Commission - Coco Ch marblanc Heavens Chanel

Coco Ch Marblanc Heavens Chanel

8x10 inch

Coloured pencil on Matte Board

I have never done a coloured pencil portrait on Matte board before, but this particular client requested a coloured pencil portrait on a darker background, so I thought I would try this surface for a change. I must say I found it a pleasure to work with - sturdy, and fairly smooth and accepts the pencil very well. The downside is that it doesn't seem to accept a lot of layers, but I applied fixative towards the end and was able to add some lighter highlights to the portrait. There was very little fading of the white on application of the fixative, so I was pretty happy, and would definitely use this surface again. I would really like to try a coloured pencil portrait of a person on the matte board, as I feel it would be easier to achieve lovely smooth skin tones on this surface as compared to the drafting film.

Tutorial now available in Fine Art and Decorative Painting

Some of you may recall that I mentioned a few months ago that I had written a Step by Step Tutorial on doing graphite pencil portraits on drafting film for the educational art magazine Fine Art & Decorative Painting, featuring my nephew Jack. That particular edition is now available (Vol 17 No. 9), and if interested, you should be able to pick it up from most newsagents (they may be able to order it even if they don't regularly stock it). It is available on-line as well, although at this stage it is only for sale at isubscribe where you have to purchase it as part of a magazine subscription. It will be available on-line from other sites once it has been in circulation for a while. I have three more tutorials to follow over the next few months and hope that they might answer some of the questions artists often ask with regard to working with drafting film in particular.

Commissions & Frustrations!!!

Ollie

8x10 inches

Coloured pencil on drafting film

Vanessa and Allyson

5x7 inches

Graphite pencil on drafting film

These are my latest two commissions, but sadly it has been a frustrating weekend, and one of those frustrations stems from the fact that I now have to redo this portrait of Vanessa and Allyson - I sprayed it with fixative this morning (as I always do with any artwork), only to find that little black speckles appeared all over the portrait, which couldn't be removed. There must have been some pencil dust left from doing the darker hair and this has blown around when the fixative was sprayed. My first word of caution, is to always check that there is no dust left on your drafting film portraits when spraying fixative!!

My second source of frustration (and it would seem I'm not alone with this one) comes from the twelve hours I spent yesterday trying to install the full version of Adobe Creative Suite 4, after previously installing the trial version a week earlier. It seems this is a very common problem, and after uninstalling the trial version, downloading adobe clean up software, doing 5 system restores, downloading a licence repair tool, and now having a corrupt installation disc, I now have to ring Adobe for a new installation disc and still don't know if it will install. My advice to anyone who is thinking of installing this software is DON'T INSTALL THE TRIAL VERSION!!! Wait until you receive the key for the full version and install that, and this will save you a lot of headache down the track!!!

A Couple of Commissions

Silly Fish Bulb Toes

5x7 inches

Pastel on Pastelmat

Callie

2.5 x 3.5 inches

Coloured pencil on drafting film

There are never enough hours in the day, and the weeks are flying by. These are a couple of the commissions I completed this week. The cat was blessed with this unusual name because it has extra toes on each paw (7 toes per paw), and apparently it has something to do with the Simpsons as well (never having watched the show, this is a mystery to me)

On a different note, I purchased a dip pen for ink last week and find that I can only use it for about 30 seconds before I have to redip it in the ink again, (even though the nib still appears to have ink in it), which doesn't endear me to this tool. If anyone has any pointers as to how to get the ink to flow better and for longer, I would love to hear about it. I really like how it is possible to get very fine lines with the dip pen, but don't have the patience to stop every minute or so to dip the pen again. :(

Miniature Painting - Hush Little Mouse

Hush Little Mouse

3 x 3.5 inches

Acrylics on Drafting Film

What fun I had with this little painting. I have to say a huge thank you to Deb and to Akiko for inspiring me to try the acrylics on the drafting film. After working for a few years now with pencils on drafting film, and so already being a big fan of this surface, it was only after seeing the beautiful paintings done by Deb and Akiko, that I thought to try the acrylics also. Wow - this is definitely my new medium. It was easy to build up transparent layers, and because of the nature of acrylics, you have the freedom to work either from dark to light or light to dark. I never thought I would be a convert from watercolours to acrylics, but after trying them on this surface, I would say I am!!!

Happy Mother's Day to all and my latest commission!!!

Montgomerie Family

8x10 inches

Graphite pencil on drafting film

I think Mother's Day is not only a day to reflect on our Mum's and to give them thanks but to sit back and bask in the love that our children bestow on us, and be so grateful for having had the opportunity to be a Mother. With four sons, who are all busy and wrapped up in each of their own lives, (and lets face it boys and men don't often find it easy to verbalise their feelings), I was so touched and grateful as each, in their own way let me know that I am loved and appreciated - I feel so very fortunate!!! My wish is that each of you, whether a Mother or not, will be surrounded by loved ones on Mother's day and that your day will be a wonderful one!!!!

Commissioned Illustration - Sunset Gathering

Sunset Gathering

9x12 inch

Watercolours, ink and coloured pencil on Canson Mi-teintes Tex Paper

Here is the illustration that I mentioned in my previous post. After starting it a couple of times, a couple of months ago, I initially told the client that it was probably too far removed from what I normally do, and that I didn't feel I could create exactly what she was after. My instinct has always been to paint and draw in a photorealistic style, and this particular client (she has the patience of a saint!) wanted something that looked a bit more cartoon like, and this was a quite a struggle for me. Those of you who follow my blog will know that lately I have been experimenting with different styles and genres, in an effort to move away from the tight style of realism, to something a little more creative. Many people appreciate realistic art more than art that is more illustrative, but to be honest, I find photorealism much easier to achieve. I was frustrated with myself for not completing the illustration when it was first commissioned, and was determined to persevere to completion - I started it again four times in the last week! I'm not sure if I am completely happy with it even now, but at least I have the satisfaction of knowing that I completed it!!!