Miniature Art by Karen Hull

WIP 3 - Face of Symmetry

2012-01-29T02:28:00.000-08:00

WIP 3 and I'm not even sure that you can tell who this beauty is yet. Once I draw in her mouth it should be more apparent (hopefully). Sadly, holidays have come to an end today and two of our sons are back to school tomorrow, with uni still not starting up for another month. The holidays have gone all too fast, but I guess we need the hustle and bustle of everyday life to really appreciate the holidays!

WIP 2 - Face of Symmetry

2012-01-28T15:23:00.001-08:00

2nd stage of the WIP. Working with the coloured pencils on the Pastelmat, is much slower than working with pastels, but when not pressed for time, I find it really relaxing filling in all the fine grainy texture of the paper and trying to achieve a nice smooth skin tone. The pastelmat takes multiple layers and I find the Derwent artist pencils, in particular, work really well on this surface for getting a creamy looking skin. The Faber Castell Polychromos are then great for the darker details. Working with the pencils on the Pastelmat really allows you to make very subtle changes to the skin tone in a way that I usually only find possible with oils.

WIP - Face of Symmetry

2012-01-26T02:24:00.001-08:00

I rarely post WIP images, but we have been away on holidays and so it seems to have been a while between posts and I'm also still in holiday mode so will take my time with this portrait. Can you guess who this is - she is supposed to have the most symmetrical face in the world and she certainly is stunning. I have been a little naughty and just took an image from Google images, but this is more for the exercise of doing a portrait in pencils on Pastelmat. I am really loving this combination of mediums and will probably start doing my commissions this way, rather than on the drafting film from now on. Happy Australia Day to all my Aussie friends too!! :)

Feeling Lucky

2012-01-14T02:31:00.000-08:00

Feeling Lucky

7cm x 10cm

Coloured pencils on Pastelmat

Just a quick little miniature art squeezed in before we head off on holidays for the next couple of weeks. The pastelmat does have a very fine texture, but unfortunately when scanning this size image, the texture becomes enlarged and quite obvious. I might try using watercolour pencils under the regular pencils next time to see if that gives a smoother appearance. Life is never dull!!!

Lord of the Manor

2012-01-11T18:57:00.001-08:00

Lord of the Manor

6x8 inches

Coloured pencil on Pastelmat

This was just a little experiment to see how the coloured pencils go on the Pastelmat. I have used pastels a few times on this surface and have to say it is my absolute favourite surface for pastels. But generally, I favour coloured pencils over pastels because of the lack of dust, and so wanted to try them out. I must say I was pleasantly surprised. It was possible to get quite good detail, despite the fine texture of the surface, and was also possible to get lots of layers of pencils which is something new to me, after working on the drafting film so much. My brother took the reference photo of this gorgeous kitty on his iphone at a friend's house and as soon as I saw it, I fell in love, begging him to email me a copy. It looks to me like it is probably a Maine Coon - truly beautiful cats!!!

The Lady and The Prince - and a Happy New Year

2011-12-31T16:56:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-25T18:21:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-13T15:28:00.001-08:00

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

2011-12-07T20:45:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-24T14:12:00.001-08:00

'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

2011-11-20T01:38:00.001-08:00

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

2011-11-10T15:02:00.001-08:00

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

2011-09-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-30T23:24:00.000-07:00

Beware the Cassowary

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

2011-08-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-22T17:53:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-14T20:40:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-04T16:25:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-29T21:37:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2011-07-19T18:22:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-17T15:23:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-12T04:19:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-30T16:22:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-20T01:49:00.001-07:00

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

2011-06-08T20:00:00.001-07:00

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

2011-06-04T21:18:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-29T20:55:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-27T21:06:00.001-07:00

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

2011-05-16T15:48:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-16T00:27:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-11T19:23:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-01T15:44:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-27T22:52:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-24T23:11:00.001-07:00

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

2011-04-16T03:13:00.001-07:00

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

2011-04-12T23:45:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-09T03:58:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-08T15:22:00.001-07:00

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.

Illustration - Tigers

2011-04-05T20:46:00.000-07:00

Tigers

Painted with Corel Painter

This is the final illustration commission for a series of coins for the Coin Club of Australia, and my last digital illustration for a while. Whilst the digital work is wonderful for illustration work, in that it allows for changes so easily, for me I lose something in the creation of a digital work compared to working with tangible media. So whilst, the income from illustration work is always welcome, I have decided to focus for a while on drawing from the heart, and hopefully sell an artwork here or there to help pay the bills :))

CheckMate

2011-04-03T17:20:00.000-07:00

CheckMate

Coloured pencil, watercolour pencils and Pan Pastels on wood

Another artwork featuring Muhali, a lovely baby gorilla we photographed at Taronga Zoo a few years ago - by now he is probably a fully fledged teenager (poor parents), but he was very cute at the time! My son has informed me that I have the chess board facing the wrong way (to the front, instead of to the baby gorilla) - he set the board up for me, but I moved it to take the photo. We long ago gave up playing chess with this son, because he beats us every time - I don't have the patience anyway!!!

Back to doing some illustration work this week, so for now the pencils are put aside for some digital work.

Losing My Marbles

2011-03-27T02:58:00.000-07:00

Losing My Marbles

29cm x 19cm

Coloured pencil and Pan Pastels on wood

What fun I had doing this artwork and it is a reflection of all the things I love - animals, colour and a touch of humour. For those of you who like the background in this artwork, and if you have not already done so, please have a look at the beautiful animal paintings on

Sam Dolmain's Blog. His inspirational art has taught me that it is Ok to be fearless with colour and to put down the colours you love, and not just the colours you see. This is the direction I would like to take with my art, combining realism with bright colours.

Just a note about pencils - those of you who follow my blog would know that I have always been a fan of the oil based pencils such as the Polychromos, but I have found when working on the Gesso on wood, that my old Derwent Studio pencils work best. The Polychromos tend to sit on top of the gesso more and will powder off, whereas it is easier to achieve better colour saturation with the Derwents. This is just my experience and it also depends on your techniques when working with coloured pencils - I tend to push the pencil into the surface with short stabbing strokes, rather than sweeping it across the surface.

Miniature Art - The Philosopher

2011-03-24T22:48:00.000-07:00

The Philosopher

10cm x 10cm Including frame

Coloured pencils, Pan Pastels and Acrylic (the frame) on wood

I thought I would try a miniature artwork using the coloured pencils on gesso. And this time I applied two coats of gesso. I think next time, I may just try the one coat again. Unfortunately once scanned the pencil on wood looks more grainy and broken up than it appears in real life, and I think that is accentuated because it is a mini, which I scanned in at 600dpi. The actual pencil area is only 7cm x 7cm (2 3/4 inches x 2 3/4 inches). This fabulous chimp obligingly posed for us a few years ago at Taronga Zoo and when I stumbled across the reference photo a few days ago, I thought it would be the ideal image to try a mini pencil on wood.

Portrait or Predator?

2011-03-21T21:26:00.000-07:00

Portrait or Predator?

28cm x 28cm

Coloured Pencils and Pan Pastels on Wood.

Here I opted for a slightly different style of Trompe L'Oeil and this time the frame part was primed with the colourfix primer as usual, whilst the inside portrait was primed with gesso. I did some research on coloured pencils on gesso and found very few samples of this combination and so assumed that the gesso would not be all that receptive to the pencil. Actually it was amazingly receptive and beautiful to work with!!! Fantastic for getting fine detail and also fantastic for smudging the pencil around. All the background was done first with Panpastels which also work fabulously on the gesso, followed by some smudged pencil work. I will definitely try this combination of media again.

Temptation

2011-03-12T22:32:00.001-08:00

Temptation

37cm x 37cm

Coloured pencils and Panpastels on wood

Some artworks prove to be lots of fun and some end up being more of a chore. For some reason this artwork ended up being the latter and yet I have had the image in my head for weeks and have been so looking forward to bringing it to life. It could have something to do with the fact that it has taken two weeks to do, (I do get sick of artworks if they take too long) with interuptions from naughty computers playing up and taking three days to fix, followed by a battle with a head cold. I am loving working on the wood, but still struggle to achieve the absolute realism that I am after. I suspect it is all about the preparation of the surface - too much tooth, and the pencil breaks up and has a broken look, too little tooth and the pencil doesn't adhere, so obviously this is something that still needs to be fine tuned. The pan pastels were used in the background only to give the transparent look of the runner.

Hope

2011-03-01T02:04:00.000-08:00

Hope

11x14 inches

Coloured pencils on matte board

This is the commission I mentioned in my last post and I was fortunate that this was presented sooner than expected and happily Hope's Mum and Dad gave their blessings for this to be posted. There weren't actually any bubbles in the reference photo, but it seemed like the perfect addition to her little outstretched hand. What a lovely commission to do too, from the beautiful colour of her hair, to the interesting details in her dress, and of course it helps when you are given a good quality reference photo to work with.

Shakira

2011-02-27T03:06:00.000-08:00

Shakira

8x10 inches

Coloured pencils on drafting film

I actually finished Shakira a week or two ago, but had to hold off until after she was presented for a birthday present. I have just finished another commission tonight, which can't be revealed until it is presented as well - all these little secrets and surprises!!! This week I will be back to work on some more wooden pieces, as my aim is to get more proactive and enter more exhibitions this year. It can be a bit of a headache meeting deadlines, getting entry forms in and organising deliveries, and I am also terrified of Opening Nights! But it is all good for confidence building and is a real motivator for getting some work done!

Th Dear John Letter

2011-02-22T19:37:00.001-08:00

The Dear John Letter

37cm x 37cm

Coloured pencils and PanPastels on wood

Mostly I do like to do happy and quirky images, especially celebrating our animal world, but sometimes we are inspired by other thoughts and emotions. These days this image is probably an obsolete one and is more likely to be replaced with a text on an iphone, but the sentiments are still the same, and all too sad for the one on the receiving end. Hopefully what is conveyed in this image, that as harsh as it might seem, the writer is really struggling with her job at hand. My melancholy in drawing this image has been fuelled by the 24 hour coverage of yesterday's earthquake in Christchurch NZ, and our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by this devastating event!!!

What about me?

2011-02-12T22:35:00.001-08:00

What about Me?

29cm x 29cm

Coloured pencils on wood

Back to doing commissions this week, but just had time to fit another of these artworks on wood - so much fun!!! This one was inspired by our Siamese cat Dipsy who stretches his paw as high as he can to the bench (fortunately he can't reach) whenever I am chopping up chicken or fish. Some might shoo the kitty away, others might share a sardine or two - which are you?

German Shepherds Illustration

2011-02-03T13:36:00.000-08:00

German Shepherds

Commissioned by the Coin Club of Australia

Painted with Corel Painter

This German Shepherd illustration is the final one for this series of coin. Earlier, you might remember that I did a Cattle Dog illustration for the series and this coin was released in early January and has almost sold out already. For more information about these coins you can visit the Coin Club of Australia.

Looking for a Mate - Coloured Pencils on Wood

2011-01-30T23:48:00.000-08:00

Looking For a Mate

19.5 x 29.5 cm

Coloured pencils and Pan Pastels on Wood

I'm actually between illustration jobs, but just wanted to squeeze in a quickie (I am referring to artworks by the way) just for fun. I am going to try to create one artwork on wood per week, even if they are simple ones like this. My husband was fairly unimpressed, declaring that it seemed to be missing something... to be fair I usually do add a lot more detail, but for a change I am looking at doing some Trompe L'Oeil scenes that are quite simple in composition.

The Uninvited Guests

2011-01-22T01:47:00.000-08:00

The Uninvited Guests

30cm x 30cm
Coloured pencils on wood

What fun I had with this artwork! This time the wood was sealed first, then an undercoat of acrylic applied to the appropriate areas, and then two coats of clear colourfix primer was applied. I am struggling now, to find plain pine breadboards, and so tried this bamboo and pine combination breadboard. The bamboo is much harder than the pine of course, and even though I gave it a good sand with a fine sander, it still has more texture than the pine and probably more than I would like, but it was a fun experiment anyway. This is my last artwork on wood for a little while, as I now have to buckle down and do some illustration work, but my goal is to do more of these pieces, as I have so many ideas floating around that I could sit and draw for months - sadly there just aren't enough hours in the day!!!

Contemplating Mischief

2011-01-07T02:02:00.001-08:00

Contemplating Mischief

8x11 inches

Coloured pencils and Pan Pastels on wood

More experimentation with wood, only this time I primed the wood with Clear Colourfix primer and then sanded it with very fine sanding paper. I think this surface worked slightly better with the coloured pencils than just the acrylic or wood on it's own, although next time I would probably do another coat of primer and sand it even smoother. I do prefer the smoothest surface possible. I miss the fact that you can't really scratch the colour out like you can on drafting film, but there are so many other aspects that make the wood very pleasant to work with.

The reference photo for this cutie was provided by Ainhoa pcb on Flickr and was used with her kind permission. Some of you might remember I used this image before to do a graphite drawing called Whistful.

Goddess of the Sea - Trying out a new surface

2011-01-04T00:57:00.001-08:00

Goddess of the Sea

8 1/2 x 11 inches

Acrylics and Coloured Pencil on Wood

As many of you may know, I love trying out new surfaces and experimenting. One of the things I hate most in preparing for exhibitions is the framing process. I stumbled upon a small stack of pine bread boards in a clearance sale the other day, and thought I would use them to try out a different surface, with the idea of possibly hanging them in exhibitions with no frame at all, but just as they are. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the wood accepted the coloured pencils (the softer ones such as the Derwent Coloursoft were more receptive than the harder Polychromos that I usually prefer), particularly on the face where I had done a very light undercoat with white acrylic.

I know there will be some exhibitions, where this type of presentation would not be accepted, but still thought it was worth a try. I was reading about an American artist (I can't recall his name) who draws on wood, then applies two coats of fixative, followed by three coats of gloss varnish.

The other thought I had was that clients might like their commissioned portraits done in this way, which means they don't have to worry about getting their portraits framed, and offers quite a unique gift. Watch this space :)

Last Entry and Last Tutorial for 2010 - Selective Colouring Graphite Portraits

2010-12-30T17:47:00.000-08:00

Without a doubt, the most popular of my commissioned portraits have been the graphite portraits with selective colouring, in particular for the eyes. In this latest tutorial, I show with progressive scans how to combine your graphite and coloured pencils on drafting film for a realistic portrait with a bit more oomph. This was one of my earlier selective colouring portraits and I would probably use different techniques today to achieve a smoother skin tone. I discuss this all in the tutorial - the actual techniques used here, and what could have been done to give a softer result. Once again, I must thank Juno Kughler Carlson for sharing her beautiful reference photos!!

Finally, thankyou to everyone who has taken the time to view my blog. It is a humbling experience to find that anyone might be interested in my art and creative journey and all the support and wonderful comments mean more than you can know; and they also spur me on to try to improve and develop as an artist and as a person. I wish you all a very safe and Happy New Year and may 2011 bring each one of you much success and happiness!!!

Step by Step Coloured Pencil Tutorial of a Pug Dog Portrait

2010-12-30T11:49:00.000-08:00

Here is the next in my series of step by step tutorials. This one shows you how to draw a head study of a pug dog using coloured pencils on drafting film. Drafting film is the perfect surface for drawing animal portraits in coloured pencil. It's smooth surface means that your pencils stay sharp for a long time, and so when drawing individual hairs as I have done on this pug dog, you get a lovely realistic appearance. Many people mistook this portrait for a photo. If achieving a photorealistic look in your pet portraits is your goal, then please have a look at this tutorial which is available, either directly from my website, or else from my Etsy or Ebay stores.

On a different note, I would like to offer our thoughts and prayers to all our friends in North Queensland who have been affected by the current floods. We hope and pray that the rain stops and that the waters subside very soon and that your losses are kept to a minimum!!!

Step by Step Coloured Pencil Tutorial - The Little Flower Girl

2010-12-30T00:19:00.000-08:00

Firstly, I have to thank Juno Kughler Carlson for allowing me to use the gorgeous reference photo for this step by step tutorial. If you are not already familiar with Juno's amazing coloured pencil work, please take the time to visit her site - her work is truly inspirational. She was very generous in allowing those of us who belonged to the Coloured Pencil Network (no longer operating) access to many of her beautiful reference photos, and this one caught my eye.

The image on the front, as shown, is actually my artwork and the reference photo (which is even more beautiful) is included within the tutorial. This 15 page tutorial includes many progress scans, along with detailed instructions on which coloured pencils and techniques were used to draw this image. I have had many enquiries from other artists regarding how I drew the straw hat, and I have dedicated two pages detailing how to go about achieving a realistic texture on the hat. I had so much fun drawing this artwork, and I hope any of you who purchase the tutorial will enjoy it just as much. The tutorial is available either directly from my website, or from my Etsy or Ebay Stores.

Goddess of Autumn - just for fun

2010-12-28T02:44:00.000-08:00

Goddess of Autumn

8x10 inches

Coloured pencil on matte board

I am always extremely grateful for commission work, but it is so liberating and fun sometimes to indulge in a bit of art just for the sake for being creative and playing. I hadn't planned on picking up any pencils or doing any artwork for several weeks, but then the bug bites and I can't relax until I put a little colour on the board and let somes ideas come to fruition. So this artwork has been done for no other reason than to play with colour and because I love to draw beautiful faces.

I do hope everyone has had the most wonderful Christmas and that you all have the opportunity for a little R&R now.

Last Commission for 2010 and a very Merry Christmas to all!!!

2010-12-20T13:08:00.000-08:00

Beagle

Commissioned by the Coin Club of Australia

Painted with Corel Painter

My final commission for 2010 and all ready for Christmas - what a wonderful feeling. This year has been such a busy year, (as I'm sure it has for all of you), as I searched for a sense of direction and purpose with my art. The illustration work, thankfully has taken off and this helps to pay the bills and provides that sense of 'purpose', but my goal for next year is to have more balance. Balance between the 'bread and butter' work and then time to work on the art I love doing the most, which at this stage is the miniature art and the coloured pencil work, and finally balance for the people in my life, which were sadly a bit neglected this year.
To all of you, I wish the most wonderful Christmas full of blessings, love and laughter with the people you love the most and may 2011 bring much success and happiness to each one of you.

Step by Step Drawing Tutorial - Animating your Animals

2010-12-15T00:35:00.000-08:00

The final tutorial in my current series of six, this 12 page tutorial discusses how to make your realistic animals look a little more animated and provides a comprehensive step by step guide on drawing this cheeky meerkat. This tutorial also has more hints and tips on using coloured pencils on drafting film and includes a list of all materials used. You can purchase this PDF tutorial either directly from my website or from by Ebay or Etsy stores and it will then be emailed to you within 24 hours for your enjoyment.

Step by Step Drawing Tutorial - Pencil Cat Portrait

2010-12-15T00:27:00.001-08:00

Unlike all the other tutorials in my series so far, this tutorial provides guidance on drawing a realistic head portrait of a cat using coloured pencils on matte board. In the same way that many pastel artists prefer working on a coloured surface to give a more creative result to their artwork, coloured pencils combine perfectly with matte board, particularly if you would like to do a portrait of an animal with a white or pale coat. This 11 page tutorial is available for purchase, either directly from my website, or from my Ebay or Etsy stores. I was so smitten by the beautiful eyes of this gorgeous kitten, that I have used him as a reference a couple of times for my artwork. This tutorial will take you through step by step, listing all materials and show you how you can draw this charming face too.

Step by Step Drawing Tutorial - Graphite Dog Portrait

2010-12-15T00:21:00.000-08:00

This tutorial is a lengthy 17 pages long, with numerous progressive images to guide you through doing a graphite pencil portrait of a dog. This tutorial is also available as a PDF either directly from my website or from my Etsy or Ebay stores. It has a comprehensive list of materials used and provides many hints and tips on how to work with drafting film which can take a little getting used to at first, but is well worth persevering with. Drafting film allows you to draw with very fine detail and makes a photorealistic looking portrait quite easy to achieve.

Step by Step Drawing Tutorial - Venetian Carnivale Mask

2010-12-15T00:13:00.001-08:00

Some of you may recognise this tutorial which used to be available as a mini tutorial on my website. I have now converted this to a full colour 10 page tutorial with much more detailed and comprehensive information on how to draw this striking mask. This tutorial is available for purchase as a PDF which will be sent via email, either directly from my website, or from my Etsy or Ebay stores. The artwork was originally done as an ACEO (artist cards editions and originals) and so this tutorial discusses how easy it is to achieve the very fine details on the drafting film which is perfect for smaller and miniature drawings and artworks. This artwork has been done using ink and coloured pencils and there are multiple images to guide you through if you would like to draw this mask yourself.

Step by Step Drawing Tutorial - Detailed Eye Drawing

2010-12-15T00:05:00.000-08:00

This is the second in my Step by Step tutorial series which are available for purchase either directly from my website or from by Ebay or Etsy stores. Your 10 page tutorial will then be sent via email as a PDF file. This tutorial covers how to do a detailed drawing of an eye using coloured pencils on drafting film and features multiple full colour illustrations to guide you on the way. People often comment on the way I do my eyes and ask how I get that realistic glassy look to them. Working on the drafting film makes achieving this realism very easy, but it does take a little getting used to, as the film accepts pencils quite differently to other surfaces.

Step by Step Drawing Tutorial - Graphite Baby Portrait

2010-12-14T23:52:00.001-08:00

In response to all the requests I get for information about drawing on drafting film, I have put together a series of step by step tutorials which are available as a PDF for purchase either directly from my website, or from My Ebay or Etsy Stores. Your tutorial will then be sent via email within 24 hours, (but usually much earlier), allowing for time differences.

This first tutorial is 10 pages long and guides you, with step by step images, on how to do a graphite portrait of an infant using graphite pencil on drafting film. One of the advantages of working with the film is the ability to create very soft shading with an almost seamless result. However, the drafting film is quite different to any other surface I have worked on, and is not without it's challenges. This tutorials provides tips and hints that I hope will make the process a little easier.

My aim is to produce further tutorials down the track and I would love to hear from any bloggers who have suggestions about what they would like to see covered in a tutorial.

A few commissions

2010-12-07T21:56:00.001-08:00

Black Rhino

Commissioned by the Coin Club of Australia

Painted with Corel Painter

Logan

5x7 inches

Coloured pencil on drafting fiilm

Isn't this a crazy time of year!!! I can see from everyone's blogs that you are all madly trying to complete commissions for clients for Christmas. Here are a few that I have been working on over the last week or two and I am hoping that I have only one more commission to complete before taking some time off for the summer holidays. Hopefully then, I can catch up on all my sadly neglected internet sharing and blogging and commenting. But I know you all understand!!! :)

Step by Step tutorials

2010-12-07T21:49:00.000-08:00

Some of you may recognise Fry on the cover of this months issue of Fine Art and Decorative Painting and inside you will find a step by step tutorial on how to draw him.

After some discussion with the editor of the Fine Art & Decorative Painting magazine and after rereading through my contract with them, I have since discovered that I can actually sell copies of these tutorials from my website, so long as the wording is all my own. So, from early next year, I will be posting all the tutorials created so far (and hopefully some more to follow) for sale as a download from my website. If you have something in particular that you would like to see in a tutorial, please don't hesitate to contact me and I will see if I can create a tutorial to suit.

Lotus Moon Illustration and an update on the finch chicks

2010-11-23T12:44:00.000-08:00

Lotus Moon

Commissioned Illustration

Corel Painter

Here is one of my latest commissions and also an update on the little finch chicks that I mentioned in one of my earlier blogs. Sadly, one of the chicks died a few days after my last entry. Then on the weekend, my Mum rang me in tears because her beloved cat had died suddenly, and since it has only been a couple of years since Dad died, her two cats were her constant comfort. Mum lives over 1000kms away, and my heart ached for her, so I jumped on a plane to pop up and give her a hug and some cheer, and left behind strict instructions with all the family on how to take care of the finch chicks. Sunday morning I rang the family to see how all was going, and they vehemently reassured me that they had followed my instructions to a 'T', but unfortunately the two remaining chicks died on Saturday night. I was so sad - they had reached the stage where they were covered in feathers apart from their head and they would sit up and chirp every time I walked past their little cage, but in the end it just wasn't meant to be! :(

Str-e-e-e-tch

2010-11-15T13:49:00.001-08:00

Little Tood

8x10 inch Commissioned Portrait

Coloured pencils on Terracotta Matte Board

Even though I have enjoyed the challenge of working digitally lately, I didn't realise how much I missed by beloved coloured pencils until I started working on this portrait. It is lovely to work on something tangible and watch a blank canvas evolve before your eyes. I was a bit unsure about this portrait at first when I saw the reference photo, as the front paws loomed larger than life, but the client reassured me that he wanted it just like that. As, I got into the portrait, it was the look of sheer contentment that showed on Little Tood's face, as he enjoyed his long stretch, that struck me more than the paws in front, so hopefully this is apparent to others who view this portrait too.

Hand rearing baby finches

2010-11-11T13:27:00.000-08:00

No artwork today - although I have several jobs on the go - none are ready to post.

My husband often muses how much more time I would have each day if we didn't have a menagerie of pets, but I love being surrounded by critters and tending to them never feels like a chore. Three years ago, we bought a pair of zebra finches for our aviary and every 6-7 weeks since they have produced a batch of between 3-7 chicks, which we give away to our local birdshop.

Zebra finches are such good parents and I would watch them in fascination, as they took turns in relay, tending to their young and feeding each other. Earlier this week, the mother finch died. She left behind a nest full of young chicks which the father finch valiantly tried to rear himself. I bought him a new girlfriend in the hope that she might help him out - but raising chicks wasn't her thing. Sadly, raising the chicks by himself took its toll on the father finch and three days later he died too. That left me to play the role of Mum Finch. When I retrieved the nest, there were actually five little chicks, but two had already died, probably from dehydration as the father just couldn't feed them near the end. So now I have been playing Mum Finch for three days, giving the chicks formula via a syringe every couple of hours, and so far so good!!! Fingers crossed, they will continue to do well and thrive. They do look a little ugly at this stage, but another week, when they are covered with feathers and they will look very cute. You can see the little sacs either side of their spine full of formula - (I probably over feed them a bit, but they seem to be doing well).

Orangutan Commission

2010-11-01T22:17:00.001-07:00

This is the second in a series of illustrations commissioned by the Coin Club of Australia for a series, which I can talk about more after the release date. It's funny how much more observant you become when you draw, paint or illustrate some aspect of our world. I always thought Orangutans were rather strange looking primates, but after researching them for this job I have a new appreciation for the glorious shades of red in their hair and their charming, human like qualities. Being an A type personality, having a busy, stressful job in nursing and raising four boys, I was often too busy before to stop and smell the roses and tended to rush through life without really SEEING things. Since allowing my art to become a much greater focus, I have a renewed appreication of the world around us and find myself studying tree trunks and sky colours, and people with interesting faces in a way I never would before.

Every single day I am grateful for the gift of art (and for my beautiful family)!!!

Polar Bears Illustration

2010-10-29T20:38:00.000-07:00

Polar Bears

Commissioned Illustration

Painted with Corel Painter on a Wacom Cintiq display

This is my second illustration for the Coin Club of Australia. At this stage, I can't reveal too much information about these coins until after their release date (which I didn't quite realise before, and that is why my previous blog entry shrank a bit during the week). I am thoroughly enjoying working digitally, but there are times, such as this week, where I miss the simplicity of picking up a pencil.

I decided, since it looks like much of my commission work will be digital illustrations, to purchase a Wacom Cintiq tablet, which allows you to draw directly on the display screen, whereas with the Bamboo tablet, you are drawing on a tablet whilst looking at a computer screen and this takes a bit of co-ordination. I was so excited when the Cintiq arrived on Wednesday, only to find that the power pack supplied was faulty - rang Wacom and was assured one would be sent the next day. When no power pack arrived next day, I rang again (with steam coming out of my ears) and they arranged to courier me a new pack. It arrived late Thursday, but now I had problems getting Corel to open up on the Cintiq display and it wouldn't maximise without shutting down.

After spending about four hours on the phone to Wacom and Corel, uninstalling both Corel and the tablet and reinstalling both, the problem was finally resolved. And so today, I was able to complete the illustration that was started last Monday. Had I done this illustration in pencil, it would have been finished last Tuesday!!!

Commemmorative Coin Commission - Australian Cattle Dog

2010-10-22T16:47:00.001-07:00

Australian Cattle Dog

Painted with Corel painter

I was approached last week to do a series of illustrations for commemorative coins for the Australian Coin Club. In so many ways, this is the kind of project I love to work on the most.

My Dilemma

2010-10-15T00:59:00.000-07:00

Saxon

11x14 inches

Coloured pencils on matte board

After redoing this sample illustration for Macmillan Publishers three times this week (about 30 hours work), I received word today that they have decided not to proceed as they feel this illustration lacks the drama and movement that they are looking for. My overwhelming feeling was one of sheer relief. My family will vouch that I have been a huge stress head and quite challenging to live with whilst working on this project. It has been a goal of mine to try and move more into the area of illustration, but I am starting to have second thoughts. I did struggle with this picture, because those of you familiar with my art would know that I prefer to work on themes that are tender, and gentle, as opposed to dramatic and violent. When working on portraits, and whatever art projects take my fancy, I am generally quite at peace, but the main problem is the unpredictability of the income. Whilst working on Saxon today (and being quite at peace), I started to reevaluate the direction that I am going. One of the main reasons I left nursing was to have the opportunity to work doing something that I love and still have time to be the best possible Mum and wife I could be (I certainly wouldn't have fitted that description this week!) without feeling stressed a lot of the time. My dilemma therefore, is whether to keep striving for a career in illustration and the potential for a better income, or to keep pottering away as I have been. Life is never simple!!!

Please help me :)

2010-10-10T03:16:00.001-07:00

Two blogs in one day - I'm on a roll. But actually I am asking a favour of my fellow bloggers. This is my entry for the upcoming Illustrators Australia exhibition and features our youngest son Sam, who has a particular fascination for dragons and dinosaurs. I wanted to try and capture the magic and wonder of childhood in this illustration, but I am stumped when it comes to giving it a title. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. This is another digital illustration, done with corel painter and photoshop.

Sample illustration - Life Cycle of the Green Sea Turtle

2010-10-09T18:43:00.000-07:00

Life Cycle of the Green Sea Turtle - attacked by a shark

Painted with a Wacom table, Corel Painter and photoshop

I must apologize, firstly to my blogger friends as I know I have got tardier lately with my blogging and checking out what all my talented fellow artists have been up to. Lately, I am happy to say, my workload has increased substantially, both with commissions and illustration work, and so between this increase in work volume, and also trying to still be a good Mum and wife, it doesn't leave a lot of time left over. This is another sample illustration for Macmillan Publishers, for a children's reference book on the life cycle of Green Sea Turtles, which if approved will lead to the commissioning of illustrations for two books.

I am still very much a novice at digital artwork, but definitely find this the most efficient way of working when doing illustrations. Whilst it still takes me the same amount of time to create an illustration digitally, as by conventional mediums, it makes any inevitable amendments that need to be made so much easier. I can't imagine doing this illustration in watercolours, or coloured pencil and then having to redo the whole thing because some aspects were not suitable. I do find that many people view digital art with suspicion, and in many circles it is not regarded as a legitimate art form. For the purpose of illustration work however, it is an absolute blessing and is somehow very liberating, as I am not overwhelmed with the endless fear that I am going to 'stuff it up' and thereby ruin hours of work.

Final illustration in Platypus Life Cycle Series

2010-10-05T02:02:00.001-07:00

Life Cycle of a Platypus - Mother nursing her babies.

This is the final illustration for the series of four on the life cycle of the Platypus for Macmillan Publishers. It is amazing how few reference photos there are for platypus even on-line, which is obviously why Macmillan had to call on the services of an illustrator, however I did a fair bit of research for the project and hopefully have achieved some level of accuracy. These illustrations will actually be within small circular frames, so they will be cropped further, but so long as the kids get the general idea. :)

More Platypus Life Cycle Illustrations

2010-10-03T03:30:00.000-07:00

Platypus mother lays her eggs in a burrow

Two adult platypus mating

I'm having a very constructive weekend in terms of work. We have a labour day long weekend, and so far the weather has been quite wet and miserable (which I really love) and all the men in our house spent yesterday glued to the TV watching the AFL Grand final and then today watching the NRL Grand Final, which left me with not much to do but work. These illustrations aren't due until Friday, but happily I am now well ahead of schedule and only have one more to complete, which means I can also spend some quality time with the kids during the school holidays this week. Both these illustrations were done using Corel painter and Paint.net.

Step by step Tutorial - Graphite Portrait of a Dog

2010-10-02T16:47:00.000-07:00

Volume 18 No.2 edition of Fine Art and Decorative Painting includes my step by step tutorial on doing a dog portrait in graphite pencil on drafting film and is now available from most newsagents. The subject for this tutorial is a stunning dog called Burton and the client kindly gave her permission for me to use him for the article.

Platypus Life Cycle Illustration

2010-09-29T15:08:00.000-07:00

Platypus Life Cycle - Young Platypus swimming freely

Drawn with Corel Painter and Photoshop

This illustration is part of a series of four I will be doing for Macmillan Publishers for a book educating young children on Australian Animals. The life cycles of all the other Australian Animals have been depicted using photos, but the platypus lays it's eggs in deep burrows and are extremely sensitive, so getting photos in this instance is much more difficult. Platypus are also extremely hard to find in the wild. I have seen a couple at Taronga Zoo, but because they are nocturnal mammals, the tank was in darkness with only a touch of light and no flash photography was allowed. The only other time I have seen them is in a sanctuary in Tasmania, where they were swimming freely in a creek. We visited Jenolan Caves on Sunday, and there is a beautiful walk along a creek bed where platypus have been spotted, but they were all very shy and didn't appear whilst we were there (having four noisy boys in tow probably didn't help!).

They are the most fascinating animals and researching them for this particular job has been an intriguing exercise.

Commissioned Illustration - Bass

2010-09-21T02:51:00.000-07:00

Bass

8x10 inches

Coloured pencils on drafting film

Something different this time which took me a little out of my comfort zone, being more used to doing creatures with fur than scales, but I always love to try something new. The client gave me the freedom to work in whichever medium I chose, and whilst I have really enjoyed painting lately, I find nothing beats the coloured pencil on drafting film for finer details. Apart from that, I haven't much to add, and hope everyone is having a wonderful week!!!! :)

A successful day

2010-09-17T21:41:00.000-07:00

No images today, as the commission I am working on is of a little baby that has passed. These commissions are always very special to me, but I never post them on the web for obvious reasons. Last night was a busy night, with the opening of the Blacktown City Art Exhibition, where I was honoured to find that I had been awarded a Highly Commended for 'A Life Well Spent', and also to see that the Council had acquired this artwork. We then left and drove to another exhibition opening night, and I discovered that 'The Artist or the Subject' had sold. Last night was also the opening for the Illustrator's Australia exhbition, and I am delighted to see that 'Untold Story' has sold. It never rains but it pours, as the saying goes, is so true. I can go weeks and not sell a single artwork, nor get any commissions, and then all of a sudden there are lovely days like yesterday, where you rejoice that people like your art enough to part with their hard earned dollars, and that is a great feeling!!!!

You Make Me Smile

2010-09-15T04:44:00.000-07:00

You Make Me Smile

8x10 inches

Watercolours and acrylics on Canson Mi Teintes Tex Card

I really should have been working on a commission today, but sometimes the urge to be creative overwhelms everything else and I really had a compulsion to have some fun and play with colour. I took a litter of 8 little baby mice off to the pet shop on Monday, and so before Mum and Dad get too busy with another litter, they kindly indulged me with a bit of modelling for a photo shoot last night. Somehow, my art always comes back to the theme of mice - I just love drawing and painting them and their endearing little faces. I hope this brings a smile to your faces :))

Monique

2010-09-11T17:54:00.001-07:00

Monique

8x10 inches

Acrylics on Canson Mi Teintes Tex Card

This was the commission I completed a few weeks ago, when experimenting with a few different mediums and finally settled on the acrylics. This portrait was another example of where I was given a wonderful reference photo to work with, which made my job so much more enjoyable. A delightful looking littel girl, and because the photo was taken outside, there are beautiful reflections in her eyes which really add to her portrait. So, many of the same principals I outlined in my last blog for taking good reference photos for pet portraits also apply when taking photos for people portraits.

Taking Good Reference Photos for Pet Portraits

2010-09-11T01:29:00.001-07:00

Lady

8x10 inches

Acrylics on Canson Mi-Teintes Tex card

I wanted to show these two reference photos as a guide to show how to get the best reference photos for your commissioned portraits. Both of these photos were sent by the same client, and without a doubt, I knew straight away that the photo on the left would be perfect and yet the photo on the right is probably more typical of the kind of reference photos I am often sent.

The reasons the photo on the left is so much better include:

The dog is at eye level - I am often sent photos where the owner is standing over their pet, and looking down on them, but as you can see in this composition, with the dog sitting on the table, that it is so much more pleasing and somehow gives the animal ownership of the portrait, rather than looking submissive.

There is a natural light source coming from one side of the pet - Natural light is almost always better than flashlight, and in particular in this case, where you have a strong natural light source from the window contrasting with the darker shadows behind the dog. Your portrait will be so much more interesting if you can achieve these contrasts in your lighting. Portrait artists can usually make some improvements to a photo, such as removing flashlight from the eyes, but creating a masterpiece from an average photo is usually beyond most of us mere mortal artists.
It is especially important to have a contrast of lighting if your pet is either all white, or all black, as it then becomes even more important to seek out any highlights or shadows which will prevent the portrait from looking flat.

Try to avoid front on photos. Your portrait will be far more pleasing if your pet is positioned on an angle. Clients often spend hours trying to get their reluctant pets to look at the camera, thinking that this will make the best photo, but in a lot of cases this only creates foreshortening of their facial features, and creates a dull image. If you would prefer to have your pet looking at the camera, try to have them sitting side on, and encourage them to turn their head toward the camera. Don't be afraid to experiment with different angles. Often the animals will avoid looking at the camera because of the flashlight, but don't be disheartened - be imaginitive and you may find your portrait looks much better anyway!!!

If at all possible avoid using a flash!!! The two best options are to position your pet near a natural light source as in the photo above, or else take your pet outside for the photo. When taking the photo outside, it is also ideal to try to aim for some contrasts in lighting so perhaps sitting your pet near a shady tree. Flash light creates unnatural lighting and taking the photo indoors without good lighting will make it hard to capture accurately the colour of your pet's coat and eyes.

Whilst this may seem like a lot of effort to go to, it really is worth it if you would like the best possible portrait of your precious pet.

Casanova II

2010-09-04T02:23:00.000-07:00

Casanova II

10x14 inches

Acrylics on Canson Mi-Teintes Tex Paper

What a marathon week. This painting took much longer than I had anticipated and what a joy to finally complete it!!! I really wasn't blessed with the patience to work on projects that take longer than a day or two. I remember the first time I painted this peacock a few years ago, that it took me 3 months to complete and I was so over it by the end. But I have a special passion for peacocks and wanted to challenge myself to paint a larger piece.

Apart from that we found our darling pet dog Chelsea (Chinese Crested Powder Puff) dragging her hind legs on Wednesday night and discovered she has slipped a disc in her spine which has left her partially paralysed. Hopefully with anti-inflammatories and by keeping the poor thing caged for the next month or two, her spine will heal and she will get back full mobility. She looks at me with such sad eyes through her cage - I think she feels she is being punished for something and my heart goes out to her. Animals are so much more resilient than people.

With all this and the mother of a dear friend dying suddenly, I know I am sadly behind on my blogging, but hope to catch up in the next few days. Happy Father's day to all the Dad's out there for tomorrow (although I think some of you in the US etc. celebrate Father's day at a different time of year) and will check out all your blogs soon :))

Retrieving Deleted Data

2010-08-26T23:14:00.000-07:00

No pics today - just some advice for anyone who ever, like me, accidentally deleted some valuable photos and reference material. Last week, one of my boys needed a Flash Drive urgently and thinking I had already saved the 400mb of photos on this device to a CD, I quickly deleted all the files and then promptly emptied the Recycle Bin. This week, I went searching for one of my reference photos of a peacock, only to realise that all those photos were not stored anywhere else. Time to PANIC!!! Or to go on-line and do a search (thank God for the internet). I came across a program called Uneraser. Many of you may of heard of it, but I never had, and tentatively downloaded the trial version. I then popped the Flash Drive into the USB port and ran the Uneraser software. Up came all the photos I had deleted, however to retrieve them and save them to the computer, you do have to buy the full version which was $45AUD (around $40USD), but in my mind that was money well spent. I was so happy to have all my precious images back and promptly copied them to two CD's. :))

Jack II Portrait, a couple of awards and a Tutorial

2010-08-24T21:44:00.000-07:00

Jack

8x10 inches

Acrylics on Canson Mi-Teintes Tex Card

I promised by brother and sister-in-law that I would do a portrait of their gorgeous little son Jack when he was first born, and he turns one next week, so here it is (better late than never)

I was thrilled to get a couple of awards in the miniature section of the Art Exhibition at the Penrith Show and the Penrith City Council Encouragement award for 'A Life Well Spent' and 'Carnivale Juggler' this week.

For anyone interested in step by step tutorials on working in pencil on drafting film, the tutorial for drawing this eye came out last week in Fine Arts and Decorative Painting magazine, Vol 17 No. 12.

I helped out at the youngest fellow's athletics carnival today, so that's all from me - I'm dead on my feet!!! Cheers to all :))

Baby Self Portrait

2010-08-19T16:21:00.000-07:00

Baby Self Portrait

8x10 inch

Acrylics and some pastels on Canson Mi-Teintes Tex Card

This portrait was really done for a challenge for the portraiture group on RedBubble. I like this one much better than my adult self portrait, and I bet you can tell from the portrait, that it was quite an OLD reference photo - LOL!!!

Acrylic Portraits - Steph

2010-08-18T03:14:00.000-07:00

Steph

8x10 inches

Acrylics on Canson Mi-teintes Tex paper (with a hint of coloured pencil and pan pastels)

This was my second portrait using acrylics, and was actually a little more challenging than the first because of the dark skin tones from the cast shadows. I always prefer doing softer, lighter skin tones, but couldn't resist using this beautiful reference photo of my Goddaughter Steph, who actually turned 18 last week. How time flies!!! This portrait will the first used as a sample for my painted portrait listings.

Unlocking Old Secrets

2010-08-15T14:34:00.001-07:00

Unlocking Old Secrets

9x5 inches

Acylics on Plywood

This is my entry for the 2010 9x5 Illustrator's Australia Exhibition, where the theme is 'Untold Stories'.

Well, we all know it is a woman's perogative to change her mind, so after several weeks of experimenting and pulling my hair out, I have now decided to offer commissioned portraits in acrylics, rather than coloured or graphite pencil, I redid a commissioned portrait a couple of times last week for a very patient client, and whilst unfortunately I can't post the image at this stage, I was really happy with the results. I will spend this week doing a few more to include with my listings. Being an artist is never dull!!!

Self Portrait II

2010-08-08T05:10:00.001-07:00

Self Portrait II

8x10 inches

Coloured pencil, pastel, graphite pencil on paper

In the last week, I have redone this self portrait about 6 or 7 times on all different supports, (I am so fed up with it and hope I never have to draw it again!!!), as I am looking to change my style a bit with the commissioned portrait work, opting for a softer look. The drafting film is wonderful for achieving smooth skin for portraits when working with graphite, but I often ran into problems at the point of applying fixative, and had to redo several portraits as a result. When it comes to working with coloured pencils, it was much harder to get a nice smooth skin tone on the drafting film, and so I spent a rather frustrating week shuffling between the art shop and the easel in the search for that elusive support that would solve all problems. I must give a huge thanks to Bec Winnel - an extremely talented artist I came across on RedBubble, who does the most beautiful, etherial illustrations of women, and was kind enough to share some of her tips. She works on Epson Archival Matte paper and I was amazed to find how well this surface grabs the pastel powder. It also accepts coloured pencil and graphite very well, and happily there are no issues when applying fixative. The biggest problem I had with this artwork was getting an effective scan - the original is very soft, but for some reason the scanner didn't like that and gave it a dirty, grey appearance, so this image has been altered digitally in an attempt to match the original.

Art or Real - The Money Box

2010-07-30T01:38:00.000-07:00

Art or Real - The Money Box

8 x 11 inches

Coloured pencil on drafting film

I probably should have posted WIP's for this artwork, as it took me all week to complete (which is a long time for me). I want to play with the idea of mixing realism with some playfulness, and this is the first artwork I've come up with. My youngest son's hand is putting the coin in the money box, and I must admit, his hand was much easier to draw than mine was with all it's lines. I might have to find a hand model for the artist's hand I think - someone with lovely smooth hands!!! I started this artwork several times, trying illustration board, Bristol board, Matte board, yupo and finally came back to the trusty old drafting film. Whilst I struggle with getting smoothness when there are darker tones on the skin, for me, no other surface allows for the same level of realism when working with coloured pencils.

Slightly disillusioned!

2010-07-23T14:16:00.000-07:00

For a whole host of reasons, I have decided to withdraw all listings on all sites for graphite portraits and will be focusing on colour pencil portraits only. I am also going to be a bit stronger and refuse to do portraits if the client doesn''t have a high resolution photo. I was always a bit of a softy in this regard, feeling sorry for the client and not wanting to disappoint them, but I have learnt the hard way that it just doesn't pay!!

The Artist or The Subject?

2010-07-21T05:13:00.001-07:00

The Artist or The Subject

Coloured pencil and Pan Pastels on Matte board

On our recent holiday to Canberra, we took the family to Questacon, which is like an interactive, educational science museum for all ages. We ended up spending two days there, because there is so much to see and do and the kids have a ball. There is one whole level dedicated to perception and why our brain thinks the way it does and how easily it can be fooled - absolutely fascinating!!! It got me thinking that I would like to do some pieces using artist's hands drawing artworks that challenge our perceptions, and so this piece was just a trial piece. No perception challenges here, but just experimenting. I now have commissions starting to roll in again, so will be busy working on those, but will try to work on some of these ideas between portraits.

Just for fun - Mystified Illustration

2010-07-18T05:38:00.000-07:00

Mystified

5x7 inches

Gouache on Watercolour Board

I promised my family that I would have a break from the art while we were on holidays, and spend some time with them. It was lovely to do some puzzles and have some quality family time. But school's back tomorrow and everyone was doing their own thing today, so I had to have a play with some gouache that I had recently picked up. I've never used Gouache before, but have to say I found it the easiest of all the different paints to use and will definitely be experimenting with it a bit more. It seems to have some of the benefits of oils, acrylics and watercolours all bundled into one. This artwork is just a bit of fun :)

1st Prize Drawing Section ASMA Awards Exhibition

2010-07-16T23:28:00.000-07:00

A Life Well Spent

6x8 cm

Graphite pencil on drafting film

I often forget to post if I have won an award, but have just come back from collecting my prize for winning the Drawing Section of the ASMA (Australian Society of Miniature Art) National Awards Exhibition for "A Life Well Spent". I wasn't able to attend the Presentation Evening last night, as we were on our way back from Canberra, but had the opportunity to browse the exhibition this afternoon. How inspiring!!! When attending these Miniature Art Exhibitions, I am always reminded of why I fell in love with this genre of art in the first place. This was a timely prize for me also, as the prize was a boxed set of 120 Faber Castell Polychromos, and those of you familiar with my work would know that these are my favourite pencils - some of mine are only about one inch long now. Whilst there, I was happy to learn that my painting "Hush Little Mouse" had sold as well.

A Couple of Commissions

2010-07-03T17:58:00.001-07:00

Christina

2.5x3.5 inches

Coloured pencil on drafting film

Cheyanne

4x6 inches

Graphite pencil on drafting film

This little portrait of Cheyanne having a big yawn was done a few weeks ago, but I needed to wait until the parents had given approval before posting it. The portrait of Christina is a 21st birthday present for my son's girlfriend's sister, that I wanted to complete before going on holidays. Now the pencils are going away for a couple of weeks :))

4th Little Pig - Making Daisy Chains

2010-07-01T04:38:00.000-07:00

Little Pig's Bliss - Making Daisy Chains

5x7 inches

Coloured pencils on drafting film

This is the fourth little pig in the series and I'm not sure if I will do more. Sometimes I start so enthusiastically with projects and ideas that enter my head, but then self doubt creeps in, when the image on the paper doesn't quite match what I visualised. Either way, tomorrow marks the start of the two week school holidays, and my husband also has a couple of weeks off, so it is time to devote some time to my wonderful family and to give the art a bit of a break. I will still pop in to see what everyone else is up to, but probably won't be making many contributions myself.

Thank you so much to everyone who takes the time to view my blog and especially to those who leave comments - Hugs to all of you!!! :))

3rd Little Pig's Bliss - Soaking in a Hot Tub

2010-06-30T03:57:00.001-07:00

Little Pig's Bliss - Soaking In A Hot Tub

5x7 inches

Coloured pencils on drafting film.

Today, Sydney shivered through it's coldest June day in 60 years (which probably isn't that cold compared to where many of my internet friends live around the world), and on these chilly days (which I love), there really is nothing more blissful than soaking in a nice hot bubble bath. I wasn't really happy with the face on Little Pig here, but couldn't seem to get it right - you get the general idea though!! :))

2nd in series Little Pig's Bliss - Rolling In the Leaves

2010-06-29T02:50:00.000-07:00

Little Pig's Bliss - Rolling in the Autumn Leaves

5x7 inches

Coloured pencil on drafting film

Here is the second in this series. I wrote down a few ideas while watching the boys play soccer on the weekend and came up with about 25 ideas for Little Pig's Bliss - what fun these are proving to be, and I do hope you have a bit of fun viewing them!!!!