A New Series, New Support and New Medium

Monet's Makeover #1
12x16 inches
Coloured Pencil, Winsor and Newton Watercolour Markers and Micron
Micron pen on Xerox Polyester Paper

 After quite a few failed attempts with my previous series on Tash, I have gone back to what I know, which is drawing quirky and colourful animal drawings. This series features Monet the mouse who adds colour, mischief and fun to the world around him. I have used a new surface for this drawing - the Xerox Polyester paper which is very similar in feel and application to drafting film, only it is a solid white colour and is heavier in weight.

This first image shows how I used the Winsor and Newton Watercolour markers to underpaint the tortoise.

It can be hard to get deep darks on the polyester paper using coloured pencils alone, and so for the head and feet of the tortoise, I used the Staedtler Lumocolor Permanent pens to underpaint.

Monet mouse was drawn in using mostly only coloured pencils (Polychromos, Pablos, Verithins, Derwent Studio).

One of the great things about the Polyester paper is that you can use a blade, abrasive eraser or Fibreglass brush to scratch out highlights and textures as I have done in the shell of the tortoise.

Stay tuned and hopefully, there will be more to add to this series :)

Around the World in Eighty Seconds

Around the World in Eighty Seconds

12x16 inches

Coloured pencils on gesso primed wood

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

Portrait or Predator?

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.

You Make Me Smile

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 :))

Unlocking Old Secrets

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!!!

Just for fun - Mystified Illustration

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 :)

Little Mouse Lost Miniature Watercolour Painting

Little Mouse Lost

7cm x 9.5cm

Watercolours on Arches Paper

It has been a while since I picked up a paintbrush, particularly to paint with watercolours, and I had forgotten what a joy this wonderful medium can be. A lot of my artwork tends to be very tight and realistic, and it is nice to branch out and be a little more creative and loose, which is easier with watercolours. I think because so much of my work tends to be based on realism, I am also enjoying a bit of experimentations with the world of whimsy - it always takes me back to childhood.