that Sam and Karen built

Christmas is such a strange time really. The last week has been a haze of last minute shopping, cleaning, cooking and young people coming and going in a blur of social engagements and long working hours (our three older boys work part time at Toys R Us - and have had several 2:30am finishes in the last few weeks). There were high expectations amongst them all and some of those expectations were met and some were not. As we get older, the excitement for the materialism of Christmas is replaced with a yearning for everyone to be happy, and sadly enough this doesn't always coincide with Christmas Day. Now, it is Boxing Day, and in typical Australian fashion, all the men in our house set their alarms for 10 to 10 so that they could rise just in time to watch the start of the cricket. The frantic pace has been replaced with a gentle laziness and everyone seems happy and content and expectations have disappeared. For me the day after Christmas sometimes holds more of the peace and joy that we long for on Christmas Day.

My Gift to You

Opposites - High and Low - My Gift to You

26cm x 51cm

Coloured pencil on drafting film

This is a sample illustration for another book for Hachette publications, and seemed appropriate to post at this time, as we are in the midst of a season of giving and sharing. Hope this puts a smile on your face and that all my blogger and internet friends have the most wonderful Christmas, full of peace, love and joy, and a truly fabulous year in 2012!!!! xxx

Introducing Sophie

No artwork today, as all the pieces I've been working on lately are commissions for Christmas and I can't spoil the surprise. This is our newest addition - Sophie (a Chinese Crested Powder Puff), although this photo was taken a few weeks ago, so she has already grown. It is just as well puppies are so endearing and bring out that strong maternal instinct or else no dogs would make it to adulthood - my cupboard has never contained so many carpet cleaning products, we've had to throw out several pairs of shoes, some of my low lying books now have chewed or non existent spines and the list goes on - but who could resist that face!!! Hope everyone is having fun with their Christmas preparations - I wrapped my final present today and sent off 12 parcels interstate, which is always a lovely feeling - just the cooking and cleaning to go!!!

'Tis the Season & Happy Thanksgiving

'Tis the Season

10x9cm

Watercolours and Watercolour pencils on illustration board

Firstly, a very Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends who celebrate this wonderful tradition.

More experimenting with watercolours and watercolour pencils, with the dual purpose of having an image for our Christmas Cards.
I really shouldn't be drawing or painting at all at this crazy time of year with so much to do and so much going on for us at the moment. Apart from a new puppy, which is giving me sleepless nights and has me standing out in the rain with an umbrella waiting for 'piddles' to happen, we have one son in the throws of uni exams (Psychology), one son just finished his HSC and has been enjoying formals, schoolies and the like, the third son is on school camp and just completed his School certificate, and our youngest is busy with all the pre Christmas activites that Primary Schools are so good at organising. Between that and trying to fit in Christmas shopping, spring cleaning and still catching up with friends, I think art really is my sanity escape, rather than simply a source of income!!!

Dancing the Night Away

Dancing the Night Away

8x10 inches

Watercolours and watercolour pencils on watercolour board

I have always loved watercolours - not actually painting them, for this is a medium I never seem to master, but because of my struggle, I have all the more appreciation for those who do master this beautiful medium. My biggest problem is letting go and allowing the paint to do it's thing. I really wanted to do this painting in watercolours alone, but then that need for detail and tightness reared it's ugly head and so I ended up relenting and completing it with watercolour pencils. Nevertheless, I will continue to play and practice and research and see if I can't one day produce a piece that I am truly satisfied with.

One of the things I have also struggled with is using masking fluid. This time, I tried watering it down slightly, and that seemed to make the liquid much more managable. I have read on numerous sites that the masking fluid is impossible to remove from your brushes once set, however I use a wonderful product by Pascoes called Oomph Glue Remover for removing everything from adhesive to chewing gum, and to my delight this liquid removed all traces of masking fluid from my paint brush restoring it to it's former glory. It smells a little like the Zest-it used to blend coloured pencils, so I'm wondering whether the Zest-it might also work for those who have some.

Let's Count Kisses - Children's Picture Book

It is with mixed feelings that I post all these illustrations onto my blog. This has been the most rewarding and satisfying of projects to work on, and I feel a sense of elation that for my part, these illustrations are pretty much completed, but also a sense of sadness that this lovely project has come to an end. Hachette will be publishing this picture book as a flap book which is why the spreads are so long - most of them need to cover three full pages. Let's Count Kisses will be available in shops from May 2012 and is targetted at the 0-2 year old age bracket as a combined counting book and bed time book for parents/grandparents to share with their little ones.

Special thanks must go to Geoff Walker who kindly allowed me to use his beautiful butterfly photographs as references for these illustrations http://australianbutterfliesphotographed.com/defaultIframe.htm.

I apologise also, for the long stint with no postings, but working on these illustrations has left little time for anything else, and hopefully I can now catch up on a bit of networking and blogging.

Let's Count Kisses - Cover

Let's Count Kisses - Cover

For Publication by Hachette Australia

Well it has been a marathon month, working day and night, 7 days a week on this children's picture book, and I have to say I am loving every moment. I wanted to get as much done as possible by the 23rd Sept, so as to take a couple of weeks off over the school holidays for some quality family time (and to catch up on sadly neglected blogging and internet activities). These illustrations are being done in two stages - the animals, butterflies and any other elements are being drawn using coloured pencils on drafting film, and these are then scanned and the background is added digitally. This is the approved cover, just awaiting some text and final placement. I have another 6 illustrations completed to the scanning stage, but still needing the background to be added.

Beware the Cassowary

Beware the Cassowary

A4

Coloured pencils and ink on drafting film

This is my entry for the Grafix Dura-Lar contest. I had been sent some samples of the Dura-lar .005" matte drafting film last year, but had never got around to trying it, until drawing this fellow, and I must admit it is a joy to work with. All of the drafting films within Australia are only .003" weight, and are quite flimsy to work with, unless backed onto a sturdier backing. The Dura-lar, being heavier in weight certainly felt sturdier to work with, and I felt more confident using this film without worrying about the need to back it. It was extremly receptive to both the ink and the coloured pencil, accepting multiple layers, and whilst I love to use and endorse Australian products, I had to go on-line and order more of this film.

Happily, confirmation came through from the Publisher that they would like me to illustrate the children's picture book I mentioned a couple of blogs ago, and as I plan to do the illustrations on drafting film, it seemed best to use the heavy weight film for this job.

I took the reference photo for this gorgeous Cassowary at our local wildlife park and was thrilled that he stayed still long enough for me to get a couple of great shots. They are very shy birds, and are usually kept behind high fences, so as they don't pose a threat to anyone, but this fellow posed most obligingly.

Problems sending Art Tutorial

This is just a quick personal message for Carol, who ordered one of my art tutorials on the 24th August: I have tried numerous times to send your tutorial through to you Carol, but keep getting a Mail Administration Error Message saying the email couldn't be delivered because your mail box is full. If you could please clear out some of your mailbox, or perhaps give me an alternative email address, I would love to somehow get your tutorial to you, and I couldn't think of any other way of letting you know that I am trying to send it to you. Hopefully you will pick this message up. Cheers, Karen

Wheee

Wheee

9x5 inches

Gouache and coloured pencil on gesso primed ply

This is my entry for the annual Illustrators Australia exhibition, where illustrators are provided with a 9x5 inch piece of ply and given a theme for which they can paint or draw an illustration. This year's theme was 'Rapture', which I thought was such a lovely theme, immediately conjuring up happy images. I had lots of fun with this little guy and I hope he puts a smile on your face!!! :)

A Kiss for Koala

A Kiss for Koala

8x10 inches

Coloured Pencil on drafting film, with a digital background

You never can tell where life takes you. After six months of having no illustration enquiries, out of the blue, I had three in one week which has meant a busy couple of weeks. I spent the first week working on an illustration for a cider ad, with a donkey in an apple orchard - all went smoothly and the client was happy, so I was thrilled to bits.

I was also contacted by a publisher wanting to know if I'd be interested in illustrating a children's picture book!!! This was a sample illustration that I completed for them, based on their brief. I've learnt not to get too excited when these opportunities come along (in case they don't pan out) - just take it a step at a time and hope for the best!!!

Lilac Allure

Lilac Allure

8x10 inches

Underpainted with acrylics, followed by oils on Gessobord

More experimenting with oils on Gessobord and as mentioned above, this time I underpainted with acrylics to speed up the process which seemed to work well. Without doubt drawing and painting eyes has always been my favourite subject - they are so emotive and tell their own story. I also find the human face a fascinating canvas in it's own right and have a string of ideas that I would like to paint, using faces, and in particular eyes as the initial focus.

Head of the Harem

Head of the Harem

8x10 inches

Acrylics and Oils on Gessobord

Another week filled with ups and downs and pieces going in the bin. In an earlier post, I mentioned that I had bought some Gessobord and also some Speedball Mona Lisa Gesso Boards which were about 1/3 of the price of the Gessobord. The Speedball boards, whilst they are called Gesso board, really don't have the feel of gesso at all. They are extremely slick, in a different way to Claybord, and actually feel more like laminated board. Whilst the labelling states they are suitable for a range of media, including oils, acrylics, watercolours, coloured pencils etc., I personally didn't find this to be the case. Watermedia bubbles up, coloured pencils slide off, and even the oil painting I got half way through started to peel away.

This painting was done on the gessobord and this surface is a joy to work with - enough tooth for the paint to adhere well, but smooth enough for lovely detail. This gorgeous rooster posed for us a few years ago at our local wildlife park and was just the subject for a little more experimentation with oils, which I have to say I'm really loving. The only down side, of course, is the length of time it takes for the paint to dry, so even though I finished this fellow earlier in the week, I couldn't really scan him for a few days.

Time for a clear out!!!

With a large family and a relatively small house, the time has come to clear some space, and so I have decided to sell off some of my earlier works on ebay, to make way for more creative endeavours. Most of these artworks have a starting price of .99 cents, and whilst I sincerely hope they sell for a bit more for than that, this is a one off opportunity to get some originals at a bargain price. Over the next couple of weeks, I will be placing more artworks on ebay, so if interested, please keep an eye out. Thanking you and have a great week :)

Little Garden Nymph

Little Garden Nymph

8x10 inch

Oils on Gessobord

Well since my last post, I'm sad to say I think the Claybord got the better of me after two more pieces ended up in the bin. So I moved onto the Gessobord and dusted off the water mixable oils, which have been sitting idol for quite a while now, to see how I fared with this board. I have to say I'm a bit more comfortable with this board than the Claybord, and so have ordered a whole heap more from the US. Within Australia, an 8x10 inch Gessobord retails for over $11 each, whereas in the States the average price is $4.50 USD. I've also ordered some of the Mona Lisa Gesso boards by Speedball which are only $1.70 for the same size and wondered if anyone has had experience with this board.

Full of Mirth

Full of Mirth

8x10 inch

Gouache, coloured pencil and scratch art on Claybord

I must apologise, as I have been quite neglectful with my blogging and internet sharing of late. I have been doing a bit of experimenting, much of which has not been successful and ended up in the rubbish bin. My husband Steve and I went into town (Sydney) last week to see Mary Poppins at the theatre, and whilst in town I took the opportunity to explore one of our largest art stores and the only Australian supplier of Ampersand products and so purchased some Claybord to play with. I have only tried this board once or twice before, without a great deal of success, but it has such a wonderful smooth surface, allowing for very fine details that I wanted to explore this product again to see if I could master it. The only drawback is the slickness of the surface, which makes it a little more challenging. In the past, I tried acrylics on the claybord, and can't say I was thrilled with the results, however, I know many artists produce amazing paintings, using this combination. I like the gouche better on this surface, as it adheres quite well, although will lift off if subsequent layers are too wet, and gives a more opaque colour laydown. The coloured pencils also seemed to work well over the gouache.

Finding the Key to Happiness

Finding the Key to Happiness

24x28 inches

Ink and Dry Media on Polyester Canvas

The human pursuit of happiness has always fascinated me and each of us has our own path to find that elusive key. This artwork barely touches on all the different ways we individually try to search for that inner peace and joy.

I am eternally grateful to my wonderful husband Stephen, for encouraging me and supporting me in my own pursuit of happiness, when we both know how much better off we would be financially if I went out and earned a salary. He has given me the greatest gift of all - happiness (xxx - for Step)

Please Don't Go - a change of media

Please Don't Go

8x11 inches

Ballpoint pen, micron pen and Inktense pencils

on Polyester canvas

Recently I received an email from one of my friends with a photo of her son's HSC art assignment. I was fascinated to find that the majority of the self portrait had been done with biro, or ballpoint pen and this inspired me to do some research and experimentation in the use of ballpoint pen as a serious medium for use in art. There are quite a few artists now who used the ballpoint pen in their artwork, one of them most notably is Juan Francisco Casas who creates huge photorealistic artworks in blue bic pens. Another artist Allan Barbeau spent 96 hours doing an amazing reproduction of the Mona Lisa using only ballpoint pen.

Mostly I have tried to use ballpoint pens with an ISO 12757-2 rating because this ink is the most archival, but I also used bic pens for some of the finer work. Working with the ballpoint pen gave a mixed sense of satisfaction with the way lovely gradients of shading could be achieved from soft right through to deep and dark, but also some angst, as there really is no room for error, so in that way, it is quite an unforgiving medium. For now though, I am hooked and for my next artwork, am aiming to work on a bigger canvas, so will probably need to post progress shots.

The Big Harvest

The Big Harvest

9.5 cm in diameter

Coloured pencils on wood

Here is another little drawing for the upcoming Miniature Art Exhibition, inspired by my husband's attempts to grow a vegetable garden. Unfortunately our backyard doesn't get a lot of full sun, so we carefully chopped the two tiny carrots he lovingly grew (the only two to sprout) into six small pieces, so all the family could share in his endeavours. It has long been a dream of his to have a fully fledged vegie patch, but I feel it probably won't happen until we move house! :)

Finally finished - Peeling Back the Layers

Peeling Back the Layers

30cm x 30cm

Coloured pencils and pan pastels on a breadboard

Have you ever started on a piece, filled with inspiration, only to find by the end that you have lost all passion and enthusiasm for the artwork and it feels like a chore? This was just that artwork - by the end if felt like one of those school assignments that you have put off and put off and finally you get it completed. Part of the problem with this one, stemmed from the fact that I got halfway through it the first time, and found that the pencil wasn't adhering to the board (probably my fault because I had given it a very light sand before commencing), and so had to sand the whole thing back and start from scratch, this time using a different primer. In the meantime, I was also having problems with my miniature from the previous blog. As I'd also mentioned, I felt I needed to do some Still Lifes that didn't have any sign of life (or mice) in them, but still wanted that trompe L'oeil feel and this was the result, but I miss my little critters :)

A Platter for Two

A Platter for Two

9.5cm

Coloured pencils and pan pastels on wood primed with colourfix primer

I have had one of those weeks one step forward, two steps back, and have had to start a couple of artworks over several times, due to lots of little problems. Anyway time is starting to run out, as the Australian Society of Miniature Art National Awards Exhibition looms closer and closer, so it was high time to get a couple of miniatures done. This was my third attempt at this one, as in my first two attempts, I underpainted with white acrylic, followed by clear Colourfix primer, only to find that the acrylic undercoat simply blended with the primer and created a smoky mess. This hasn't happened before, and so on the third attempt, I primed with white gesso and then the colourfix primer with a much better result. I love working with the clear gesso, but for some reason the tooth and texture gives me a rash where my hand is resting, and so I've gone back to the clear Colourfix primer which doesn't seem to have that effect. This little miniature was done on a timber coaster, which, surprisingly it took me quite a while to find. Again, you will notice that those little mice have trespassed into my artwork - just can't get rid of them!!! :)

What a Lovely Surprise

What a lovely surprise I received yesterday when one of my friends on RedBubble congratulated me on coming third in the latest Australian Artist's Art Competition for my artwork 'The Uninvited Guests'. I hadn't even realised. I bought this magazine for the first time a few months ago, although I should have subscribed to it years ago, as it truly is a wealth of information about art, artists, and exhibitions - so worthwhile. I entered the art competition on a whim, never really expecting to hear back, so this was a really lovely treat. I was also thrilled to be sharing the page with Elena Kolotusha, who's wonderful artwork I am so very familiar with, also from RedBubble and who was awarded second for her superb still life.

A Huge Thank you

Firstly a huge thank you to Thaneeya McArdle who featured my artwork on her site Art is Fun. It was via Dors Blog that I came across this fun and informative site so if you get the chance please do check it out. You will find some great art hints and gems and come across some other talented artists as well.

I recently submitted 4 artworks for entry into the Lethbridge 10,000 Small Scale Art Prize and was notified on Friday that the following two were accepted. This is the first time I have entered this exhibition and the standard of artwork is extremely high, so I was honoured to be included in the selection.

On a final note, I have had a pack of 18 Caran D'ache Pablo pencils for a while now. They are oil based pencils like the Faber Castell Polychromos but have a creamier texture, and are a real joy to work with. I decided last week to try and source the full set of 120, but as some of you may know these Swiss made pencils don't come cheap, and so it took me several hours on the internet to track down the cheapest set (within Australia). Prices can be as high as $600-$700 for the full set in a wooden box, however for any Australian artists interested in getting them at a good price The Art Shop just got some tinned sets in and sell them for $280 plus $9.95 postage and handling.

I See You

I See You

8cm x 10cm

Coloured pencils and Pan Pastels on Claybord primed with gesso

I am running out of time to get miniatures done for the upcoming National Awards Exhbition, so thought I should buckle down and get a few done, and this first one features one of my nieces, Bailey. Since I am enjoying working on the gesso with the coloured pencils, I thought I'd try it in miniature. I had some Claybord which is a bit too slick for the coloured pencils but primed it with the Gesso and this worked well. I would love to try Ampersands Gesso board as I'm sure it is probably slightly smoother than the surface I achieved by priming myself, but the Ampersand boards are quite hard to come by in Australia and are not cheap either. However, after trying this experiment, I might try and invest in some for future use. The other thing I tried here was to use the Zest-it pencil solvent to smooth the pencil grain down a bit. This seemed to work well and is also something I would like to explore further in future artworks.

Strawberries and Cream Delight

Strawberries and Cream Delight

12x16 inches

Coloured pencil and Pan Pastels on a bamboo bread board

More of those pesky little mice - I know it might freak some of you out, but I actually really love them. The only two pieces I have done on the bamboo breadboards sold recently at an exhbition, and I must admit I really love working on this surface - the background has just enough depth of colour so that both darks and whites show up well and the grain is quite predictable and tight. As much as I love adding the mice in, it makes it difficult to work out which category to put them in for a lot of exhbitions, as this is not a Still Life and nor is it Portraiture, nor Landscape, so I plan to do my next few pieces with no little critters at all :)

Around the World in Eighty Seconds

Around the World in Eighty Seconds

12x16 inches

Coloured pencils on gesso primed wood

This artwork was lots of fun to do, but caused me a few headaches in the end. Initially, there was no writing on the globe and then one of my sons commented that he felt it needed some text on the globe. At this point, I had already sprayed with fixative and so the pencil really wasn't adhering to the artwork. I should have known better, but used one of my finest permanent markers to add some text. All was fine, as you can see here, until after scanning this, I sprayed another coat of fixative, at which point all the letters bled into the surrounding areas. At this stage, all I could do was use a damp cloth and remove that whole section and start again. Thankfully this worked Ok, although the ocean now has a slightly more uneven colouring, which I suspect from miles away is how the earth would look anyway. We live and learn!!! :)

Miss Congeniality

Miss Congeniality

8x10 inches

Watercolour pencils, coloured pencils and pan pastels on wood

I thought I would have a bit of an experiment using the coloured pencils on black gesso and am not sure whether I like the result or not. The pan pastel background sank away and dulled quite a bit, so I redid it using some Derwent Coloursoft pencils. Thankfully there is very little, if any, colour change to the coloured pencil work once fixative is applied. Whilst I really enjoyed working on the black, it is always really hard to get a good scan once finished. I am about to start another piece on the black, which will have a bit more colour and see how we go from there.

Easter Art

Rebecca Louise

4x6 inches

Coloured pencils and pastels on wood

George - Giraffe in a scarf

8x10 inches

Watercolour pencils, Coloured pencils and Pan Pastels on wood

Firstly wishing a really happy and safe Easter to each and every one of you.

These are the two artworks I have worked on so far over the Easter break.

Rebecca Louise is my brand new niece, born last Wednesday the 20th April. Sadly, I won't get to see or hold her until she is probably walking as we live too far away, but thank goodness for photos and the internet!!!

George was done just for fun, although I did regret adding the scarf once it was all finished :)

Mel

Mel

8x11 inch

Coloured pencils, pastels and pan pastels on Marine Plywood.

This portrait is of my son Ben's beautiful girlfriend Mel. The inspiration for this style of portrait is the stunning work of Bijan Djamalzadeh, better known as Sara Moon who's beautiful soft artwork I have admired for years. Unfortunately I find it really hard to get good scans of pink and so the pinks in the portrait are a bit brighter than they appear in the original portrait, but it is the closest I can get. I would like to start advertising commissioned portraits again, but would prefer to offer something a little more creative, rather than a straight reproduction of a photo and hence the motivation for a bit of experimentation with portraits.

Daisy

Daisy

8x11 inches

Soft, hard and pan pastels and some coloured pencils on wood

I have been asked by several artists how spraying of multiple coats of both fixative and varnish affects the pastel work, and so thought I would do a work in predominantly pastels to see just what happens. There was definitely quite a lot of sinking and changing of colours, particularly in the background, so for anyone who is concerned about keeping their colours true, then I wouldn't recommend this process at all. In this instance though, so long as the skin tones stayed reasonably true, I wasn't too worried about changes in the rest of the artwork - in a funny way, I actually like the unpredicability of how the finished artwork will appear. I was a little heavy handed in some areas of the background where I have tried to soften the two corners that I felt were too dark, but did find that much of the softer overcoat darkened into the undercoat. I should probably have taken a before and after scan to show the impact on the pastels and will do that next time so you can get the full idea of colour changes.

My Rock

My Rock

8x11 inches

Coloured pencils, Pastels pencils, Conte pencils & Pan Pastels on wood.

This is the woman who is my rock, my best friend, who first introduced me to art via her own creativity, and who has taught me more about life and love with more wisdom than anyone I know - My Mum ox

Ben

Ben

8x11 inches

Coloured pencils, watercolour pencils and pan Pastels on wood

This is a portrait of our third son Ben, although the reference photo was taken quite a few years ago, as he is now 15. He was such a placid, easy baby and toddler (perfect for a third child) - he's still beautiful, but is a teenager now, so what more can I say!!! Anyway, his school is holding a portrait exhibition and they are asking students, family and friends to enter portraits of a loved one, so I thought who better than him. I am thinking of offering commissioned portraits on wood, and might even try a combination of graphite and pan pastels for commissions. The beauty of them being done on the wood is that there is no need to worry about framing, as the D Rings can be screwed straight into the back.