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.