Animal Artistry by Bev Lewis

Image of the Week

2012-02-16T11:34:00.000Z

Oh boy, I really must stop messing around and get back to producing some new work, I just cant seem to get motivated.

To keep you going here is the next portrait, a beautiful Weimaraner dog called Oscar, quite a difficult colour to recreate but I think I got it right.

Image of the Week

2012-02-08T11:15:00.000Z

This weeks image is of a ginger tom, called George. And a very handsome boy too.

For some reason I don't get asked to do many cats, so when I do, I enjoy painting them.

This is Pastels on Fisher 400 sanded paper and measures 10" x 12"

Image of the Week

2012-02-01T11:49:00.000Z

This sad looking fella is Tommy, and is now hanging in his loving owners home in South Africa.

Graphite on Mellotex and measures A4

African Painted Wild dog

2012-01-26T11:12:00.000Z

This was a new try-out for me, a very detailed animal in transparent watercolour.

I am a long way from being comfortable with watercolours but this was something I had wanted to try for a long time. So here it is, an African Wild Dog or Painted Dog. I have called it 'Rear Guard' as he seems to be checking for any stragglers in the pack.

It measures: 11" x 8.5"

Paper used is Fabriano Artistico HP watercolour paper

Paints. Windsor and Newton artists colours.

A&I Featured Artist

2012-01-23T15:39:00.004Z

I was very chuffed that Artists & Illustrators wanted to use some of my pictures for their 'Featured Artist' slot in their online magazine.

You can see the images and read about my work here: http://www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/featured-artist/animals-wildlife/494/featured-artist-bev-lewis

'Big Red' won Highly Acclaimed Award at the UKCPS 2009 exhibition and it is featured in A&I January 2012 Issue, which you can also see online.

Big Red is pure Coloured Pencil on Drafting film and measures 16" x12" and is for sale.

Image of the Week

2012-01-18T11:27:00.000Z

Saffy is my choice for this weeks image. She is a lovely, happy, Springer Spaniel who is forever on the go, just like all Springers. They really seem to enjoy life.

Pastels on Mountboard. Size 20" x 16".

Image of the week

2012-01-11T10:38:00.001Z

Next in line of commissioned portraits is little Joss, not so little anymore! As a pup she was fascinated by the fish in the pond and I thought this was an ideal photo to use for her portrait which now hangs in her proud owners home.

Image of the Week

2012-01-04T11:19:00.000Z

I have decided to start the new year on a new note and try and post on a more regular basis. Very often it will take me longer than a week to complete a new picture so I have decided to delve into my archives and have an IMAGE OF THE WEEK, where I will post up an old (pre blog) image. The first ones will be of commissions I have done in the past.

I hope you enjoy looking at some of my older work.

Meet Fudge, a very sweet King Charles Spaniel. I did this one in October 2009. Pastels on Fisher 400 sanded paper.

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T15:52:00.000Z

Here's wishing all my blogging friends a very happy and creative 2012

With a little reminder of what the weather was like last year. Brrrrrrr!!!!

The Versatile Blogger Award

2011-12-21T16:32:00.001Z

My blogging friend Renska has very kindly given me The Versatile Blogger Award, which is very nice of her, thank you Renska.

Now, as I understand it I am to send this award to 15 other bloggers.....hmmmm not sure I can do that, but I will attempt to send it to as many as I think worthy.

1st one must go to Sue at: Pencilpix

next one to Julia at: Wild Art

then to my friend Gail at her blog featuring English Bull Terrier related items.

Next: Peter Baker's Musings

and Matteo Grilli's watercolour wildlife.

Gail Mason's Fur in the Paint

And to Kathy with her amazing Scratchboard art.

and of course to Terry's wonderful Pencil Shavings

Also to Roberts Wildlife blog.

For Laura's blog Animal Art Adventures

And to Kathy whose blog takes me back to South Africa

OK, 11 is not bad I think I will stop there.

Now I have to give you 7 facts about myself, which will probably bore the pants of you.

1) I grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa. An amazing place to grow up.

2) I lived in Nairobi, Kenya for 3 years. Kenya is fantastic for game spotting.

3) I love animals, especially horses and dogs. I have always had a dog and also had horses, rabbits, mice, rats, geese and ducks and cats.

4) I am seriously interested in all wildlife, from African mammals to British insects and everything in between.

5) I am a keen gardener, even though my garden is very small, I try to grow as many insect friendly species as I can fit in.

6) I enjoy walking with my Border Collie Tilly.

7) I have been drawing and painting from childhood.

2011-12-18T12:01:00.001Z

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

As I didn't have time to design my own cards this year (I know, I know, I promise to do better next year), here is my favourite 'card' from the internet. It never fails to bring a smile to my face.

http://gpsinformation.info/main/merryxmas.swf

So, to all my blog visitors, I hope you all have a very happy and peaceful day doing whatever it is you most enjoy, whether that is walking the dog, visiting family and friends or just filling your face and watching the repeats on TV. Enjoy!

Maizy - Border Collie

2011-12-01T12:09:00.001Z

I have just completed this portrait of Maizy. Her owner had the winning bid in a fund raising auction held by Phoenix Dog Rescue. The item was for a portrait of the winners pet. I got some lovely ref photos of Maizy and it was a pleasure to produce this picture.

Size: 10" x 8"

Medium Pastels: Ashby sticks and Derwent and Faber Castell Pitt pastel pencils.

Support: Fisher 400 sanded paper.

Meerkats finished

2011-11-18T10:42:00.001Z

The Meerkats are now done and all I need to do is pack them up and send them off to their new home. I have called it 'The Lookouts'.

Christmas present commission

2011-11-16T10:27:00.001Z

I had to put the meerkats to one side for a few days so I could get on and do Orchid, for a Christmas present.

I have used a very limited pallet, it didn't really call for lots of colour and she looks like a monotone.

Pencils used: Karisma, indigo, goldenrod, burnt umber and a little pumpkin red in the eye.

Paper: Fabrianno Artistico HP

Measures approx, 10" x 8"

Now, back to the meerkats which is almost complete.

More Meerkats update

2011-11-02T11:10:00.005Z

Meerkat Commission

2011-10-27T10:15:00.000+01:00

I have just started this new commission of a couple of Meerkats. I do love these chaps and it seems so do many others.

Measures 12"x16"

Support: Pastelmatt in Maize

Medium: Derwent Tinted Charcoal Pencils. Background Ashby pastel sticks.

Chaz and Zara finished

2011-10-14T16:07:00.000+01:00

Chaz and Zara's portrait is now complete, all I need to do is mount it up and hand it over.

New Commission - WIP

2011-10-06T10:51:00.000+01:00

This is a commission I am working on at the moment. These two cute chaps Zara and Chaz are Rotti X King Charles, a cross I have never seen before, but they make a very appealing pair. Chaz, the boy, is bold and does some cute ticks and is only too happy to pose for his photo shoot, while Zara, the girl, is the shy retiring type and spent her time hiding away from the camera. I had to back right off and use full zoom to catch her at all.

Once again I have used Fisher 400 sanded paper, fast becoming a favourite, and pastels, both sticks and pencils. The size is 12" x16".

I will probably tweak the background a little once I have completed the dogs, it is looking a little too blue at the moment, but I will make a final decision later.

GSD- Pastels on Fisher 400

2011-09-30T11:23:00.000+01:00

Meet Yager, a beautiful GSD girl. I took loads of photos of her but this one was by far the best with her bright interested expression. It is very formal, I usually go for something a little less so, but I liked the way she was standing, typical GSD.

Pastels, Ashby soft sticks, Derwent and Faber Castell Pitt pastel pencils.

Fisher 400 sanded paper

12" x 16"

UKCPS Exhibition

2011-09-26T12:38:00.002+01:00

I have been really tardy in posting on my blog. I have just returned from a wonderful holiday to Denver Colorado for my niece's wedding, and I am still trying to catch up. I will be posting some wonderful photos of the Rockies soon.

In the meantime I am really happy to announce my 'King of the Reef' won The Creativity International Award for Best Birds/Insects/Fish award. The standard was amazing this year and I can see I will need to pull out all the stops for next year. The imaginative subjects were amazing, and the technical abilities stunning. The exhibition runs until Saturday 1st so if you are in London this week please pop in and see what can be produced with coloured pencils.

You can see some of the award winners here.

Never enough time!

2011-08-12T12:32:00.001+01:00

Sorry there is no update to my leopard, but I seem to be running around doing a hundred and one things other than drawing at the moment....like getting pictures ready to take to various exhibitions. Four to Clevedon Art Club open annual exhibition, which runs from Saturday 13th to 27th August. Three to The Illminster Arts Centre for the Backbone 2 Exhibition which runs from August 22nd to August 26th.

I was very pleased to have all 5 of my entries into the UK Coloured Pencil Society accepted. This exhibition is a biggie and for the first time will be held in London at The Methodist Central Hall Westminster, to run from 19th September to 1st October, well worth a visit to see just what amazing work can be done with coloured pencils.

You can see my entries below.

Summers Faded Beauty - pure coloured pencil

King of the Reef - pure coloured pencil

Laying up - Coloured Pencil and watercolour

Time Out - Coloured pencil and watercolour

Look! Over there! - Coloured pencil and watercolour

Leopard in Pastel - update

2011-07-31T16:37:00.002+01:00

Just a small amount of work managed this weekend. Way too much stuff to do.

Leopard in Pastel

2011-07-29T11:26:00.000+01:00

I haven't thought of a title for this chap yet, my head has not been in the right place for titles this week.

I liked the pose and the fact that he had his mouth open. I am not entirely sure I have the eye quite right, will need to go back to it later.

Size 16" x 12"

Support Clairefontein Pastelmat in maize

Medium: various makes of pastel pencils and Ashby soft pastel sticks.

Looking Back - finished

2011-07-17T16:18:00.000+01:00

Here he is all done! All in all I am happy with how he has turned out.

Looking Back #2 - update

2011-07-12T09:48:00.001+01:00

Spent some time building up the depth and detail in the stripes, and of course I couldn't resist doing the eye. Amazing how that brings everything to life!

Looking Back #2

2011-07-06T10:24:00.002+01:00

Here is a small update. Working on bringing up the colours in the shadows and deepening the darks for a bit of oooomph.

This is my second attempt at this zebra, the first one, done on velour with pastels, is just too dark and gloomy for my taste so thought I would try again, this time with coloured pencils. I have used maize Pastelmat and Polychromo pencils. The background has been dissolved with low odour solvent.

The scan has come out a little yellower that the original, maybe I can adjust that next time.

Size is about 16" x 12"

A Few More Birds

2011-06-20T12:25:00.000+01:00

Thought I would post up a few more of the birds I am currently working on, I have completed around 25, but wont post them all, they may get a little too much. There are 44 in all.

They are all watercolours and are done on an A5 piece of paper so not too large, but big enough to get the detail needed to recognise the bird, without going over the top.

Whitethroat

Little Greebe

Lapwing

Widgeon

Teal

Love This

2011-06-08T10:15:00.001+01:00

I could not resist posting a link to this vibrant, colourful painting. The choice of colours is amazing and the execution is without fault in what I consider one of the most difficult of mediums to master, but Amanda Spencer has definitely mastered it!

'Summer' by Amanda Spencer
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RtnHOsLIb10/TdyZlpKAzXI/AAAAAAAABtY/TbDqNBmMgeI/s1600/Summer1600.jpg

LOOK! - over there.

2011-05-27T12:29:00.000+01:00

This is the last of my entries for the UKCPS exhibition. Slightly more detailed than the previous two done in this style. I need to keep a grip on my obsession with detail otherwise it gets out of hand.

Size: About A4

Support: Fabrianno Artistico HP (as usual)

Media: Watercolour and salt, Faber Castel Polychromo pencils.

Laying Up

2011-05-23T10:50:00.000+01:00

Another one using a loose watercolour wash for the background, just to suggest his environment, the detail is in the leopard. I am enjoying doing these as I can finish them within the day. I was beginning to find coloured pencil getting very tedious after doing two large and complicated ones for the UKCPS exhibition so these make a nice change. I will, of course, continue with the detailed pure cp paintings when I have had a rest.

Size: 16" x 11"
Support: Fabrianno Clasico HP paper
Media: Watercolour paints, Faber Castell Polychromos.

Time Out

2011-05-18T12:33:00.000+01:00

A quick one, for me. It took me about 5 hours and was a new experience, I was trying to work in a looser style and started out with an abstract in mind, but as usual my love of realism got in the way. But I am happy with how it has turned out.

Size: 18" x 6"

Support: Fabrianno Clasico HP

Medium: Watercolour paint, Faber Castel Polychromos coloured pencils and Derwent water soluble cp.

Summer's Faded Beauty

2011-05-04T15:18:00.000+01:00

Here is something I have been working on for a long time now. It is of a bloom from the Hydrangea bush in my garden. The photo was taken at the end of last summer when the flowers were past their best. I love the look of the blooms when the colour begins to fade to pale pinks, lilacs and the palest of greens and creams.

Size: 16"x12"

Medium: Karisma pencils with a dark indigo Polychromo pencil used in the shadows.

Support: Fabrianno Artistico HP 300gsm

Doberman in Pastels

2011-04-14T09:55:00.003+01:00

This is my latest commission, a beautiful rescue Doberman called Megan.

I have used Fisher 400 sanded paper as the support. For the background I used Ashby soft pastel sticks in blues greys and black. For the dog I used a mixture of Derwent and Faber Castell Pit pastel pencils. My darkest dark was Derwent Dark Indigo (not black), and the highlights were done using Derwent light indigo with Pitt violet and white, with various yellows ochres and browns for the tan areas on her face and her eye.

First stage: After roughly completing the background I then start to block in the largest area of darks and to introduce some violet and lighter blue to the highlights.

Stage 2: I have completed the eye and the nose and have finished roughly blocking in the under-layers of all the colours.

Stage 3: I have finished the face and working my way down the body, filling in details and working on bringing the highlights to life. I am still using the same colours. Finally completing the whole dog and tweaking any areas that need definition and last of all adding the whiskers.

The finished painting.

Birds, birds and more birds.

2011-03-23T16:24:00.000Z

I am currently working on a couple of identification boards to go in a bird hide, one for summer birds and one for winter birds.

I will be doing a large background illustration of the lake and surround together with all the birds to be seen there. I have started on the winter birds and here are the first three, 18 more to go for this board.

I am using watercolours, mainly for speed. They are not large, measuring about 5" at the widest, but will be reduced down a little once I drop them into the main illustration. Good ole Photoshop, makes the job much easier.

Black headed gull

Cettis warbler

Dunlin

Love This!

2011-03-11T12:42:00.001Z

Lene from A ZOO has kindly given me permission to use her idea for 'LOVE THIS' Thanks Lene.

I think it is a great idea of hers, as the internet is full of fantastic art and creative people, so occasionally I will share with you, blogs or art that I find really inspiring. Because of copyright issues I will be only putting a link to the image or blog.

This one is the first. http://brush-paper-water.blogspot.com/ I am linking to the whole blog as I just cant decide which of all the amazing watercolour paintings I like the best. They are by different artists and make me want to get out my watercolour and brushes and give it another go. Enjoy!

Claudia and Lennie

2011-02-22T12:52:00.000Z

This is a portrait of my niece Claudia and her little cat Lennie, commissioned by my brother and his wife, who live in the USA. I was a little nervous in taking it on as I haven't done many human portraits before. I have always felt it was more difficult to capture a human likeness than with the animal portraits I specialise in. I was really pleased with the result. I feel I have captured her personality well.

Support: Fabrianno Artistico HP

Pencils: Karisma and Polychromos

Size: 16" x 12"

King of the Reef

2011-02-10T16:02:00.000Z

This is what I have been working on since the end of last year, I found it a real challenge, in fact I think the most difficult drawing I have done so far. I took the reference photo on a recent visit to Plymouth Aquarium, and thought immediately that it would make a very striking picture. I don't keep a record of hours worked but I know this has taken me longer than most and I had to take frequent breaks to keep up my concentration. I am very pleased with how it has turned out.

Paper: Fabrianno Artistico HP and it took a real battering with this picture.

Pencils: Karisma with one Polychromo; dark indigo. IMO the best colour ever. I use it in almost all my drawings.

The water has 5 different blues layered on top of each other and then burnished together with a colourless wax pencil, pressing very hard to get rid of all the white paper showing through, tiring on the arm. I don't normally burnish, but this just cried out for it and I like the result.

I have called it 'King of the Reef' as the lion is 'King of the Jungle, so the lion fish should be 'King of the Reef'.

Enough is Enough

2011-02-03T16:09:00.000Z

Well, I think the time has come to move on from 'Seasons Greetings. It is now February and I dont think you want to be reminded of Christmas any more.

Unfortunately I haven't anything to post yet, but I am working on a large piece in coloured pencil for the UKCPS London Exhibition. I really need to get a move on as I would like to enter more than one piece (seeing as it's London) but this is the most difficult drawing I have ever attempted and it is taking forever. I have another three ideas which I really want to get done for submission in June. Where oh where does the time go!!!

I will leave you with a couple of pictures of Tilly.

Here she is licking the snow off her cold nose after trying to find her ball which had got buried.

And here she is enjoying the sun last summer, I do hope we will have some of that soon.

Seasons Greetings

2010-12-20T12:22:00.001Z

Wishing all my family, friends and followers a very peaceful Christmas and a happy and successful 2011.

Whizz finished

2010-12-05T16:28:00.000Z

Well here he is - all done. I definitely liked this method and will use it again, although it doesn't really speed things up any, I like the look it produces.

Whizz - a handsome black Lab

2010-11-28T15:57:00.002Z

Small update, not much done yesterday, a tad cold in my studio.

A little more done today, putting down the base layers first before adding the details and highlights etc. It's looking a little strange with all the different colours but once I have added more detail on top he will look like a black dog. Hmmm think I need to work on his eye, looks a little odd.

Well, onto my next commission, a very handsome black labradour.

It is on Pastelmatt, A3 in size and I am using a variety of soft coloured pencils, mostly Karisma, a few Derwent coloursoft and one or two Stabilo softcolour (I think these have been discontinued - a shame as they are nice to use). I am then dissolving the cp using a low odour solvent. This is the first time I have done an animal using this method and I will be interested to see how it turns out. I really hope I don't have to start again as this is for Christmas, so not much time left.

Rose and Tango finished

2010-11-25T15:53:00.000Z

Finally finished Rose and Tango. All in all it took me around 20 hours to do. I hope Rose likes it!

Rose and Tango

2010-11-15T16:26:00.005Z

I think this will be the last post until I have finished. Just Tango's head and the background to do now. I am leaving the head for tomorrow morning when I am fresh....I will need to concentrate for the bits and bridle.

A little more done, not too much more to do, just the most dificult part, the bridle and bits etc, I will need a very, very sharp pencil to get nice crisp lines. I think that part will take a fair amount of time. I am looking forward to doing the head though.

A small update....not too much to show for 3 hours work, I spent most of it adding more detail, veins and muscles and layering in darker tones etc.

At last I have something to post. It's been way too long since I last had a pencil in my hand.

This is a commission for a friend, Rose and her and her beautiful horse Tango, bought by a group of her friends for her birthday. (The portrait, not the horse.)

The photo was taken by her partner Jon. http://www.jonsucksmithphotography.co.uk/index.html

It measures roughly 16" x 12".

Pencils: Faber Castell Polychromos

Support: Fabrianno Artistico HP.

Around 5 hours of work so far. The scan is not great, but the colours are fairly accurate.

Highly Commended Award

2010-09-16T10:14:00.000+01:00

My Silverback 'Rainforest Dreaming' won a Highly Commended award at the UKCPS 2010 Annual Exhibition, which of course I am extremely pleased about.

Below, is a photo taken at the exhibition showing how he looks all framed and displayed.

UKCPS 2010 Annual Exhibition

2010-08-16T11:32:00.001+01:00

I was very pleased to have both my submitted pictures accepted for the 2010 UKCPS exhibition.

They are the Amur Leopard and the Silverback Gorilla. Now all I have to do is get them to Stamford. I wish I could get to the exhibition to see all the finalists in real life but it will be too far for me to get there. I look forward to seeing them all online.

What? Where?

2010-08-13T10:31:00.000+01:00

I have just completed my little group of meerkats in time for the Illminster exhibition 'Diversity' which is being held at the Meeting House in Illminster from the 6th to 18th September together with Pauline Longley and Diana Connor. If you are in the area then please pop in, we would love to see you. I will be showing my wildlife drawings in graphite, coloured pencils and pastels.

I find these little chaps so engaging and amusing. I had some reference photos of them and grouped them together to make a panoramic composition which I think works well. I used graphite again for this one....I seem to be on a graphite kick at the moment. The paper I used is Mellotex ultra white and the size is 20" x 9" so each individual is fairly small.

Mother Protector

2010-07-29T16:05:00.004+01:00

Just for you Janet, this is how the picture looks now it's framed. I had this frame already and couldn't find any of my existing pictures to put in it, with the very heavy black frame, they just didn't look right. I sort of did the elephant with the frame in mind. I have not used a mount. I think that the white paper works just as well. (the greyish area around the frame is my kitchen wall, not part of the frame).

Here it is all finished with a dusty background. The background is not what I set out to do at the start, but it took over from what I had in mind so I went with the flow and this is what I ended up with. I don't fight with my instinctive drawing, and I am sometimes pleasantly surprised with what can happen. I think that if I had done what I originally wanted it would have looked too dominant and perhaps not worked at all. I am happy with the result.

'Mother Protector'

This is my latest, done in graphite for a change. It is not completely finished yet. I am planning a background, a very simple one, based on light rather than detail. I am not completely confident I can pull it off, so thought I would show you what I have done so far in case I mess it up!!

I have a frame for it and if I complete it successfully I will hang it in our 'Diversity' exhibition in Illminster in September.

Size: Approx A3

Paper: Mellotex ultra white

Pencils 3B mechanical, HB 0.5 mechanical and 7B woody for the very dark darks.

The Likely Lads

2010-07-13T15:58:00.000+01:00

This is my latest. I really struggled to maintain my interest, but I got there in the end. I so didnt want to spoil it by rushing it.

Tinted Charcoal on Pastelmat. Size approx A3.

Sunny Meadows

2010-07-08T16:23:00.000+01:00

I started this one some time back, but abandoned it as I could see it wasn't really working that well. It was suggested that I crop it, I liked the bottom left corner (thanks Pauline). After thinking about it for awhile, that's what I did. I decided where I wanted the image to finish and this is it. I am putting up the first attempt to show why I didn't like it and then the cropped image.

I used coloured pencil dissolved with a low odour solvent (Pauline's method) on a yellow pastelmat.

The first one is approximately A3 in size the final is cropped down to 11" x 6.5".

Looking Back - over my shoulder

2010-06-30T12:10:00.000+01:00

This is what I have been working on the last couple of days.....I just cant keep away from the animals...hoo boy!

I found some old sheets of Velour paper in the bottom of my cupboard and thought I would use them up. This is the first of them, done on black velour, size approx A4, using a variety of pastels from sticks to pencils, all different brands, whichever seemed to work best. I am still not sure if I like velour...which is probably why it ended up in the bottom of the cupboard.

Low Tide

2010-06-25T12:14:00.000+01:00

Here is another pastel piece which I completed this morning. I am enjoying the speed which I can do these landscapes, It usually take me weeks to do a wildlife picture. I may do a few more of these before going on to something else....or perhaps I will go onto some elephant in acrylics that I have half done ....I will see how the mood takes me next week. I used a yellow pastelmat for this one, must say I am not keen, I much prefer the Fisher 400 for pastels, which takes loads of layers and also takes both pastel sticks and pastel pencils equally well, so ideal for my style.

Size approx A3

Rising Mists

2010-06-22T11:38:00.000+01:00

Another landscape in Pastels. Not quite as loose as I would have liked....still working towards that goal. Still I am not entirely displeased with it.

It has lost a fair amount of foreground detail in the scan, there are more pinks and lilacs than show here and the contrasts seem a little strong.

Soft pastels and pastel pencils on Fisher 400.

Size approx A3

Rising Mists over the Somerset Levels

The Old Man

2010-06-16T15:07:00.001+01:00

This one is a completely new direction, a pastel landscape. Of course I have done landscapes before, but not in pastel. I really enjoyed the freedon of not having to capture an exact likenesss as I try to do when doing animals, so from that point of view I think it is a success. I will definately be doing more of these.

Both soft pastels and pastel pencils on Fisher 400 sandpaper. Size about A3.

2010-06-07T16:05:00.000+01:00

Time flys by, I didn't realise how long it's been since I last posted.

I have been busy with our exhibition and this grey wolf is what I worked on while 'on duty' there.

The medium is again tinted charcoal, although this time I used a tan coloured mounting board....not a great idea as the charcoal didn't take too well on it, still you live and learn. It measures 12.5" square.

Third Little Bird

2010-05-14T16:06:00.002+01:00

Well, I finally got around to finishing the third in my set of little birds. They are very small but do look nice in their frames. I will take a photo of them framed when the light is better and post it. I decided to scrap the kingfisher I was going to do and settled on a little blue tit. I do love these cheeky little chaps.

Silverback Gorilla

2010-05-07T09:57:00.000+01:00

I have just completed this wonderful boy. He is a large silverback who lives at Bristol Zoo. He was so laid back and relaxed it was easy to take a good photograph of him as he sat in the sun surveying his space. I wondered if he was thinking of his natural habitat, the rainforest of the Congo? With this in mind, I titled it 'Rainforest Dreamin'.

It will be one of my entries into the UKCPS annual exhibition.

Size: 13" x 13"

Support: Fabrianno Artistico

Medium: Derwent's new watersoluble coloured pencils.

I think there must be at least 5 million pencil strokes for the fur...just guessing, I didn't count, but it sure felt like it. LOL

Otis

2010-05-04T11:38:00.000+01:00

This is a commission I have just completed of Otis a Yorkie x Border terrier. A very cute chap with bags of character, which I hope I have captured. The scan isn't great and he is, in the original, a little redder and darker.

Measures roughly A4 - coloured pencils on Fabriano artistico hp paper.

Fungi

2010-05-02T10:54:00.002+01:00

Here are a couple of small pictures I have done for our exhibition in Glastonbury at the end of the month. Together with Pauline Longly and Diana Conor, I am putting on an exhibition at the Glastonbury Galleries from the 29th May - 6th June. If you in the area please come in and see what we do.

These little images measure 6" x 6" and are tinted charcoal on pastelmat.

Wolf in tinted charcoal

2010-04-23T11:11:00.001+01:00

I ordered a tin of 24 tinted charcoal pencils made by Derwent. I was taken with the lovely subdued colours, and couldn't wait to give them a try. I had this lovely reference photo taken by Jason Morgan which I thought would work with these pencils a treat.

I have called it 'Keeping Watch'. I used Clairefontein Pastelmat in dark grey, and it measures roughly A3.

I enjoyed using the pencils and will definitely be using them again soon, perhaps elephant? Maybe another wolf? Not sure yet.

Little Birds #2

2010-04-05T16:38:00.001+01:00

Well, I was far from satisfied with my previous goldfinch and decided to try again, this time on drafting film. (Thanks for the suggestion Pauline). This time I think I have pulled it off. Each picture is so very small that it is difficult to get much detail, which is what I go for. I compared the two goldfinches and wondered what had happened to my judgement! The first one should have gone straight in the bin (where it is now). Both the robin and the goldfinch measure 2 x 3" and I used mostly Polychromos and a few Karisma pencils. They each took about 3 hours to do, speedy for me, but I didn't want to spend too much time on them. I will be doing a kingfisher next.

The reference photos were taken by David Longshaw, who kindly gave me permission to use them. Thanks David.

Little Birds

2010-03-23T11:48:00.000Z

My brother made some beautiful little frames for me and I have decided that little British birds would look really good in them. I have decided on a Goldfinch, a Robin and a Kingfisher, all colourful little birds. I have completed the Goldfinch and such small drawings are definitely challenging, I cant get the level of detail I would like. They measure 2" x 3" and I am using Fabrianno Artistico paper and Karisma pencils.

Here is the Goldfinch. I hope to have the robin done soon.

Ooops, I see it needs a little tweaking around the beak, which I shall have to sort out.

Spotted - Amur Leopard

2010-02-15T10:35:00.000Z

Over the last month I have been working on this beautiful Amur Leopard. I was very lucky to get this shot of him in the only patch of sunlight there was in his enclosure. He lives at Cricket St Thomas Wildlife park, (I have just read that in fact the leopards will be going from here as will all the other large animals, sad as this was a good place for me to get reference photos for my art). I had no idea that this species of Leopard is so critically endangered. There are only 32 animals alive in the wild and 200 in captivity, where their gene pool is getting dangerously small.

The picture is A3 in size and I used mostly Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils with a few of the old Karisma pencils. The support is Clairefontaine Pastelmat in pale yellow.

Interpretive boards

2010-02-10T10:48:00.002Z

Wow, where did the time go! I did mean to update my blog once every couple of weeks at least, didn't seem to be able to get to it recently. I have been busy illustrating and designing some interpretive boards for the Environment Agency and thought I would post two of them here so you can see what I do when wearing my other hat, so to speak. These boards are A1 in size so quite large. I have used mainly watercolours for the illustrations with a little coloured pencil just to crisp up the details, especially for the creatures. I use a much looser style for these boards as I cant go taking months just to get one illustration done.

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/

This is the completed panel showing the location and some of the wildlife that can be seen in the area.

Below is a close up of the background illustration.

This is a board done for the Curry Moor pumping Station with a little of its history and some of the wildlife found in the rhynes (pronounced reens) or ditches. Below is a close up of the river bank showing above and below the waterline.

Coloured pencil Rhino finished

2009-12-30T16:05:00.003Z

This is the completed drawing of the Rhino. I have titled it 'Heavyweight'. The background is merely suggested as I didn't want it to compete with the animal, yet still wanted to convey the dust and heat of Africa.

'Heavyweight'

Size 21.5 x 29.5cms
Watersoluble coloured pencils

Fabrianno Artistico hot press paper

Rhino in watersoluble coloured pencil.

2009-12-30T10:42:00.003Z

Over the holidays I have been taking some time out to draw something for myself and decided to try out some of Derwent's new watersoluble pencils I bought at the NEC in November. I am surprised to find I really like them, up to now I have not liked watersolubles, but these work well.

First I lay down a very light layer of dry colour pencil, and then dissolved the colour using one of those water brush thingys....stops me flooding everything with water as I usually do. This is the early stage.

Then I worked over this base colour using dry pencil , building up tone and colour and adding in the wrinkles and skin textures. Here I am almost complete. I am hoping to finish it later today and will post the results.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2009-12-22T16:20:00.002Z

I am taking some time out until after the holidays - hoping to get some drawing done - so I want to wish a super Happy Christmas to all my friends and fellow artists. I hope you all have a wonderful time and that 2010 brings loads of success and plenty of time for art!

Guarding the tree and all the presents is, of course, my wonderful collie Tilly, who thinks that the little round red present is a ball for her!

2009-12-17T12:38:00.000Z

I completed this drawing of Kali, a westie cross for my friend D. Kali crossed over the rainbow bridge in the summer leaving her owners bereft. I decided to draw Kali as a memorial for a sweet and loving little dog. .

I used graphite and coloured pencils on Fabrianno Artistico paper, measuring slightly larger than A4.

Here I show the early stages to show how I built up the layers of colour and graphite.

Meerkat Cards

2009-12-10T12:37:00.002Z

This image has been so popular that I thought I should produce cards from it.

The cards are blank inside, measure 11.5cms x 18cms and come with plain white envelopes.

Available in a pack of 5 at £10.00 which includes postage in the UK. Postage to other countries will be extra.

Please e mail me if you are interested in bying these delightful cards.

Ring-tailed Lemurs in Coloured Pencil 38 x 15cm

2009-12-03T12:02:00.041Z

This WIP was commissioned by a well known magazine. Disappointingly, due to a change of Editor it will now not be used. So I post it on my blog for you to see how I produce a detailed coloured pencil painting of a couple of ring-tailed lemurs. Enjoy!

Drawing animals with coloured pencil is challenging but very rewarding, and allows the artist to achieve high levels of detail and realism. Patience is required to develop the texture and colour of fur which is essential for capturing the essence and character of the animals you are depicting; whether you are drawing your own pets or the more exotic species from around the world.

My tools and materials
Fabrianno Artistico hp paper 300gsm
Faber-Castell Polychromos and Berol Karisma coloured pencils
Derwent embossing tool
Blu Tack
3B graphite pencil
Scalpel for sharpening pencils. It is important to keep a sharp point on your pencils when drawing fur.

Stage 1: Indenting

After transferring a fairly detailed pencil sketch of my subjects onto my paper and before laying down any colour, I use the embossing tool to indent what will be the longer soft fur around the ears and the shorter fur across the top of the lemur’s heads, which I want to keep a crisp white against what will be a dark green background. I find indenting is an easier method to establish white hair against dark than negative drawing. I start on the background first. Using indigo, yellow ochre and three greens, deep cobalt green, chrome oxide green and permanent green olive, I layer the colours to get a dappled leafy feel. I don’t want any pencil marks showing and use a circular motion, never pressing too hard, layering the colours until all the white paper is covered. The lines which were indented into the paper will stay white.

Stage 2: Laying down colour

Now the fun part begins. I always work from left to right and keep a sheet of clean white paper to rest my hand on, which stops me smudging the outline sketch of the subject, or getting the natural oils from my hand onto the paper, which can effect the way coloured pencil ‘takes’ to the paper.

For the texture of the shorter fur on the top of the head, I ‘flick’ the pencil in short strokes in an upward movement, using different colours placed next to each other, building up the marks to get the thickness of the fur. Vary the direction of these strokes a little throughout the area to avoid a regimented look to the fur, and use more strokes in areas which are darker or in shadow. I use the white of the paper between the coloured strokes to suggest light reflecting off each hair. Fur often appears to be made up of many different colours and here I used mauve, indigo, grey and a lovely dark reddish brown called caput mortuum.

The inner ear of these animals is very dark and again, before using any colour, I have indented a few curved lines which will show the fine white hair overlapping the black skin. After completing the ear I used Blu Tack pinched to a sharp edge to lift out more soft hair from the black inner ear. Using Blue tack to lift colour is an excellent way of lightening areas which you may have overworked, or where you need a lighter area.

Progress made.

Stage 3. Working on the eyes.

Moving on to the eyes. It’s important to get the eyes correct, as mistakes here can ruin your picture. I want to get the wet, glassy look of the eye and so I keep in mind that it is essentially a round object, like a marble. If the light comes in from above the subject it will often cause a lightening of colour at the bottom of the iris and will also create a clearer highlight towards the top of the iris. If a flash has been used when photographing the subject, the highlight will be small and crisp, and I would suggest that you change this in your drawing to something softer to create realism. Studying images of animal eyes will soon help you get to grips with them.

I start by laying down the lightest colour, yellow ochre, all over the iris, but make sure I leave the area where I want the highlight to be. Over the yellow ochre I layer venetian red, burnt sienna and pumpkin orange; once again leaving the highlight white. I darken the area around the very edge of the iris using walnut brown to create the rounded shape of the eye and then lift some of the colour from a small area at the bottom of the eye using Blu Tack, which creates a secondary slightly darker highlight. I soften the edges of the bright upper highlight and finally darken the pupil with a dark brown and a little black. Moving on to the skin immediately around the eye, I use indigo, caput mortuum and black, with smooth strokes of colour. Again I lift out some of the colour to create shape and form.

I can now move on to the nose and mouth. Using mostly indigo with a small amount of caput mortuum and mauve and carefully following the contours of the nose and muzzle using smooth layers of colours, I gradually build up the darker tones as I go, adding a little black inside the nostrils. Always follow the natural curves of muscle and bone structure of the animal with your pencil strokes to get a believable look, obvious pencil marks running against the underlying structure will ruin all your hard work.

A close up view of the eye.

Stage 4: Ring-tailed lemurs completed

After completing the eyes, nose and mouth, I continue putting on colour using very short strokes for the fur on the faces and work around the drawing until I feel that I have gone as far as I can then I put the drawing aside for a day or two. Coming back to it later and looking at it with a critical eye, I see there are some small final adjustments and tweaks that need doing. In this case I darken some of the shadows under the lemur’s chins to add definition and depth. I add a little more texture to the fur under the eyes and some more colour to the tail fur (bottom right corner) making the fur a little more realistic. Last of all I carefully add the whiskers.

The Completed painting.

Welcome!

2009-12-02T12:04:00.000Z

Welcome! Through my blog I hope to share with you my passion for art and animals. I will be posting WIPs and completed art as well as snippets about my 'sprollie' (springer spaniel X collie) Tilly, who shares my life.

Blogging is all new to me so please bear with me while I get to grips with all the bits I need to discover to make your visit interesting and entertaining.

This is a pastel picture I did of Tilly a while ago. She loves posing for the camera, so I get some nice reference photos to work from.